Key speakers

Mirela ATANASIU is the current Executive Director ad interim of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership (which has taken over the predecessor Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, FCH JU), a Public-Private Partnership between European Commission and the European Industry (Hydrogen Europe) and Research Community (Hydrogen Europe Research). She is also the Head of Unit of Operations and Communication since 2016.

Previously, for more than 12 years she was a Senior Project Manager and Research Programme Officer in the Joint Undertaking and European Commission (Directorate Research and Innovation/Energy), following on a background experience as researcher in the Energy sector in Romania. She holds an M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering / Materials Science and an M.Sc. in Economics / Cybernetics and Economic Analysis.

Current position
Full professor, head of Group of Technical Electrochemistry, Head of Department of Inorganic Technology and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Chemical Technology, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Czech Republic

Research interests
Electrochemical technology and engineering: electrochemical cells design and optimisation, electrocatalysts and polymer electrolytes development and characterisation, mathematical modelling for interpretation of the global experimental data, as well as for development and optimisation of electrochemical systems. Currently, focus is on the fuel cells and water electrolysis technologies, including low, medium and high temperature ones.

Dr. Isotta Cerri is currently the Head of Material Engineering at Toyota Motor Europe Research and Development. She leads the advanced research and development of materials for European vehicles in alignment with the corporate ambition of creating sustainable mobility solutions for all.

Prior in her career she led the advanced research division responsible for fuel cells, batteries, photovoltaics and robotics technologies.

She is the author of publications, inventor of patents and contributor of strategic technology roadmaps for the European Commission, the UK government, and the International Energy Agency.

In the early stage of her career she worked for the Altran Group as consultant in the energy and automotive field and at Politecnico di Torino as scientific researcher on catalytic processes.

Dr. Cerri received her M.A. and Ph.D. degree in chemical engineering from Politecnico of Torino.

Bert holds a Master’s degree in electrical engineering from K.U. Leuven University in Belgium and has 27 years of experience in various manufacturing, planning and business leadership positions in ExxonMobil's Refining, Lubricants and Chemicals businesses in Europe and Asia. Bert assumed his current position as a Policy Manager for Europe, Africa and Middle East for ExxonMobil’s Low Carbon Solutions business in September 2022. Bert is based in Brussels, Belgium.

Aleš Doucek is a graduate of the University of Chemical Technology in Prague, where he obtained a doctorate in the field of chemical and energy processing of fuels. Since 2008, he has been working at ÚJV Řež, a. s., focusing on hydrogen technologies. He is currently the head of the Hydrogen Technology and Innovations in Energy department. At the same time, he is also the chairman of the board of the Czech Hydrogen Technology Platform, of which he has been a member since 2013.

He is a member of the coordination group for the National Action Plan for Clean Mobility, co-chairman of the Working Group for Hydrogen Mobility at the MoD of the Czech Republic, and platform representative at the National Council for Hydrogen and the Hydrogen Coordination Group at the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Deborah Goeree works as a project manager at New Energy Coalition and has been involved in various European projects related to energy transition. She focuses on developments to enhance the hydrogen economy for businesses, education, and the government on a regional, national, and European level. Connecting the crucial dots that are needed for this, is central in her work. Next to that, she involved in projects related to human capital and public participation for the energy transition. She is also involved in various tasks such as communication and dissemination of results to the network of New Energy Coalition, relationship management with stakeholders in the field and development of new projects to build a greener and better future. Deborah has a background in Social Work & Project Management.

He received his university degree in political science from Eötvös Loránd University, Faculty of Law. He has been working in the central government since 1998. Between 1998 and 2006 he was personal secretary of the minister in the Prime Minister's Office, then he dealt with Hungary's accession to the European Union and the modernization of the administration. From 2006 to 2010 he coordinated the use of EU funds for the digitalization and modernization of the public administration. From 2010 he headed the Department for Mod­ern­iza­tion of Administration in the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice, then the Department of Strategic Planning of the Ministry of Human Resources. From 2018 he was the chief of strategic planning and programming for the period 2021–2027.

