MENA Hydrogen Alliance

Before joining the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure in 2020, HE Eng Sharif Salim Al Olama held several leading techno commercial positions in ADNOC, including Senior Vice President – overseeing upstream strategy, portfolio planning, and performance management, Head of ADNOC’s Executive Office, Senior Vice President of Onshore Gas Assets, Vice President of ADNOC’s Southeast Fields Operations, and Vice President of Engineering and Projects.

HE Eng Al Olama’s extensive experience, especially in the oil and gas and energy industry, includes strategical planning, engineering, project management, performance management, investment, and operations.

HE Eng Al Olama received his bachelor’s and MSc degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado in Denver, USA.

Thomas Brostrom serves as the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at ACWA Power, leading the company’s investment development strategy and driving its ambitious global growth plan to optimise value and profitability for shareholders.

As a seasoned leader with over two decades of experience in the renewable energy sector, Brostrom has honed his expertise in managing growth through acquisitions, divestments, and organic expansion, all supported by a robust financial background.

Prior to joining ACWA Power, he held the position of Executive Vice President for Renewable Generation at Shell Plc in London, where he oversaw the global renewable generation business. Additionally, he served as President of Orsted’s North American division, a prominent global offshore wind power firm.

Brostrom has actively contributed to the boards of various renewables-led organizations, including the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), The Massachusetts Business Roundtable, and RenewableUK.

He holds a Master of Science in Finance & International Business from Aarhus School of Business and is recognized as a chartered financial analyst (CFA), certified by the esteemed CFA Institute.

Reda Hamedoun is Executive Vice President Power-to-X & Strategy at Nareva and Vice President of the Green H2 Cluster. He was previously an Executive Director at Attijariwafa bank, heading North Africa (excl. Morocco) and Asia banking assets and operations, and an advisor to the President of Al Mada. Prior to this, he was heading the China infrastructure portfolio at the World Bank (Washington, DC and Beijing), where he led transactions and supervised projects on Sustainable Infrastructure, Logistics, Green and Urban Transport in the states of Hefei, Anhui, Gansu and Hubei (Wuhan). Before joining the World Bank, Reda Hamedoun was a member of the Royal Cabinet of the King of Morocco (Rabat), with contributions in economic and infrastructure policy. He holds a Masters of Public Policy from Harvard University (2005) and a Masters in Management from HEC Paris (2002).

Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, is an economist with more than 30 years of experience in international finance and development. In February 2022, Dr. Mohieldin was appointed by the Egyptian Government as the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for Egypt at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), with aims at enhancing the communication between the Egyptian presidency of COP27 and businesses, the private sector and, international funding institutions working in climate change-related fields. Since February 2020, Dr. Mohieldin has been the United Nations Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Development Agenda.

He is the former Minister of Investment of Egypt from 2004-2010, and most recently, served as the World Bank Group Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda, United Nations Relations and Partnerships. His professional experience extends into the academic arena as a Professor of Economics and Finance at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University and as a Visiting Professor at several renowned Universities in Egypt, Korea, the UAE, the UK and the USA.

Dr. Mohieldin holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom; a Master’s in Economics and Social Policy Analysis from the University of York, United Kingdom; a Diploma of Development Economics from the University of Warwick; and a B.Sc. in Economics from Cairo University.

Hannah Reeve is a Programme Director for World Hydrogen Leaders, an organisation at the forefront of accelerating the transition to clean hydrogen through promoting networking and learning across the global hydrogen ecosystem. Launched in 2020 by green energy veteran Green Power Global, it runs events all over the world, and is the world’s only all-inclusive hydrogen information and networking platform. Prior to joining WHL, Hannah held senior content roles at Kisaco Research, and global events organisation IQPC. She is passionate about sustainability, and is excited to be working in the vital energy transformation space.

Driss has over a decade of experience in renewable power project development across the Middle East Africa and Asia, including 10 years with ACWA Power.

In his previous roles, Driss was responsible for the development and closing of a portfolio of renewable projects totalling over 3 GW and representing over 7 billion USD in capital investments. These projects spanned various technologies, including concentrated solar, solar PV, energy storage and wind power.

Driss possesses expertise in early-stage development, tendering, technical optimization, commercial structuring, partnerships, major contracts negotiation, acquisition, and greenfield limited recourse project financing of utility-scale energy projects.

Driss originated the green hydrogen business within ACWA Power, leading to the inception of the NEOM Green Hydrogen Project, for which he led the development activities from feasibility stage all the way to Financial Close.

Driss holds degrees from Ecole Polytechnique in Palaiseau, France, and the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, Sweden.

Reid Larson, Vice President of Global Decarbonization, has been with Chart Industries since 2011 with experience in sales, engineered systems, product engineering, product management, applications development, and strategic project management. Much of his time at Chart has been spent focused on products and opportunities for the Hydrogen and LNG market, including developing new products for emerging alternative fuel vehicles, as well as hydrogen infrastructure for fuel cell vehicles and related end uses.

As Acting Green Hydrogen Officer, Mohammad Abdelqader El-Ramahi is responsible for the establishment and development of Masdar’s new green hydrogen business. This will contribute to the positioning of the UAE as a global green hydrogen production and export hub.

The green hydrogen business at Masdar is actively developing cutting-edge programs that will be a significant pillar of the energy transition. It has signed a number of agreements since 2021, including a US$5 billion strategic alliance with ENGIE to drive UAE’s green hydrogen economy and plans to develop 4 GW capacity green hydrogen plants in Egypt.

Among other highlights, Masdar is exploring the production of sustainable aviation fuels in the UAE using solar-to-green hydrogen and waste gasification, in tandem with bp, ADNOC, Etihad and Tadweer. In addition, Masdar is developing a 2 GW capacity integrated offshore wind and green hydrogen project in Azerbaijan.

El Ramahi holds a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering. He is also a Chartered Engineer, Chartered Environmentalist and Chartered Water and Environmental Manager from CIWEM UK, with equivalency to MSc degree in Engineering UK.

Naveed Tariq is Chief Executive Officer of World Climate Central Limited. With over 20 years of experience across more than 15 countries, Naveed has consistently delivered value to his customers. Having worked in diverse technology and service sectors, including IT, communication, satellite, and energy industries, Naveed brings a unique perspective in executing growth, creating sustainable business models, and scaling businesses. He is skilled in infrastructure deployment, product lifecycle management, and business development. Before Naveed became the CEO of World Climate Central, he has worked as Vice President for Corporate Strategy & Innovation Operations and Managing Director of E.ON Israel. He balances creative and conventional approaches, enabling organizations to respond to various opportunities and challenges in an agile manner. He holds an MBA in Finance and has a keen interest in forming new paths.

Rumaitha Al Busaidi is an Omani scientist and environmental advocate working on sustainable solutions to climate change. Her 2021 TED talk examining women as the key to our climate future has garnered more than a million views. Rumaitha currently serves as Business Development Manager at Hydrom, the orchestrator of green hydrogen development in Oman. She is also an executive board director of the only environmental NGO in the country, Environment Society of Oman, and actively works with the Omani government on sustainable diversification and energy transition strategies. Internationally, she has advised the Biden administration on developing a climate resilience standard for US foreign aid, the government of Greenland on creating a framework for sustainable tourism in Greenland, and the Arab League on empowering Arab youth in climate change negotiations spaces. Her work in climate change has been recognized by the United Nations, the EU, and NATO to name a few. Rumaitha most recently named in Reuters’s climate hot list and subsequently was recognized in their ‘Top 25 Women in Climate Change’ list.

Hailing from Muscat, Rumaitha is a member of the first-ever Arab Youth Council on Climate Change. She is also the co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Davos Lab, where she co-authored the youth recovery plan featuring policy recommendations from over 2 million young people across the globe. Rumaitha holds degrees from Harvard and Oxford, and is coined as the first female soccer analyst in the Arab World and the youngest Omani to step foot on the South Pole.

