Speaker Biographies

Confirmed Speakers

Antonio Tricas Aizpún

Policy Officer, Unit for Clean Transport & Sustainable Urban Mobility, Directorate C, DG MOVE, European Commission

Antonio Tricas Aizpún is an official of the European Commission since July 1991. He currently holds a post of Administrator – Policy officer in the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport - Unit "Clean Transport & Sustainable Urban Mobility”. In this position he is a member of the team responsible for the EU policy on alternative fuels, in particular for biofuels, bio-methane, natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas.

He has also worked in the Directorate-General for Energy, Units "Coal & Oil" and “Nuclear”.

He holds a Master in Physics obtained at the University of Zaragoza and a Diploma in Nuclear Engineering obtained at the Complutense University of Madrid.

Greg Dolan

CEO, Methanol Institute

Greg Dolan has held a variety of senior management positions with the Methanol Institute over the past 19 years. In June 2014, he was appointed as permanent CEO of the global methanol industry trade association, after serving as Acting CEO for four years. Mr. Dolan manages MI’s offices in Washington, Singapore, Beijing and Brussels, while directing international governmental relations, media relations, public education and outreach efforts. He has presented papers on methanol-related topics at over 50 international conferences, authored magazine articles, and written book chapters on the methanol industry. Mr. Dolan came to MI after spending a decade in a variety of public information positions in New York State, including the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Department of Transportation, and the Energy Research and Development Authority. Mr. Dolan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Boston University, and did extensive post graduate work in Political Communication at the State University of New York-Albany.

Prof. G.K. Surya Prakash

Director, Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute, University of Southern California

Professor Surya Prakash holds a B.Sc (Hons) from Bangalore University and a M.Sc. from IIT, Madras and a Ph. D. from the University of Southern California (USC). He joined USC faculty in 1981 and is currently a Professor and Director holding the Olah Nobel Laureate Chair in Hydrocarbon Chemistry at the Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute. His research interests are in superacid, hydrocarbon, synthetic organic & organofluorine chemistry, with particular emphasis in the areas of energy and catalysis. He co-invented the direct oxidation methanol fuel cell.

He has trained more than 125 doctoral and post-doctoral scholars. He is prolific with more than 725 peer-reviewed publications holding ~ 50 patents. He has published 11 books. His awards include American Chemical Society (ACS) National Awards: 2004 Creative Work in Fluorine chemistry; 2006 George A. Olah Award in Hydrocarbon or Petroleum Chemistry and the 2006 Richard C. Tolman Award.

He received the 2007 Distinguished Alumni Award from IIT, Madras and the 2010 CRSI Medal from the Chemical Research Society of India. He was awarded (jointly with Olah) the inaugural 2013 $1 Million Eric and Sheila Samson Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation in Alternative Fuels for Transportation by Israel. He is a fellow of the AAAS, a Member of the European Academy of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences, Foreign Fellow of National Academy of Sciences, India and Fellow of the ACS. He also sits on several Editorial Boards. The book, “Beyond Oil and Gas: The Methanol Economy” (Wiley-VCH, 2006 and 2nd Edition, 2009, translated into four languages) co-authored with G. A. Olah and A. Goeppert is getting worldwide attention.

Bernd Kuepker

Policy Officer, Directorate C, Renewables and CCS policy, DG ENER, European Commission

Being an agricultural economist by profession Bernd Kuepker started his career as agricultural researcher dealing mostly with quantitative analyses and economic forecasting. After a year in the German Ministry of Finance where he among other things represented Germany in the Committee on the Agricultural Funds he joined the Commission services in 2008. The first three year he worked for DG Agriculture before he moved to DG Energy where he deals mainly with questions regarding sustainability of biofuels and use of renewable energy in the transport sector.

Dr. Rebecca Boudreaux

President, Oberon Fuels

Trained as a chemist, Rebecca Boudreaux, Ph.D. is an entrepreneurial, technology executive with a unique blend of technical skills and business development expertise. She has served on the management team or Board of Directors of various startup companies in the clean tech, life sciences, high tech, and non-profit sectors. Presently, she is President and Director of Oberon Fuels, a San Diego-based company making DME (dimethyl ether) as a cleaner, alternative to diesel. In her role at Oberon, Dr. Boudreaux leads the customer development and strategic partnering efforts with OEMs, feedstock suppliers, and trucking companies. Additionally, she oversees the regulatory processes for the use of DME as a fuel including EPA Renewable Fuel Standard compliance and ASTM specification development.