From 2020 he led the Strategic Planning and Programming Division at the Department of Energy. From 15 February 2023, he was appointed to the newly created position of Deputy State Secretary for Energy Transition.

Daan Feddo Huisinga graduated from the London School of Economics in 1991 (Political Economy). After three years with the Netherlands gas trading and transport company Gasunie, Huisinga joined the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in 1995. As part of the MFA, he worked in the Asia Department, with the OSCE in Albania, and at the Permanent Representation to the European Union in Brussels. After working in several capacities at the MFA in The Hague, Huisinga served as Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of the Netherlands in Turkey from 2013 to 2017. From 2017 to 2021 he worked as the Deputy Director-General for International Migration Management at the Ministry of Justice and Security in The Hague. Daan Huisinga has been the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Czech Republic since 2021.

Dr. Stefan Kaufmann, who was born in 1969, served as Innovation Commissioner for Green Hydrogen at the German Ministry of Education and Research from June 2020 to July 2022. The position was created by the German Cabinet on June 10, 2020, as part of its national hydrogen strategy. In this position, he was a regular guest at the State Secretaries’ Committee for Hydrogen of the Participating Ministries as well as the National Hydrogen Council.

Since August 2022 Dr Kaufmann is working as a Senior Adviser. In one of his mandates he was adviser for 16 months to the thyssenkrupp board regarding all cross-business hydrogen activities and projects and represent the company nationally and internationally in all matters related to hydrogen. Other companies he is working for are the global management consultancies Horvath and Drees & Sommer, the Swedish companies Nordion Innovation and Plagazi, the Canadian company World Energy GH2 and the German Startup Turn2X.

Prior to his appointment as Innovation Commissioner for Green Hydrogen, the fully qualified lawyer served as chair of the Study Commission “Vocational Training in the Digital Work Environment” and CDU/CSU spokesperson on the Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment of the German Bundestag. Dr Kaufmann has been a directly elected Member of the Bundestag for his Stuttgart constituency from 2009 to 2021. Since January 4th this year BGW is back in the German Bundestag, replacing the recently deceased long-serving minister and parliamentary president Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble.

Bert Kiewiet is responsible for business development hydrogen in Germany for Gasunie, developing a portfolio of large scale hydrogen infrastructure projects (onshore, offshore, storage and import terminals). He has a track of 20+ years in the natural gas and energy industry. Before joining Gasunie he was a managing consultant at DNV, advising clients on commercial and regulatory aspects of energy infrastructure, mainly in Europe and the Middle East. Bert holds a Masters degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wales (2002) and a Masters in Technological Design from the University of Twente (2003).

Erik Kolstø, CFA has extensive commercial and operational experience in the gas and power industry in the Central and Eastern European region (Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine). He has held senior management positions in different parts of the value chain, including retail, wholesale, and trading. Since 2016 he has been active in the gas transportation sector.

Mr. Kolstø is currently responsible for the H2 & CO2 business development activities at OGE, the German gas TSO. He received his MBA from Chicago Booth, University of Chicago, and a Cand. Mag from University of Bergen.

After studies at the University of Economics in Prague and a short experience in consulting, I joined Strategy Department of ORLEN Unipetrol, where I worked for 5 years as a project manager and was responsible for decarbonization projects. Since last year, I have been working on position Head of Regulation for Decarbonization Department. Me and my team are responsible for analyzing the impact of decarbonization related regulation on ORLEN Unipetrol.