Mr. Ayoub HIRT hold Engineering Diploma from Grenoble (France) in Chemistry and Processes / Industrial Process Engineering in 2013 and carried out a Master of Business at Alpes University. In 2012 Mr.HIRT started contributing in R&D projects : COMPHOSOL2 (Fluid Mechanics) with Institute of Analytical Sciences LYON, Athanor 3.0 (ICT & Waste recovery) with E.D.F. LA TRONCHE and CATHIMINY (PEM -FuelCell) with C.E.A. _GRENOBLE.

In 2015, Mr Hirt joind ENGIE in Paris as Operating Engineer, involved in a new project to reduce 20.000 tons of CO2 on a power plant by the integration of Bioenergy.

Mr.Hirt worked in Germany as Project Manager at Berkefeld/VWS in Celle, developing new technologies and projects in the field of energy, water treatment, food, chemical and refining industry until 2018, then he turned back to Paris to work as Manager, Development department with Eurovent Certification.

Today Mr. Hirt is Head of Green Chemistry, Bioenergy, and Agritech Department at IRESEN (Research Institute for Solar Energy and New Energies). He joined the institute since end of 2018 and contributed to set up new partnerships with potential stakeholders in Power-to-X field (Green Hydrogen and Applications), and development of studies and projects (National Hydrogen Roadmap, Green Ammonia & Hydrogen Pilot, Cluster Green Hydrogen …) also with his background in energy, water, and environment field he carried out technical-economic and feasibility studies, and coordinate progress of R&D pilot projects in smart agriculture and green chemistry applications.

Laura Phillips serves as the Chief of Staff for Black & Veatch’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa business leading strategy and supporting all aspects of the business. Laura has spent most of her 28-year career at Black & Veatch. She has led teams in winning proposals with robust execution plans to support clients in Europe, Middle East and Africa in reaching their goals. Previous to that Laura was leading combined cycle power generation projects with global teams, ranging from feasibility studies to detailed design and engineering through construction and commissioning in the US, Europe, and Asia. Laura has a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Missouri University of Science & Technology and is a licensed professional engineer.

Abdulaziz Al Shidhani has more than 20 years of experience in the energy and water sectors. He is currently leading, as Managing Director, the Hydrogen Oman Company SPC (Hydrom), a company launched in 2022 as the central and independent entity orchestrating national interests in the green hydrogen sector.

Before joining Hydrom, Abdulaziz served the Ministry of Energy and Minerals as Director General for Renewable Energy and Hydrogen. During his mandate, he led the crafting and implementation of Oman’s Green Hydrogen Strategy, announced in October 2022, and the Oman Energy Transition Policy and Strategy. He also chaired the Alternative Energy Working group as part of the Omani – US strategic dialogue, the Omani – German Energy Dialogue, and other national and regional committees and taskforces.

From 2016 to 2020 he served as a member of the board of the Oman Power and Water company, and since 2020 he has also served the board of the Oman Environmental Services Company (Beah) as Deputy Chairman.

From 2013 to 2022, Abdulaziz worked for the Public Authority for Electricity and Water and for the Oman Water and Wastewater Services Company (OWWSC). He held multiple positions in OWWSC, including Chief Operations Officer for the water sector and Chief Projects Officer. During his time working in the water sector, Abdulaziz was engaged in national and regional assignments such as contributing to the formulation of Oman Vision 2040, as part of the Committee for Strategies alignment and national priorities, and participating in the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) unified water strategy. He additionally contributed to multiple strategic discussions on electricity and water policy making and took part in strategic projects such as the water sector restructuring and the electricity market privatization.

After graduation from university, Abdulaziz started his career as an electrical engineer for Mazoon Electricity Company, thereafter, reached a leadership position as Manager of Planning and Regulatory Affairs. During his tenure in the power sector, Abdulaziz contributed to the growth of Mazoon Electricity Company, formulating sector policies and regulations and leading multiple specialized task forces.

Al Shidhani graduated from Sultan Qaboos University with a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering in 2003 and obtained an MBA in 2012. He, as well, was among the first cohort of the National Leadership and Competitiveness Program organized by the Royal Court of Diwan for government officials. As part of his education, Abdulaziz attended various leadership programs from 2012 to 2015 at IMD in Switzerland.

Yusuf Macun is a global leader in energy and infrastructure finance focus on EMEA. Throughout his 25-year career he has closed in excess 40 transactions, in emerging and developed markets.

Founded by Yusuf in 2016, Cranmore Partners has supported the financing of the strategic infrastructure developments and investments. Now, Cranmore achieves significant league table positions as the winner of the Financial Adviser of the Year 2020 for MENA by IJ Global. Cranmore is also at the forefront of energy transition, and the development of the clean hydrogen industry.

As an advocate for sustainability, Cranmore Partners was the first member of the private sector platform of the World Green Energy Organization. Cranmore also supports NYU Abu Dhabi’s Water Research Center, and is the Scholarship Partner for NYUAD’s CITIES Research Center.

Prior to launching Cranmore Partners, Yusuf held senior positions with the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company – TAQA, and HSBC.

Hussein has over 20 years of experience ranging from consulting, strategic planning, business development, and project execution, having previously worked for Deloitte, Hess, Abu Dhabi Basic Industries Corporation, and AlNowais Investments.

At AMEA Power, Hussein heads up the Business Development department and is in charge of identifying and evaluating the company’s early-stage investments in the renewable energy sector across Africa and the Middle East. He also oversees the Green Hydrogen department. Hussein is dedicated towards shaping a sustainable, cleaner, and brighter future for generations to come.

Andrès Isaza is the Chief Commercial Officer of Smartenergy. He has extensive experience as an international sales and marketing manager in the energy sector. Passionate about technology, markets, people and the environment, he gathered his expertise while working over the last 26 years in global and local roles in Europe, Asia and America, in the energy sector, building an understanding of customer needs, multicultural environments, while developing markets, defining and operating new businesses and organisations. Prior to joining Smartenergy he held various senior management positions such as Global Head of Marketing & Sales for power products and systems divisions at ABB, Chief Commercial Officer for the renewable energy sector at General Electric and Chief Sales Officer of Gravotech.

Paul van Son has been active for more than 40 years in various supervisory boards, executive and operations management positions in the international (emission- free) energy, grid infrastructure and gas business.

Based in Munich (Germany) and Dubai (UAE), he is the founding CEO of Dii Desert Energy, originally ‘Desertec Industry Initiative (2009)’. This international group of companies aims at paving the way for countries in North Africa and the Middle East (MENA) to become an emission free energy ‘Powerhouse” for their own benefit and, ultimately, for exporting green energy into the global markets (Desertec 3.0). Since 2021, Paul is acting President of Dii Desert Energy.

Between 2015 and 2019, Paul acted as the MENA Country Chairman for innogy SE – a leading company in the field of renewables, grids and retail of power and gas, with annual turn-over of over 40 bln€ and over 23 mln power and gas customers. During this time, he has led the Management Teams of Innogy and Dii Desert Energy in the MENA region. Paul reported to the Chairman of innogy’s Executive Management Board. Among others he was innogy’s Envoy on hydrogen.

Mr. van Son is the founder (1999) and honorary President of the European Federation of Energy Traders (EFET). He is Chairman of the Energy4All Foundation (Home – Energy4all), a non-profit organization promoting decentralized energy systems in Africa.

He graduated as MSc of electrical engineering at the Technical University Delft (1978) and Corporate Governance at Nyenrode University, Netherlands (2008).

Paul is the co-author of the ground-breaking book on “Emission Free Energy from the Deserts” (2020), Paul van Son & Thomas Isenburg, Smart Books, The Hague.