Dr. Boudreaux has a broad range of academic and industrial experience, having performed research at MIT, Princeton University, University of Southern Mississippi, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and National Starch and Chemical. She earned a B.S. in Polymer Science (magna cum laude, University of Southern Mississippi) and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering (University of Massachusetts). Dr. Boudreaux has co-authored six peer-reviewed publications and is a co-inventor on 12 patents and applications.

In addition, Dr. Boudreaux presently serves as a Board Member of UrbanPromise International, an organisation working in Malawi, Uganda, Honduras, Canada, and the US to develop emerging leaders who will break the poverty cycle for children in under-resourced, urban communities.

Ambassador Ulrik Federspiel

Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, Haldor Topsøe

Ulrik Federspiel joined Haldor Topsoe in 2009 as Vice President for Global Affairs and became Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer in 2012.

In 2013 he also joined the Board of Karnapuli Fertilizer Company (KAFCO) in Bangladesh. He is member of the Advisory Board of the President of the University of Copenhagen and of the University of Aarhus, school of Business and Social Sciences of which he in 2012 was appointed Honorary Alumni. Mr. Federspiel has been Chairman of the International DME Association’s European Affairs Committee since 2011, when he also became a member of the Bilderberg Steering Committee. He is a member of the Nordic Energy Group on Climate and Energy.

Before joining Haldor Topsoe Ambassador Federspiel held senior government positions for almost twenty years. He has twice as State Secretary been heading the Danish diplomatic services and Foreign Ministry (1991-93, 2005-09) and been Danish Ambassador to the United States of America for almost six years (2000-2005). Before that he was Danish Ambassador in Ireland. From 1993-97 he was heading the Danish Prime Ministers department as Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Queen in Council.

Upon retirement from government service in 2009 H.M. the Queen decorated him with the Grand Cross of the Order of Dannebrog. He holds Grand crosses from eleven other countries. He holds the rank of Ambassador for life.

Ambassador Federspiel is M.Sc. in political science from Aarhus University and M.A. in international relations from University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

Bengt Ramne

Founder, Managing Director, ScandiNAOS AB

Professor of the Practice, MSc Naval Architect, with a broad experience in ship design, ship building and marine transportation systems. As R&D manager for Kvaerner Ships Equipment (nowadays TTS Ships Equipment) Mr Bengt Ramne led the product development of cargo access equipment and the development of innovative automatic cargo handling systems for roro operation. Bengt was outfitting design manager during the start-up phase of Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard and has the recent years participated in a number of R&D projects both commercial and EU funded, focusing on the development of short sea shipping.

Toni Stojcevski

Project Manager, Methanol Adaption Project, Wärtsilä

Toni Stojcevski is a professional within the area of business development. He has been working in various positions in Wärtsilä for 15 years and gained a broad experience in the shipping and power plant industry within the field of medium speed combustion engines for propulsion and power generation. In 2013 Toni graduated from the Executive MBA on the University of Gothenburg, School of Business, Economics and Law. As part of other business development tasks Toni is currently responsible for the “Methanol adaptation project” comprising of new product development, application and its market strategy. Toni is also accountable for the methanol solution delivery and conversion of the four main engines onboard Stena Germanica which will be the first ship in the world operating on methanol as a fuel while leaving positive trace on the shipping industry and the society in whole.

Mike Nash

Global Business Director, Syngas Chemicals, IHS Chemical

Mr. Mike Nash is the Global Business Director for Syngas Chemicals, including the methanol and acetyls practices, within the IHS Chemical group. He works with a global team of regional consultants, based in China, the US and Europe, and ultimately overlays their analyses with a global perspective. His responsibilities include the weekly World Methanol Report and monthly World Methanol Analysis, as well as the weekly and monthly Global Acetyls Market Reports and the related World Analyses for Methanol, Acetyls and Formaldehyde. Before joining IHS Chemical in September 2012, Mr. Nash worked for BP's petrochemicals division for 19 years preceeding a two-year stint in Total's UK fuels business. He performed a variety of commercial roles within BP, in international business management, marketing, project management and logistics, based in London, Duesseldorf and Kuala Lumpur. His last role in Total UK was Logistics Director, Specialities. Mr. Nash holds a Master of Arts in English Language and Literature from Edinburgh University, UK, and a Master of Business Administration from Kingston University, UK.

Marie-Hélène Labrie

Senior Vice President, Government Affairs and Communications, Enerkem

Marie-Hélène Labrie joined Enerkem in May 2008. Prior to that, she worked in communications, business strategy, and market analysis as Director of Marketing and Strategic Planning at CAE, and as a consultant for numerous organizations, such as Oliver Wyman Delta Organization & Leadership and Desjardins Financial Security.