Petr Mervart, Plenipotentiary of the Minister of Industry and Trade for Hydrogen Technologies, prepared with his team the Hydrogen Strategy of the Czech Republic, which was approved by the Czech Government in the year 2021. Now he, in close cooperation with representatives of other ministries, research organizations, universities, industries and industry associations, makes sure that the Czech hydrogen strategy is fulfilled. Petr Mervart also participated in preparation of the Decarbonization Study of the Czech Industry, which was published by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Fit for 55 impact assessment and REPowerEU analyses. He has got extensive business experience while working for international IT and utility companies as Digital Equipment, Sun Microsystems and E.ON. He started his professional career as a university teacher at the Czech Technical University in Prague. He also carried out research at the Kyoto University in Japan and the University of Alberta in Canada.

Daniel Minařík has been working continuously in the field of hydrogen technologies for almost 15 years, since he joined the initial research activities in this field at VŠB-TU Ostrava, which were related to hydrogen mobility and student races of ecological vehicles at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, where it was developed several prototype racing vehicles with hydrogen propulsion. Later, he professionally devoted himself to the topics of the integration of hydrogen technologies in renewable energy systems and the preparation of laboratory infrastructure for further applied research. His professional profile is primarily a practical electrical engineer, trendsetter and manager in the field of processes and technologies of current energy transformation.

He currently works as the representative of the Moravian-Silesian Region for the development of hydrogen technologies and at the same time the chairman of the board of the newly established Moravian-Silesian Hydrogen Cluster. He is involved in many development areas of the Hydrogen Valley concept of the region. He is fully convinced that with the unwavering support of all the hydrogen plans formulated so far in the Moravian-Silesian Region, our region will stand up to the competition of European hydrogen regions - the other “Hydrogen Valleys” and will maintain its primacy in the Czech Republic in the set pace of adoption of hydrogen technologies not only in the already designed specific applications , but also in the creation of completely new business opportunities in progressive energy with the necessary contribution of direct European funds for the complex transformation activities planned for our post-coal region.

Karel Novák manage the global products platform and product development for Iveco BUS. He has started his professional career onboard overseas cruiseships. Joined Iveco Group since 2004 in Vysoké Mýto plant. Over the years, Karel has previously led the Bus Strategy and Portfolio, earlier covered different managerial roles in purchasing and R/D in various industries of bus, truck and powertrain. He has spent 8 years by working in France, Italy, and China for the company. He is graduated from Faculty of Transport at University of Pardubice.

Ondrej has extensive international experience in the Power & Gas sector, which is mainly centered around the TSO & DSO infrastructure verticals. As part of his career, Ondrej worked for utilities in 20 countries around the world – mostly during his 9-year engagement with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which he left as Jr. Partner. Ondrej currently supports NET4GAS by leading its Hydrogen Readiness Programme, which focuses on strategic, technical, as well as change management aspects. Ondrej holds master’s degrees from Norway and Czechia, incl. shorter study stays in Germany, France, and Austria.

Katarína Sasaráková Works a project manager at the Košice Self-governing region, Slovakia. Her primary focus lies in on the development of hydrogen technologies within the Košice region and building a sustainable hydrogen valley. Her work is aimed at launching regional hydrogen mobility as well as the related infrastructure and together with partners to build the production of green hydrogen in order to create first Hydrogen valley in Slovakia.

Dr. Sasaráková holds a PhD degree from the Department of Physical Chemistry at the University of Pavel Jozef Šafárik in Košice, with her dissertation centered on hydrogen production.

Maroš Šefčovič currently serves as Executive Vice President of the European Commission for the European Green Deal, Interinstitutional Relations, and Foresight. This follows his previous terms as Vice President of the Commission: for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight (2019–2023), the Energy Union (2014–2019), Interinstitutional Relations and Administration (2009–2014), and as EU Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture, and Youth (2009–2010).

He is also responsible for EU relations with Western non-EU countries, notably Andorra, Iceland, Monaco, Norway, Lichtenstein, San Marino, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. He initiated and leads the European Battery Alliance to help create an innovative, sustainable, and globally competitive battery sector in the EU. To strengthen energy security, he leads the work of the EU Energy Platform for joint gas purchasing.