Cornelius is a well-respected leader and investor in the renewable energy industry and built several successful clean energy businesses and start-ups within Middle East and Africa. He has extensive board level experience from 10 years in Deutsche Bank (among others, youngest board member in Deutsche Bank Italy Group) and several leading renewable energy organizations and associations via pro bono work as well as different startup companies.

By building the international shareholder and partner network of Dii (Desertec Industrial Initiative), he was at the forefront of the renewable energy revolution in North Africa and the Middle East. A keen entrepreneur and investor in emerging markets with recognitions such as “Solar Pioneer 2015” for the Middle East or the Visionary CleanTech Influencer of The Year 2022 by World Cleantech Awards. He is lecturing at several universities including St. Gallen and is a regular speaker at international conferences. He holds an MBA (Dipl. Kaufmann) from University of Passau, and speaks German, English, Italian, French and Russian.

His experience ranges from M&A transactions, asset management, developing utility scale renewable energy projects (including mid-market with private PPAs), pay-as-you-go solar to energy efficiency, including ESCO projects and new business models. Some of the projects and companies were executed in challenging settings or countries. He has led sizable organizations both in startup environments and blue-chip companies and has raised funds from angel investments to USD 100m+ projects with institutional investors.

“I am glad to be able to work in renewable energy which is also my passion – we can genuinely make an impact with many different things and help people, to make our planet a better place. Having new challenges every day is fantastic and many more mountains to be climbed!”

Executive management and boards of a variety of companies in emission-free technologies, as well as investment funds, seek his advice.

Mr. Nachi is Head of MEA New Business at Hyundai Motor Company. He moved beginning of this year from Germany to the Hyundai Regional headquarters in Dubai. He is responsible for business development of Hydrogen powered commercial vehicles.

Before that he was at the Hyundai Europe Technical Center leading the Commercial Vehicle R&D team. He took care about the engineering of the Hyundai Hydrogen Trucks in Switzerland and Germany. He contributed to building up the Swiss Hydrogen Ecosystem.

Before joining Hyundai Mr. Nachi worked for 18 years for Mercedes Benz Trucks. His mission for the next years is to deploy hydrogen powered mobility in the Middle East and Africa.

Mr. Nachi is a hydrogen mobility expert. He studied Mechanical Engineering in Germany, absolved an MBA and was born in Tunisia.

Luis has more than 11 years of experience in renewable energy, energy and resource efficiency at an international level. He is currently an Industrial Development Officer at the Climate Technologies and Partnerships division at UNIDO and is coordinating the technical cooperation pillar of the Global Programme. Luis holds Bachelor’s degree on Chemical engineering and master’s degree in business administration from Universidad Centro Americana Jose Simeon Cañas.

Alexander Sarac is a partner in the Riyadh office of Addleshaw Goddard. Alexander advises on energy and infrastructure transactions mainly in Africa and the Middle East. His clients include developers, industry, governments, financial institutions and regional and international development banks. Alexander works with clients to meet their decarbonization goals and his expertise includes project development and financing, advice in relation regulatory frameworks in the energy transition, renewables projects, and trading of energy commodities (including carbon and emissions trading), in an international trading and investment context.

Alexander recently moved to Riyadh after living and working in Dubai for eight years. Alexander has been supporting Dii as external legal counsel for many years and is a member of both the MENA Hydrogen Alliance Advisory Board and the Dii Advisory Board.

Tony Nieman is Head of Middle East of InterContinental Energy. He oversees the company’s group activities in the Middle East and manages partnerships to support long term growth strategy and implementation of the projects. Tony brings over 30 years of experience spanning technical and commercial positions in the energy industry where he was involved in the establishment, implementation, as well as the governance of joint ventures with industrial partners and government entities for major projects in the Middle East. Prior to joining InterContinental Energy, Tony spent 27 years at Shell where 19 years was based in the Middle East. He had held several board positions and served as a Shell representative in the major Middle Eastern joint ventures. Tony holds an MSc in Mining Engineering from Delft University, Netherlands and an MBA from Warwick University, UK. He is also an accredited Chartered European Engineer.

Gankhuyag Dagva holds the position of Chief Infrastructure Officer at Newcom Group, where he oversees strategy and business development in the energy and infrastructure sector. With over 15 years of executive-level experience, particularly in the energy and infrastructure domain, Gankhuyag has played a vital role in advancing Mongolia’s renewable energy sector. Notably, Gankhuyag has held key positions within Newcom Group’s energy sector, such as Project Director for Clean Energy, Mongolia’s pioneering 50MW wind farm, and CEO of Clean Energy Asia, the second 50MW wind farm developed by Newcom. Additionally, he served as the Deputy Project Director for the “Power Siberia II” initiative. Gankhuyag’s instrumental contributions have been fundamental in establishing the foundation for Mongolia’s renewable energy sector, effectively starting from ground zero.

He holds a PhD in Economics from Nagoya University, Japan.

General Director of the Research Institute for Solar Energy and New Energies (IRESEN) Secretary General of the Moroccan Cluster of Green Hydrogen (Cluster Green H2)

Dr. Samir Rachidi is a leading expert in renewable energy and green chemistry. He is currently the General Director of IRESEN, a public research institute that supports innovation and development in solar energy and new energies in Morocco. He leads a team of researchers and engineers who work on cutting-edge projects and demonstration activities in areas such as renewables, Green chemistry, energy storage, and bioenergy.

Before joining IRESEN, Dr. Rachidi was the head of the R&D program at the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN), where he was responsible for catalyzing national R&D efforts in solar energy, establishing partnerships and collaborations for international R&D projects in solar applications, and contributing to the definition of a strategic R&D orientation to help unlock the industrial potential of Morocco in the solar sector.

Dr. Rachidi has also worked as an R&D engineer in a start-up called “RespInnovation” in Sophia-Antipolis, France, where he was involved in product development, innovation management, strategic and scientific intelligence, and marketing and customer relations.

Dr. Rachidi holds a PhD in hydrogen PEM fuel cells, which he obtained in 2011 from a joint collaboration between the CEA of Grenoble and the CNRS institute of “Pprime” in Poitiers, both in France. He also has a double degree – Master of Science & Engineering – in chemical, environmental and energy engineering, which he obtained from the Ecole des Mines de Saint-Etienne and the University Jean-Monet in 2008.

In addition to his professional activities, Dr. Rachidi is also an external lecturer at the “Mohammed VI Polytechnic University – UM6P” and the Ecole Centrale Casablanca. He teaches courses on CSP & thermal storage, photovoltaic technologies, green hydrogen and power-to-X. He is the Secretary General of the Moroccan Cluster of Green Hydrogen (Cluster Green H2), and he also leads the green hydrogen task force of the “Green Economy Commission”, within the CGEM Morocco.

M. Tarik Hamane is the Acting Chief Executive Officer of Masen. Masen is the central player of renewable energies in Morocco. The group is in charge of the development of renewable energy projects to achieve the country’s objective of securing 52% of the electricity mix from renewable sources by 2030.

Previously, M. Hamane was the Vice President in charge of Hydrogen Development activities at TOTAL Eren (the strong arm of the TOTAL-Energies Group, specialized in renewable energies and green hydrogen). He led numerous green hydrogen projects worldwide; with a flit of more than 60 GW of Electrolyze Capacity Projects in Morocco, Egypt, Mauritania, Tunisia, Chili, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Australia. He was responsible of the whole development process, starting from renewable production to the final product (Green H2, Ammonia, compressed H2, Methanol). He was also in charge of securing purchase contracts with offtakers (mainly in Europe “Germany, Austria, Netherland” and Asia “Japan and South Korea”). M. Hamane also held the position of General Manager of TOTAL Eren’s North Africa Subsidiaries.

Before that, Tarik Hamane was Managing Director of Development and member of the Executive Committee of Masen, where he was in charge of the development of Masen’s projects and activities in Morocco and Africa.

Prior to that, he was the Executive Director of Power Generation Projects and Programs at ONEE (Office National de l’Electricité et de l’Eau Potable) in Morocco. He also worked for Suez Group and for the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) in France and at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Geneva holding different senior positions.

Over the last 18 years, Tarik Hamane has successfully led the development and supervised the construction of several large-scale conventional and renewable power generation and infrastructure projects (wind, solar, gas/thermal, ports and storage) comprising of over 4.8 GW in power, under different frameworks (PPP, IPP and EPC). He was directly responsible for the development and implementation of more than 40% of all Moroccan Power Generation Capacity.

Tarik Hamane is an engineer in Electrical Engineering and Automation, he holds a master’s degree in Industrial Information Systems and an MBA.

Lew Evans is the CEO and founder of Nexus Resilience Group, an agile systems integrator and strategic advisory group focused on accelerating the transition to a Circular Economy. Nexus operates as a force multiplier by integrating innovative climate and fintech technologies with local expertise to enhance Water, Energy and Food security in resource constrained regions. A native of South Africa and former US Marine officer, Lew has led cross-functional, cross-cultural teams in complex environs in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Nicole Vermeulen is Chief Industrial Officer at Hy24. After obtaining her engineering and business degrees, she has spent the majority of her nearly 20-year career in various parts of the energy sector, including wind, solar, and oil & gas. In the past decade she worked for Shell, in leading positions for large-scale (unconventional) projects from early-stage development until execution and operations, as well as DD for M&A deals and integration. In the last few years, she was part of the hydrogen team and led the supply chain function for the large green hydrogen projects. Nicole leverages her industrial knowledge and experience to support the deployment of Hy24’s portfolio and leads the asset management, as well as investments for Hy24’s new initiative focused on hydrogen equipment and technologies.

Education: ESSEC (Grande Ecole – Management Master) and INSEAD (Executive Education)

Amir Sharifi is the Chief Investment Officer of Hy24, a joint venture between FiveT Hydrogen and Ardian, which is today the world’s largest investment manager dedicated to investing in the entire value chain of clean hydrogen, from upstream to downstream applications, thus ambitioning to scale up the clean hydrogen economy. Hy24 manages the first-of-its-kind Fund: ‘The Clean H2 Infra Fund’ which is today up and running with €2 billion of allocations. Amir initiated Hy24 as Energy Transition Lead of Ardian, a world-leading private investment house ($150bn of Assets Under Management).

Amir seats at the board of Enagàs Renovable, the joint platform of Hy24 and Enagàs for clean hydrogen development in Spanish speaking countries.

Amir has 20 years of investment and energy experience of which 15 years with Ardian where he participated to develop a renewable energy platform of 7.5GW capacity by 2021, as well as strategic energy transportation/storage infrastructures in Europe.

Amongst other roles within Ardian, Amir also created the Ardian foundation to promote social mobility around the world by supporting deserving youth through scholarships, cultural activities and mentoring, and headed Ardian’s corporate development group.

He started his career as a strategy consultant specialised on utilities and market due diligences.

Amir also published a piano album and co-authored an essay on oriental spirituality.

Education:

2001 -2005, B.A in Physics and Electric Technology, Central
University of Nationality, China

Experience:

2005- 2007, GSM NPI Engineer, Datang Telecom Group

2007- 2015, Huawei Technology Co LTD, GSM/CDMA NPI Engineer, Technical Solution Manager, Account

Director(Vodafone), Technical Director(Ghana Office), Managing

Director (Abuja Office), VP West Africa Region etc.

2015- 2021, President, Global Sales and Marketing, Jinluo Water
Co LTD.

2022 till now, Managing Director , Middle East and Africa Region, Envision Group

Francois Dao has been working in Middle East and Africa for the last 20 years in the utilities sector with large international groups like Suez, Acciona and Schneider Electric.

Francois is today in charge of EDF Renewables portfolio in Middle East and Africa totalling over 4,000 MW of solar and wind energies. With teams present in United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa and France, his responsibilities range from business development through
construction, operation & maintenance and assets management.

He has an extensive experience in power generation and distribution, water treatment as well as seawater desalination. He holds a Master’s degree in electrical engineering from Ecole Supérieure d’Electricité, France.

Ahmed, a Bahraini National, is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GCC Interconnection Authority (GCCIA), in charge of the 400kV super-grid backbone interconnecting the six national grids of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait comprising around 120 GW of installed capacity. He has been with GCCIA for 16 years.

He has over 30 years of experience in power systems, electric grids and infrastructure operation and planning, previously working as CEO of Sintegro International, and earlier as Manager of System Operations in the Ministry of Electricity & Water Bahrain.

Ahmed holds M.Sc. in Electrical Power Engineering from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland in 1999, B.Sc. in Electrical Power Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin – USA in 1986, and MBA from DePaul University USA in 2003.

He is Steering Board Member and former President of Very Large Grid Operators Organization (GO15), , Board member and Technical Committee Chairman of GCC Cigre, Board Member of the Association of Power Exchanges (APEx), and Board Member of InfraCorp Co.

He has authored / co-authored more than 30 papers in the field of power systems and electricity markets and policies for GCC power sector and the Arab region.

Mission: Electrify everything (that can be electrified) with renewable energy.

#RenewablesNow

#3xRenewables

Bruce Douglas has 25 years’ international experience in the promotion of renewable energy and electrification. He is currently CEO of the Global Renewables Alliance – the single voice for wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, long duration energy storage and green hydrogen industries at an international level.

Previously he has held the following positions: Director of Communications and Business at Eurelectric, Deputy CEO of SolarPower Europe, Coordinator of the RE-Source Platform, Founding Chairman of the Global Solar Council (GSC), Chief Operating Officer at WindEurope, Founding Secretary General of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and Managing Director of FLiDAR, an offshore wind company.

He has also held the following non-executive positions:

• Member of RE100 Advisory committee
• Member of EnergyTag Advisory Committtee
• Chairman, IRENA Business and Investor Group
• Member of IEA Renewable Industry Advisory Board
• Expert-Member of the EU-GCC Clean Energy Network
• Member of the Clean Energy Ministerial Multilateral Solar and Wind Working Group
• Member of the Intersolar Europe Conference Committee

He has a Master degree in renewable energy systems technology and is fluent in English and French.

Thomas has been an expert in hydrogen technology for over 25 years and has developed two generations of hydrogen vehicles with combustion engines at BMW His career has included leading BMW’s fuel cell technology research department and moving to California in 2006 to lead North America’s H 2 vehicle and filling station program.

In 2015, Thomas established the award winning H2 engine start-up KEYOU, before founding water stuff sun and developing the unique technology of SFEERS.

Dr. Qiang Guo, senior engineer at professor level, is currently Executive Vice President of China Electric Power Research Institute. He has engaged for long in research on power system planning, operation, and simulation analysis technology. He is also executive deputy director of State Key Laboratory for Power Grid Safety, Fellow of Chinese Society of Electrical Engineering (CSEE), Member of Power System Study Committee and Group Leader of Power System Modeling and Simulation of CSEE, Member of Electrical Machinery Study Committee and Group Leader of Synchronous Condenser of CSEE, Member of National Technical Standardization Committee on Short Circuit Current Calculation, and China Study Committee Member of CIGRE SC C1 (Power System and Economy).

Ramy is an established Business leader within the energy industry assuming senior leadership roles in PLC environments with accountability for strategy, M&A, Asset management, fund raising and commercial operations. He has led large and complex businesses globally with multi-billion dollar developments in the extractives, infrastructure and energy business. Ramy was most recently the group Head of Commercial for Tullow Oil PLC and held previous positions ast BG Group and Wood Mackenzie.