Overall, European affairs have been at the center of the Executive Vice President’s career for more than two decades. During 2004 and 2009, he served as Permanent Representative of Slovakia to the European Union, steering the country’s integration in the EU and particularly instrumental to its entry to the single-currency Euro area and the free-travel Schengen area. As a diplomat by profession, he served between 1992 and 2004 in Zimbabwe and Canada, and as Ambassador of Slovakia to Israel.

Mr. Alok Sharma possesses decades of uninterrupted experience in the downstream energy sector. A Chemical Engineering alumnus of IIT-Delhi, he has made significant contributions to the Indian refining sector in Process, Projects, and Production. During his initial tenure at Gujarat Refinery, Mr. Sharma played a pivotal role in establishing India’s First Hydrocracker Unit from 1994–97. Subsequently, he catapulted setting up the Hydroprocessing lab and Resid Block at IndianOil R&D.

In his illustrious career, Mr. Alok Sharma has been a driving force in attempting the new solutions and the development of Food Grade Hexane Technology alogwith the co-processing of vegetable oils in Indian refinery have been a few earlier technological breakthroughs associated with him. With a visionary approach to catalyze IndianOil’s ambitions in Alternative Energy, he spearheaded research and development endeavors in hydrogen, gasification, solar, CO2 capture, and energy storage technologies. Noteworthy achievements include the successful development of compact reforming HCNG technology, nation’s first HCNG trials in Delhi, fuel cell and green hydrogen initiatives at IndianOil R&D and critical contributions in 3G ethanol technology.

During his tenure at IndianOil R&D, Mr. Sharma assumed leadership of the IP cell, significantly enhancing the organization's intellectual property wealth. The IP cell of IOC R&D, under his guidance, received the prestigious Clarivate Top Innovation Award in 2020 and 2021. Leveraging his multi-disciplinary expertise, Mr. Sharma played a crucial role in conceptualizing and planning the new R&D campus of IndianOil R&D.

As a distinguished career scientist, Mr. Sharma has garnered numerous accolades, including the ICMA Award 2002 and the World Petroleum Congress Excellence Award 2008 for development of Indigenous Hydroprocessing Technologies. His achievements also include winning the prestigious FIPI Innovation Award and CHT Innovation Award in 2014 for the Commercialization of Co-Processing Non-Edible Oils in DHDT.

Recipient of the Endeavour’s Fellowship Award by the Government of Australia in 2009, Mr. Alok Sharma is a recognized expert in the energy sector. He actively participates in various national and international committees, advocating for alternative and renewable energy solutions. He is also a member of International Association of Hydrogen Energy (IAHE) and founder member of Hydrogen Association of India (HAI). In pursuit of his commitment to excellence, he furthered his expertise by guiding numerous startups and PhDs in this domain.

As Executive Director at CHT, Mr. Alok Sharma brings a wealth of experience across the entire energy spectrum in the country. He plays a pivotal role in coordinating refining, petrochemical, and alternative energy activities on behalf of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas. His leadership at CHT aligns with the changing landscape of energy transition, reflecting his commitment to steering the organization towards a sustainable and dynamic future.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Sterner is a member of the German National Hydrogen Council and an expert in the fields of energy storage, hydrogen and power-to-X, renewable energies and the energy industry. He heads the Research Center for Energy Networks and Energy Storage FENES at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, the Regensburg University of Applied Sciences. Before that, he held a senior position at the Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology in Kassel, where he was responsible for systems analysis and energy economics.

He is recognized as one of the most innovative German scientists at the present time thanks to his invention of Power-to-gas. Among a number of scientific publications, he wrote a German bestseller “How to Save the Climate” (published in 2022) that offers solutions to tackle the climate crisis. Prof. Sterner is also a member of the international federation Engineers Europe, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other energy industry committees.

photo by Florian Hammrich

Martin Tengler is BloombergNEF’s Head of Hydrogen Research. Before moving to Prague in January 2023, he spent eight years in Tokyo.

Prior to joining Bloomberg, Martin co-founded Dendra Systems, a company that helps restore nature using drones and other cutting-edge technology. He holds an MA in Economics from Tokyo University and an MSc in Global Governance and Diplomacy from Oxford University.

Karel Tichý is a professional consultant with extensive experience in areas such as regional development (topics of coal regions, just transition, restructuring activities, business development and innovation), public administration and preparation, implementation and evaluation of European funds projects. Between 2016 and 2020, he was part of the national team preparing and implementing the Strategy of Economic Restructuring of the Ústí, Moravian-Silesian and Karlovy Vary Regions (RE:START Strategy). Through his current position as project manager of the Economic and Social Council of the Ústí Region, he actively participates in the processes related to the preparation and implementation of the Just Transition Mechanism in the Czech Republic and in supporting activities to deepen the cooperation of coal regions in Central Europe in various areas. He also acts as a Developer of strategic projects in the field of hydrogen in the Ústí Region. He participates in the activities of the Hydrogen Platform of the Ústí Region and is a member of the working group for the support of the hydrogen ecosystem in structurally disadvantaged regions.

Marek Trešl graduated from the University of Economics Prague. After working at the Czech IT company Software 602 he made a move to the automotive sector in 2007. He worked as Brand manager for large passenger cars at Ford of Czech between 2007 and 2013. He was appointed as Product Manager at Hyundai Motor Czech in 2013. Since 2020, he has been working as Marketing and Product Director at Hyundai Motor Czech, covering Marketing Communications as well as Product and Pricing. He has been driving Hyundai EVs only since 2020.

Petr Třešňák has been working as Deputy of the Member of the Government, Josef Síkela, since January 2022. He focuses on energy policy and is involved in the update of the State Energy Policy. Since 2019, he has been a member of the Government's Standing Committee for the Nuclear New Build.

From 2017 to 2021, he was a Member of the Lower House, Chamber of Deputies, of the Czech Parliament, elected for the Karlovy Vary region. He served as Vice-Chairman of the Health Care Committee and was a member of the Defence Committee. He was also a member of the Subcommittee on Energy.

From 2014 to 2018 he was active in the municipal politics. He served in the local government as the Deputy Mayor, later on as the Mayor and since February 2018 as the Councillor of the town of Mariánské Lázně.

Before that, he worked at the Czech energy utility CEZ as an investment officer at the Temelín Nuclear Power Plant, and later as a specialist in the department of safety construction of nuclear new build. He participated in the creation of tender documentation and the follow up tender evaluation for the Units 3 and 4 of the Temelín Nuclear Power Plant, was involved in the EIA documentation, tender safety report and other licensing and permitting processes including the preparation of documents for the notification to the European Commission.

Education

Master's degree in history, University of Ghent

Post-graduate degree in social and military sciences, University of Edinburgh

Professional experience

1993–2000: secondary school teacher

since 2000: diplomat at the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs

2001–2002: Pretoria (political affairs, culture)

2002–2004: Addis Ababa (political and economic affairs)

2004–2009: NATO (terrorism, disarmament, peacekeeping, nuclear policy, public diplomacy, administrative and management affairs and headquarters policy)

2009–2011: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Personnel Department

2011–2013: San José (Deputy Head of Mission)

2013–2015: Panama (Chargé d'affaires)

2015–2017: Tirana (Head of the Belgian Diplomatic Office + Deputy Ambassador of the Netherlands)

2017–2018: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Crisis Centre

2018: Office of the Minister of National Defence (diplomatic adviser)

2019–2020: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate of Disarmament and Non-proliferation

2020–2023: Ambassador to the Republic of Mali

since August 2023: Ambassador to the Czech Republic

Military Service

1992–1993: lieutenant of infantry, Public Information Office

Roy van Son is a seasoned expert in hydrogen mobility, boasting extensive knowledge acquired through over 9 years of dedicated experience in the field. With a successful six-year tenure as a Hydrogen Business Development Manager at Air Liquide, the largest hydrogen molecule producer globally, Roy has honed his expertise in various aspects of the industry.