Eng. Sherif Magdy El Gabaly, founder and Chairman of Enara Group, a renewable energy and investment platform catering to the regions’ clean-tech space. Founded in 2014, Enara Group has had a pioneering role in the development of the Egyptian renewable energy sector, developing landmark projects across the agricultural, commercial and industrial sector.

Eng. Sherif El-Gabaly holds a mechanical engineering degree, an MBA from IE Business School and various professional certificates from institutions such as the London Business School and Rottman School of Management.

In his capacity as Chairman of the Egyptian Junior Businessmen Association, Eng. Sherif El Gabaly has led a private sector renewable energy program whereby he established the Egyptian Renewable Energy Association (currently known as the Benban Solar Association). The Association liaised with Governmental stakeholders towards the establishment of the Feed-in-Tariff program, ultimately realizing USD 2bn of foreign direct investment. These investments were channeled towards building the largest Solar Park in Africa (Benban), of which Enara has developed, serviced and structured approximately 700MW of installed capacity corresponding to USD 1bn of mobilized investments.

Supported by his experience in the fertilizer sector, as well as being a renowned pubic figure in the Egyptian energy sector, Eng. Sherif has proven his capabilities to establish an entity providing full-fledged solutions when it comes to clean-tech, energy efficiency and preserving the environment and raising the necessary financing for their implementation.

Founded in 2014, Enara Group in an integrated infrastructure investment platform. Through its various purpose-built subsidiaries, it is specialized in originating, financing, investing in, developing and operating renewable energy and utility assets in Egypt and Africa. The Group has also a venture capital arm, Libra Capital, designed to be an early-stage investment partner for clean-tech ventures, and raising the necessary equity and debt financing, and well as green facilities from international and national financial institutions, necessary for the implementation of new and renewable energy projects; as well as securing green loans and facilities from local and international financial institutions. Additionally, Libra Capital has partnered with the Egyptian Stock Exchange Holding Company and the Agricultural Bank of Egypt to establish Libra Carbon, the first carbon offset development platform in Egypt with the aim of structuring climate finance to low-carbon projects across Egypt and Africa.

With its proven success in Africa’s largest solar park, Benban, and with 320MWac of capacity co-developed, 250 MWac serviced and USD 200m of investments mobilized, Enara has a proven track record across the entire renewable energy development and utility value chain, and is well placed to the sector’s growth across Africa. Accordingly, Enara is establishing a strong foothold in various African countries to implement renewable energy projects that will provide not only a sustainable solution, but an economical and practical solution to overcome current transmission disturbances and grid limitations in the continent which will benefit such countries both socially and economically.

Baatarmunkh Boldbaatar, the CEO of Newcom Group, is driving the company’s growth with a blend of innovative strategies and an unwavering commitment to excellence. His leadership journey has been shaped by his extensive management experience in airline operations, providing him with unique insights.

Boldbaatar currently leads a seasoned team with 20 years of renewable experience in developing Mongolia’s renewable energy industry. He is pushing the boundaries of this evolving field, drawing from the invaluable wisdom of Newcom’s founders, who have themselves contributed significantly to the development of various sectors, including telecommunications, energy, civil aviation and more in Mongolia.

Alex Hewitt is a founding partner of CWP Global. He is an engineer by degree, an entrepreneur, and a keen surfer. With over three decades of experience built from spectacular successes across five continents and the odd humiliating failure, he is dedicated today to developing green energy projects at oil and gas scale, advocating for the importance of concrete and timely action to meet the needs of the energy transition head on and with urgency.

During his long career, Alex has been involved in the delivery of major power and water infrastructure across Asia, Australia, Europe, and Africa. In his work in sustainability, he has led the development of the largest renewable energy platform in Australia, as well as a significant European wind energy portfolio. He is now focused on the development of CWP’s 170 GW+ portfolio of ultra-large-scale green hydrogen projects across the globe.

Alicia Eastman is the President of InterContinental Energy, a green fuels developer/investor focused on 25GW+ integrated upstream wind and solar, midstream hydrogen, and downstream ammonia projects located in coastal deserts of Australia and the Middle East.

Before co-founding ICE in 2014; Alicia led investment and strategy in global markets for 20 years, raising and managing private equity funds, market entry and finance for multinational companies, and institutional investors across Australasia including the Middle East.

She has focused on infrastructure, project finance, renewable energy, specialty chemicals/pharma, technology, and telecom. She was a founding partner of multiple growth private equity funds and a project finance advisor in the Persian Gulf. Alicia led international strategy and acquisitions at Elan Biopharmaceuticals and was Vice President of Prudential Asia Infrastructure Mezzanine Capital Fund.

Alicia holds a B.Sc. in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Alicia currently sits on the Steering Committee of Hydrogen Council, the Advisory Board of SEC Hydrogen, the Board of Directors for the Ammonia Energy Association and represents ICE as member of Dii Desertec and Global Maritime Forum’s Getting to Zero Coalition. She is also a Board Director of multiple charities focused on poverty and education for children in developing or war torn countries and is a frequent speaker and moderator and roundtable chair at green hydrogen, ammonia, and sustainability events.

After graduating from high school, Miguel Ángel López Borrego (*1965) studied business administration at the Mannheim University of Cooperative Education from 1984 to 1987. From 1998 to 2000, López also completed a global MBA program at the universities of Toronto (Canada), Erftstadt (Germany), Linz (Austria) and Shanghai (China).

The Spaniard began his professional career in 1987 as a controller at VDO AG. He was subsequently CFO of VDO Instrumentos in Spain and of the worldwide VDO Instrument Division from 1991. Within the Siemens Group, López was CFO of various business units of Siemens AG from 2001 – including the Industry Automation Division from 2008, the Digital Factory Division from 2014 and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy from 2017. In the years from 2018 to 2022, he was President & CEO of Siemens in Spain. During this period, he also performed the role of Non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors at Siemens Gamesa. From 2022 to May 2023, he held the position of Chairman of the Board of NORMA, an automotive and industrial supplier. Since June 2023 he has been CEO of thyssenkrupp AG.

Ebubekir Koyuncu is the Chief Executive Officer of Air Products Qudra. Air Products Qudra is the development and investment company of Air Products in the Middle East with having Qudra Energy as the joint venture partner, a subsidiary of Vision Invest. Air Products Qudra is bringing world-leading technologies and global capabilities in Industrial Gases, Low-Carbon Hydrogen, and CCUS with leading the Energy transition and supporting countries to achieve their industrial and net-zero targets. Ebubekir brings nearly 20 years of experience in developing, executing, and operating large-scale Air Separation Units, Hydrogen Production Facilities, and Gasification Projects. Before joining Air Products, Ebubekir was Executive Director at Praxair, and prior to that, held several senior management roles in Linde Engineering Middle East heading the Middle East Region. Ebubekir is also the Chairman of the Energy Committee at the American Chamber of Commerce Saudi Arabia.

Ebubekir holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and a diploma in Business Administration and Business Law from the University of Siegen, Germany.

Emile Hoogsteden is an entrepreneurial executive with experience of over thirty years in developing global business partnerships in commercial shipping, ports, and the logistics industry. He will lead SOHAR Port into the next stage of expansion, robust business growth and energy transition towards becoming a fully integrated industrial port and logistics hub.

Results-driven with a focus on global trading and shipping lanes, the industry veteran will aim to accomplish SOHAR Port and Freezone’s potential as an engine for economic diversification, sustainability, and investment to meet Oman’s development goals. He boasts a strong track-record in the Senior Management Teams at P&O Nedlloyd B.V, APM Terminals International B.V and most recently the Port of Rotterdam where he was Vice President Commercial.

In conjucntion with a commmercially-orientated mindset, as well as experience in dealing with international governmental authorities, Emile also possesses considerable expertise in defining and executing Commercial Digitilization strategies. During his career, Emile has been i.a. Member of the Board of the Sohar Industrial Port Company, Sohar International Development Company, Rotterdam Port Promotion Council, International Logistics Promotion Council, Greenport Venlo and Blocklab (Rotterdam Blockchain Fieldlab).

Emile holds a Master’s degree of Corporate Law from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and a host of diplomas in management and leadership.

Peter Terium is leading the Energy, Water and Food sector of NEOM, one of the Gigaprojects of Saudi Arabia under the Vision 2030. In NEOM he is building an Energy System 100 % based on Renewable Energy and a sustainable water and food system. The production and export of green hydrogen will become one of the core activities for NEON’s energy sector.

As CEO of innogy SE from 2016 till 2017, Peter embodied the transition of the energy industry. A Dutch top executive with a strong pan-European background transforming the German DAX listed company RWE (50 BB Euro turnover, > 60.000 employees). Moving away from its business model of capital intensive energy generation by creating a new company, innogy, operating in the as yet unknown world of energy management.

When innogy was founded it immediately became Germany’s most valuable energy Company. It is an innovative and excellent branded company which is well prepared for the challenges of the decentralized and digitized modern energy market.

He was CEO of RWE AG from 2012 to 2016 and from 2009 to 2011, he was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Essent, the leading Dutch energy utility acquired by RWE in 2009.

His career spans 15 years of experience in the energy industry.

Petra has long-standing experience in managing international technical cooperation programmes and networks for inclusive and sustainable industrial development. Her technical expertise covers a wide range of environment and energy related topics, including, green hydrogen, renewable energy, bioenergy, resource efficiency, circular economy and green chemistry. She has worked with governments, private sector, NGOs and academia in more than 40 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe.

In her current position at UNIDO, she heads the development and negotiations of innovative climate and technology partnerships and related technical cooperation programme. She designed and manages UNIDO’s Global Programme for Green Hydrogen in Industry.

She studied economics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration and environmental management at the University of London.

Thorsten Herdan holds a German degree in Mechanical Engineering. He has been appointed CEO of HIF EMEA in May 2022; the world’s leading producer of electricity-based renewable fuels, with the goal of becoming the first international industrial-scale eFuels provider for transportation, aviation, marine, off-road applications and the chemical industry.

Previously, he was Director General for energy at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. Between June 2017 and June 2022, he concurrently served as Chairman of the supervisory board of the state asset management fund for financing nuclear waste management.

Before, he held the positions of Managing Director in the German Engineering Federation (VDMA), Managing Director of the Research Association for Combustion Engines (FVV), Secretary General of the International Council of Combustion Engines (CIMAC) as well as Secretary General of the European Turbine Manufacturers Association (EU Turbines) and Managing Director of the German Engineering Federations’ Energy Forum, which is in charge of developing the association’s energy policy.

Furthermore, Thorsten Herdan served on the Board of the European Association of Internal Combustion Engine Manufacturers (EUROMOT), on the Board and the Supervisory Board of the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) as Vice-President of the Offshore Wind Energy Foundation, as well as he served on the Supervisory Board of 50 Hertz and on the Supervisory Board of the German company for plant- and reactor safety (GRS).

Thomas Altmann is the EVP for Innovation and New Technology at ACWA Power. He is a leading expert in Energy and Desalination, having worked in technical and managerial roles in this field for over 30 years. As a global specialist, Thomas held EVP and MD positions at ILF Consulting in Germany with responsibility for Energy & Desalination across international markets. He also served as VP at Bechtel in the Power Generation business unit with global responsibility for Desalination out of their UK and US offices.

Thomas has also served as elected Director on the board of the International Desalination Association (IDA) and the European Desalination Society (EDS). He is also a member of the IDA Global R+D Committee and MIT Technology Review Global Panel. Thomas holds a degree in chemical engineering and was granted patents in the field of desalination and brine mining.

Senior expert on energy transition and innovation in power systems.

Recent fields of activities: Sector Coupling, Hydrogen and EV impact on power grids, Electrification of Industrial processes and Built Environment, Interconnections and Global Grids, Flexibility & Resilience studies, Energy Scenarios and Projects’ Economic Assessments, European Innovation Roadmaps.

Engagement in Terna Group: International Operations within Strategy, Planning and Despatching Dept; previously in international business development, interconnection projects, investment planning, technical innovation deployment, electricity market set-up and evolution.

Previously engaged 10 years in ENI, Italian major in Oil & Gas sector, engaged in strategic development, investment appraisal, international operations, merging&acquisitions.

Currently roles in International Organisations: CIGRE, Dii Desert Energy, IEC, IEA, WEF, ENTSO-E, MedTSO, ETIP SNET, ISGAN.

A global industrialist and business strategist, Hussain Al Nowais has over 35 years of experience in investing, developing and managing businesses in the Middle East, Africa and Asia across multiple sectors including banking, finance, heavy industries, chemicals, energy, infrastructure, hospitality and real estate.
Hussain Al Nowais is the Chairman of AlNowais Investments where he spearheads the firm’s strategy of global expansion, investment, and strategic project development across the firm’s target sectors.

He is also the Chairman of AMEA Power, a developer, owner, and operator of renewable power projects in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, he is also the Vice Chairman of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), UAE’s leading domestic bank. In addition, Hussain Al Nowais is a Board Member in Rotana Hotels & Real Estate Investments; He is also a member of the Family Business Council-Gulf, Asia Business Council, World Economic Forum in Davos. Additionally, he is a member of Al Fanar philanthropy impact investment and acts as a board trustee. He was one of the founding members of Sandooq Al Watan, a national philanthropist and Investment organization that provides Emiratis with guidance and funding for social impact project with focus on technology and health care.

Until recently, and for the last 14 years, he was the Chairman of Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, a non-profit social impact fund. He spent over 12 years as the Chairman of Waha Capital, a publicly listed investment company on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange, He also spent 10 years as a Chairman of SENAAT, an Industrial holding company. In addition, he was the Chairman of MENA Infrastructure Fund, the National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC), and National Petroleum Services (NPS).

He served as a Board Member of the Abu Dhabi Council for Economic Development for three years; he was also on the board of Abu Dhabi Aviation, Abu Dhabi Ports Company, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, Al Dhafra Insurance Company and was an advisory board member of the Khalifa University for Science & Technology.

A UAE national and born in Abu Dhabi, Hussain Al Nowais holds a B.S. in Business finance from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon in June 1979, and has attended various Executive Management programs at INSEAD in France and at London Business School.

Dr Malcolm Cook holds a degree and doctorate in Chemistry from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland. He was then awarded a 2 year NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship for fundamental research in catalysts at the Technical University of Munich, Germany.

After joining industry, Malcolm lead the research & development for coatings for ChlorAlkali & water electrolysis before moving into technical service, commissioning, sales and business development.

He now heads up the Business Development and Sales team for thyssenkrupp Uhde & nucera across all of their technologies in the Middle East & Turkey and has been in the GCC for the past 14 years.

Dan Feldman is a partner at King & Spalding. His practice focuses on energy across the value chain, including low-carbon energy (renewables, hydrogen and its derivatives, carbon capture and storage, battery systems and green industry), oil and gas (upstream, midstream and downstream) power, infrastructure and mining megaprojects around the world. In the hydrogen sector Dan has represented many key corporations, government entities and institutions globally, including NEOM, JERA, Chevron, Woodside, EverWind, ADNOC, Fortescue Future Industries, Uniper, Globeleq and more. He has been recognized by Chambers Global, Legal500, Who’s Who Legal and Law360 as a leading lawyer. Most recently, Dan was named a Law360 2022 MVP for Project Finance (one of five in the world) and advised on Project Finance International’s “Green Deal of the Year” in 2022 and IJGlobal’s “Deal of the Year” in 2021.