His background encompasses a comprehensive understanding of hydrogen production, supply chain intricacies, logistical challenges, hydrogen refueling technology, and high-pressure trailers. This multifaceted expertise enables Roy to transcend conventional perspectives, allowing him to envision the entire hydrogen ecosystem beyond individual refueling stations.

In his role at Resato Hydrogen Technology, Roy utilizes his expertise to offer strategic insights beyond the scope of individual hydrogen refueling stations. By considering the entire value chain, he guides partners in making informed decisions that align with their technological requirements and strategic objectives.

He’s an engineer in Electronics, and since 2011 working in the Hydrogen business. After 8 years of Hydrogenics and 2 years of Haskel, he moved to Exion Hydrogen in 2021, where he is appointed the “Sales & Marketing and Business Development Director”. Exion Hydrogen, a new experienced electrolyzer manufacturer, has an R&D and business development team in Belgium, and manufacturing, procurement, service & warehouse in Poland. Exion is also a member of WaterstofNET, a hydrogen association in the BeNeLux. In Prague, Guy is representing WaterstofNET and the Belgian/Flemish Hydrogen strategy.

Ján Weiterschütz has been involved with NVAS for 6 years, serving as its president for the last 3 years. With the support of the Executive Committee of NVAS, his primary goal is to accelerate the development of the hydrogen ecosystem in Slovakia and actively shape a favourable environment for implementing clean hydrogen technologies. He is committed to supporting the transfer of research and development results into practice, particularly in the form of manufacturing plants for hydrogen technologies. Weiterschütz is dedicated to connecting various stakeholders into partnerships essential for a sustainable hydrogen chain.

Annett Weß has an academic background is geosciences holding a Master of Science in Georesource Management where she specialized in sustainable energy and resource management involving topics such as regulatory aspects in developing a hydrogen market.

She then gained experience in the energy industry as a consultant and worked in projects related to process digitalization and automatized invoicing with means to contribute to the digital transformation. In January 2022 she joined the European Affairs team as Program Manager Hydrogen and is responsible for monitoring EU regulatory developments. In this context she advises the German Federal Government on hydrogen markets and the rollout of a European hydrogen refueling infrastructure. In addition, she is part of the German IPCEI Hydrogen coordination team that manages the mobility aspects.

After graduating from the TU Bergakademie Freiberg with a master‘s degree in materials engineering, Frederik Wewetzer initially worked for the still heavily ICE-oriented, German automotive supplier industry. In accordance with his academic background, he was responsible for materials and supplier development before being appointed to Business Development with focus on hydrogen and smart materials at the end of 2019. To be able to devote himself full-time to alternative drives and mobility concepts, Frederik Wewetzer moved to the National Organisation Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NOW GmbH) in April 2022 and was responsible for the Hydrogen Innovation and Technology Centre as well as R&D projects regarding alternative drives in rail transport within the framework of NIP II funding program. In October 2023, he joined HZwo e.V. as Technical Advisor for the Saxon Hydrogen Competence Centre.

Ing. Jaroslav Žlábek, MBA, manages Toyota Material Handling CZ s.r.o. as an executive and director since 2017. His long-term goal is to strengthen the company's position on the Czech market by offering state-of-the-art technologies, solutions in the field of telematics, safety and automation. He sees a clear priority in a modern approach to the market - in employee development, simplification and digitization of processes in the area of products and services (service, fleet management, rental). He emphasizes the supply of complex intralogistics solutions based on new technologies, high productivity and low operating costs. Progressive solutions, professionalism and a flexible customer approach combined with the reliability of handling and storage with Toyota handling technology have brought TMHCZ to the forefront of suppliers of advanced logistics solutions.