Frank Wouters has been leading renewable energy projects, transactions, and technology development for more than 30 years and played a lead role in the development of renewable energy projects all over the world.

He served as Deputy Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) from 2012 to 2014.

Mr. Wouters has served on the board of energy companies in Europe, Asia, the US and Africa and currently serves as:

• Senior Vice President New Energy at Reliance Industries
• Co-President of the Long Duration Energy Storage Council
• Fellow, Payne Institute, Colorado School of Mines
• Chairman of the MENA Hydrogen Alliance
• Chairman of the Dii Advisory Board
• Executive Committee Member of the Ammonia Energy Association
• Non-Executive Board Director of Gore Street Capital, London, and
• Non-Executive Board Director of Vast Solar in Australia.

Frank has authored several books on renewable energy and green hydrogen and lives in Abu Dhabi. He has a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Delft University.

Ad van Wijk is part-time Professor Future Energy Systems at TU Delft, the Netherlands. He is guest professor at KWR Water Research Institute to develop and implement the research program Energy and Water. He is special advisor to Hydrogen Europe, representing European industry, national associations and research centers to develop European hydrogen policies with the EU commission. And he holds several advisory and supervisory board positions.

Van Wijk has studied physics and did his Ph-D on Wind Energy and Electricity Production at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. He worked as an Researcher and Associate Professor, between 1983 and 1997 in the Department of Science, Technology and Society at Utrecht University

In 1984, van Wijk founded the company Ecofys, which eventually grew into Econcern. Econcern developed many new sustainable energy products, services and projects. Examples include the 120 MW offshore wind farm Princess Amalia in the North Sea, several multi-MW solar farms in Spain, a solar cell manufacturing plant Solland and a bio-methanol plant in the Netherlands.

Since 2011 van Wijk is appointed as professor Future Energy Systems at TU Delft. His research focus on the energy systems of the future. Especially he will do research on hydrogen energy systems and fuel cell cars and has realized ‘‘the Green Village’’ at the TU Delft campus.

Van Wijk achieved many important prizes for excellent entrepreneurship. Amongst others he was Dutch entrepreneur of the year in 2007 and Dutch top-executive in 2008. Van Wijk was honored by KWR, by appointing him Honorary Fellow in 2018. In 2022 van Wijk received the EM Innovation Award from the NWBA, Dutch Hydrogen and Fuel Celll Association. And in 2023 he got a life time achievement award from the International Cleantech Business Club. World Lifetime Achievements Award for Prof.Dr. Ad van Wijk

Van Wijk has published many books, scientific articles and reports that can be downloaded from his website A sustainable energy supply for everyone – Blog of Prof. dr. Ad van Wijk (TUDelft) Hydrogen related books and articles are depicted below. Follow Ad van Wijk at twitter @advanwijk or via his website.

Jorgo Chatzimarkakis has been working at Hydrogen Europe since 2016. He currently holds the position of CEO of the association. He previously covered roles in the planning department of the Foreign Office of Germany, at Infineon Technologies and was Member of the European Parliament (2004-2014) inter alia in the ITRE Committee (Industry, Technology, Research and Energy) where he could contribute to lay the cornerstone for the first and the second Joint Undertaking on hydrogen and fuel cells. He was awarded Hydrogen Person of the Year at the World Hydrogen Awards 2022, “as a major player promoting hydrogen in Europe and world-wide, accelerating collaboration and industry development”.

Jorgo was born in Duisburg, Germany. He holds German and Greek nationality, and a degree in political science from the University of Bonn.

Harry Boyd-Carpenter is the Managing Director, Climate Strategy and Delivery at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He took up this role in April 2021.

Mr Boyd-Carpenter is responsible for coordinating the EBRD’s work across the green economy and climate agendas, with the overall goal of meeting the Bank’s commitment to achieve a green finance ratio of over 50 per cent of annual investments by 2025. He leads a team that drives climate and green financing, policy and analysis across all economic sectors and financing instruments, as well as representing the EBRD in climate forums.

Mr Boyd-Carpenter is a British national and joined the EBRD in 2005 in the Office of the General Counsel. In 2008 he transferred to the then Power and Energy Utilities team in Banking, before becoming Director, Head of Energy EMEA in 2017 where he led the Bank’s investment activities in the energy sector in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

Before joining the EBRD Mr Boyd-Carpenter was an Associate in the project finance team at Allen and Overy LLP and also worked for the European Agency for Reconstruction in Pristina. He is a graduate of the University of Oxford.

Prof. Dr. Christopher Hebling studied Physics and worked for like ten years in the field of Silicon Photovoltaics before he became Director of the Hydrogen Technologies Division at ISE with a staff of about 150 scientists, engineers, and students today. Among his manyfold affiliations he is the spokesperson of the Fraunhofer Hydrogen Network (36 institutes) and Board Member of the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence ‘Integrated Energy Systems’. Next to his close involvement in national hydrogen strategy developments he is member of the Expert committee for the Transformation of the Automobile Industry of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. Furthermore, he is the Co-Chair of the German Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association, and he is involved in international stakeholder processes and advisory boards of international hydrogen and fuel cell conferences. He published more than 150 journal and conference papers and is Honorary Professor at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. The Hydrogen Technologies Division conducts research in low temperature polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolysis and fuel cell systems, as well as in thermochemical catalysis and process developments of hydrogen to synthetic fuels and chemicals (PtX).

• Extensive record in international business development in renewable energy: Solar, Wind, Hydrogen. Technology – Economics – People
• International experience: worked in energy projects in more than 20 countries in Europe, Americas, Africa and Asia
• Expert at the Gas Industry Advisory Committee, East Mediterranean Gas Forum
• Steering Committee Chairman of the 25 GW Green Hydrogen Project GEO, Oman
• Advisory Board Member of the MENA-Fuels Project for the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Germany, analysing Middle East and North Africa for the supply of green hydrogen based synthetic fuels up to the year 2050.
• Co-Author of the publication “How to make Green Hydrogen economic?” (Hermes, Witte et. al., Sep. 2020)
• 2014-2021, Vattenfall: Project Governance Officer for renewable energy; steering investment decisions and project developments. Responsible for the policy and decision frame-work for all renewable projects, wind, solar, hydrogen.
• 2011-2013, Head of Business Development, Biomass, Vattenfall
• 2007-2010, Head of the “Vattenfall Carbon Fund”, financing renewable energy projects for emissions reduction in Asia, East Europe, and Latin America.
• 2000-2007, Head of Energy Economics, Tractebel Engineering (Lahmeyer International GmbH), responsible for the management and financial turnaround of two energy & water companies, financed by World Bank.
• PhD in energy economics (Dr.-Ing.), MSc (Dipl.-Ing.) in mechanical engineering
• Business fluent in English, native language: German, fluent in French and Spanish

Vatche Kourkejian is a Senior Partner in Roland Berger’s Middle East office. He leads the firm’s regional Energy practice and advises government and private sector clients in topics related to the energy transition, including clean energies integration, hydrogen economy, manufacturing localization and human capability buildup.

Since joining the firm in 2007, he has primarily worked with clients in the Middle Eastern energy and energy-intensive industrial sectors. He has been advising regional governments and state institutions on enabling and expanding the industrial base, as well as large corporations on adjusting their business model to changing market conditions due the ongoing energy transition and digital disruptions.

Naheed Memon is the CEO of Oracle Power, an energy developer listed on the London stock market, active in multiple jurisdictions across the world.

Naheed also serves as an Advisor to the President of Suriname, for investments and special projects. She also advises a Toronto listed blue carbon vehicle, working on mangrove projects globally. She has worked in Merrill Lynch in London for clients in MENA region. Naheed sits on the board of public companies in London in the oil and gas sector as well as in Pakistan as an independent director. She is also a director in her family-owned businesses ranging from textiles to construction.

Naheed served as Chairman of the Board of Investment as State Minister for Government of Sindh for a number of years. She is an adjunct faculty of Economics at Pakistan’s largest business school, IBA for the last two decades.

Naheed holds an MBA from Imperial College, London, a degree in Computer Science from University of Karachi, and an MSc in Economics from Birkbeck College, London.

Nadim Chaudhry founded Green Power Global in 2003 to address the climate emergency by creating commercially focused events aimed at accelerating the climate tech markets. Over 2 decades the self-funded business has addressed multiple markets from Carbon Markets, Biofuels, Biogas, Solar, Wind, Offshore Wind, Geothermal and now Clean Hydrogen.

The Green Power team are proud to have brought together over 60,000 thought leaders, governments, financiers and solution providers to connect, exchange, spread best practice and get clean infrastructure built at over 500 events in 40+ countries.When not working Nadim is found vociferously supporting the English rugby team and trying to keep his wine habit under control in North West Italy.

Pascal Baylocq, 55, has a PhD in Mechanics and a bachelor degree in Economics. He started his career at Total in 1994 where he worked in the Exploration & Production Division (as Reservoir Engineer, Drilling Engineer, Internal Auditor and Offshore Installation Manager). He joined GEOSTOCK in 2007 as Deputy CEO and was appointed CEO in 2017.

Dr. Jauad El Kharraz is the Executive Director of the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE), an intergovernmental organization with diplomatic status based in Cairo with 17 Arab countries onboard. Dr. El Kharraz took his office on October 2021 bringing over 20 years of experience in various sustainable energy fields including energy policies, wind and solar technologies, and green hydrogen in addition to water management, desalination, water-energy-food-climate nexus, climate change, and environment.

As the Executive Director, Dr. El Kharraz undertakes the strategic management of RCREEE. He leads RCREEE Secretariat in implementing its strategy aiming to enable and increase the adoption of renewable energies and energy efficiency practices in RCREEE 17 member states. With the region’s great potential, rapid sustainable energy market changes, Dr. El Kharraz is entrusted with tailoring innovative initiatives to deepen Arab-Arab cooperation in sustainable energy fields & to boost our member states’ efforts towards energy transition.

Prior to joining RCREEE, Dr. El Kharraz held the position of Director of Research at the Middle East Desalination Research Center in Oman (2015-2020). Previously, he served as a senior expert, advisor, and evaluator for several international institutions (e.g., European Commission, UN-ESCWA, PRIMA Foundation, EU-GCC Clean Energy Technology Network, KAS-REMENA, Ocean Oasis, COMSTECH Scientific Advisory Council, ENSUS/UM6P University, EMME-CCI Task Force/Cyprus Institute, “French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation”) and member of board of the European Desalination Society, AgreeMed and WEFE4Med Nexus projects and Jovesolides Association (Spain). He is also member of the International Desalination Association, the Mediterranean Water Institute, and Oman Energy Majlis.

He brings over 20 years of experience in various sustainability fields including energy and water policies, desalination, water-energy-food nexus, green hydrogen, climate change. Dr. El Kharraz sustainability career officially started in 1998 as a researcher at the Global Change Unit -University of Valencia. Through his journey, he coordinated, prepared, and contributed to an important portfolio of international programs/projects of millions of euros such as FP5-FP7, H2020, ENPI CBC Med, INCO MED, INCO NGOs, SMAP, LIFE, PRIMA. He carried out projects for national and international donors such as GIZ, SIDA, IsDB, TRC/Oman and USAID apart from private sector companies.

Dr. El Kharraz is a founding member of Nice hub (France) – Global Shapers Community (World Economic Forum), aiming to push young talents from Nice city to develop projects of development for their local community.

He chaired and contributed to the development of an important number of scientific papers, policy briefs, policies, training & mentorship activities, lectures, awards ceremonies, and events (e.g., World Economic Forum, World Water Forum, World Science Forum, World Urban Forum, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, MENA Europe Future Energy Dialogue, World Hydrogen Summit, Planetary Security Initiative, Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue Conference, International Higher Education Conference, COP26, COP27, etc.) in more than 55 countries.

Dr. El Kharraz is a national of Morocco and France, and a graduate of the University of Abdelmalek Essaadi. Dr. El Kharraz obtained his MSc and PhD degrees in Physics from the Department of Earth Physics and Thermodynamics, University of Valencia, Spain, and a diploma in enterprises management and strategies from SKEMA Business School, France. He is a fluent French, Arabic, Spanish and English speaker.

Jan Haizmann started his career at a law firm, specializing on European competition law and industry regulation in telecoms and energy. In 1999, Jan Haizmann moved to London working as regulatory manager for US American trading houses focusing on industry regulation applicable to the power and gas trading sector Dr Haizmann was involved in major competition and antitrust. Subsequently, Jan Haizmann gained commercial experience as gas origination manager (trader) at Glencore Energy in London from 2002 to 2005.

Since January 2005, Dr. Haizmann has been an independent consultant to the energy trading industry. He has been advising Tier-One clients on legal and regulatory aspects of energy trading as managing director of Correggio Consulting. Dr. Haizmann was appointed expert in several arbitration proceedings helping dispute resolution in complex gas and power transactions. He has been managing gas business set ups for new entrants into the European wholesale markets for multiple years.

In 2017, Dr Haizmann conceptually invented CorreggioNET, an interactive compliance platform for physical power and gas trading participants. CorreggioNET enables wholesale market traders to monitor and manage regulatory change applicable to physical trading across multiple geographies. Since its launch in 2018, CorreggioNET service has become a unique industry solution for regulatory change management.

The European Commission entrusted Jan Haizmann with technical assistance project management in the field of preparing natural gas trading in Turkey (2014/16) and enabling commodity markets in Ukraine (since 20187ongoing).

In parallel to his consulting activities, Mr. Haizmann had different executive functions within the European Federation of Energy Traders (EFET) until 2023. Until his exit in April 2023, Jan Haizmann was member of the EFET Board of Directors, managed the Legal Committee, and had various executive functions over his 19 years tenure.

In 2019, Resource Platform appointed Dr Haizmann to manage the standardisation of PPA-contracts enabling the uptake of RES generation. Dr Haizmann co-ordinated the work for a first pan-European PPA contract launched by Resource and EFET.

In April 2023, Jan Haizmann accepted the role as CEO, managing ZETA (“Zero Emissions Trading Alliance”), a new industry initiative looking at creating liquid markets for zero emission products and respective certificates, enabling the creating of a liquid wholesale market in the MENA-region, and beyond. MENA is aiming at creating the right market conditions for low emissions commodities such as green H2, green fuels and green certificates in the MENA-region.

Mr Haizmann graduated in law with honours at the universities in Freiburg (Germany), London (UK) and Brussels (Belgium). He resides in Brussels and Dubai.

Contact: j.haizmann@correggio-consulting.eu

Paul Baan started in 2021 as CEO of Proton Ventures. Paul has proven to be a visionary executive within the energy sector through his longstanding career with several leadership positions amongst others at Ørsted and EON. Paul has an entrepreneurial mindset and a proven track record in growing, transforming and leading businesses in the energy transition related industries

Frank Yu is Global Vice President of Power to X business of Envision Group. He is responsible for Envision’s zero carbon gas and hydrogen energy business. Prior to Envision，Mr. Yu worked for Air Products in China as VP and General Manager of Hydrogen Energy Business. Mr Yu has a bachelor degree of Chemical Equipment and Machinery from Nanjing Chemical University and MBA from Maastricht School of Management and Nanjing University.