She is Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of Écotech Québec, a cleantech cluster, and she is a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association, the Conseil des entreprises en technologies environnementales du Québec, and the Mississippi Biomass and Renewable Energy Council. She represents the company at the Advanced Biofuels Business Council in Washington and the Canadian Cleantech Coalition in Ottawa.

Ms. Labrie began her career at the Government of Canada, in the Department of National Defense, and pursued it at Industry Canada and the Privy Council Office.

Marie-Hélène Labrie holds a Masters in International Business and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Université Laval in Québec.

Prof. Sebastian Verhelst

Associate Professor of Internal Combustion Engines, Ghent University

Prof. Dr. ir. Sebastian Verhelst obtained his PhD in Electromechanical Engineering in 2005, on the combustion of hydrogen in spark-ignition engines. During his PhD, he spent 6 months at Leeds University as an EC Marie Curie Fellow. In 2008 he became a part-time lecturer and since 2011 he is a full-time Associate Professor at Ghent University. In 2013, he was a guest lecturer at the University of Antwerp.

His research interests are primarily alternative fuels, including hydrogen, methanol, ethanol, straight vegetable oils, animal fats and biodiesel. He has authored over 50 papers in international journals, 5 book chapters and over 90 papers in the proceedings of international conferences. 5 PhD’s have been finished under his supervision, with 5 more PhD students currently in his team. He has been invited on several occasions, to submit topical review papers, deliver keynote speeches, organize tailored workshops etc.

Dr. Verhelst is president of the Belgian Society of Automotive Engineers (UBIA), and served as vice-chair of the Scientific&Technical Committee of the FISITA 2014 World Automotive Congress. He has been awarded with the VDK Prize for Sustainable Development 2005, the 2013 CIMAC President's award for the paper "The CRISTAL Engine: ABC's New Medium Speed Diesel Engine, Developed to Comply with IMO III" (co-authored with ir. Lieven Vervaeke and ir. Tim Berckmoes) and the 2014 SAE Forest R. McFarland Award.

Benedikt Stefansson

Director of Business Development, Carbon Recycling International (CRI)

Benedikt Stefansson is Director of Business Development for Carbon Recycling International (CRI), based in Reykjavik, Iceland. Benedikt served as Policy Advisor to the Icelandic Minister of Economic Affairs, as VP Sales and Marketing for deCODE genetics, Reykjavik, Iceland and Project Manager for Complex Adaptive Systems at HNC Software (now Fair Isaac) in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Benedikt holds a C.Phil degree in Economics from the University of California Los Angeles, and a BS degree in Economics from the University of Iceland, Reykjavik.

Christian Schweitzer

Managing Director, bse Engineering Leipzig GmbH

Christian Schweitzer, Managing Director, bse Engineering Leipzig GmbH. Christian Schweitzer was born in July 1964 in Aachen. There he completed his engineering studies at the Fachhochschule Aachen. He also received his Bachelor of Business Administration in 1999 from the St. Gallen Management Institute, Switzerland. Since 1995, Mr. Schweitzer is managing director of bse Engineering Leipzig GmbH. The bse Engineering GmbH Leipzig works across whole Europe and is an independent, consultative and customer-oriented engineering company in the field of liquid and solid biomass.

With the successful establishment of the bioethanol plant in Zeitz in Germany in 2005 he joined the biofuel industry. Since that time Mr. Schweitzer has supported and implemented many bioenergy projects throughout Europe.

Furthermore, Mr. Schweitzer released different articles about BioEthanol, sugar mills and (sustainable) utilization of biomass as well as held presentations on these topics at International Bio-Energy conferences.

At the moment Mr. Schweitzer develops the technical and economic integration of the chemical Energy storage of Methanol in the Ethanol Industry.

Kim Tanneberger

Lead Specialist, Strategic Research and Technology Policy Group, Lloyds Register

Kim Tanneberger is a Chartered Engineer. She has a Degree in Chemical Engineering. Kim joined Lloyd’s Register Strategic Research and Technology Policy Group in 2008.

She is a certified Laboratory Technician and has worked in water and metallic material analysis. As a student she built and operated a surface water CO2 analyser for the University of East Anglia and was part of the first successful iron fertilisation experiment in the Southern Ocean (SOIREE). She has also worked in pharmaceutical process development (separation processes) and in the automotive materials sector (trim shop adhesives), before applying herself in the maintenance of engineering systems on oceanographic research vessels at the UK National Oceanography Centre for five years. Here she held various responsibilities. She was responsible for the readiness and safety of equipment for research cruises. On board ship it was her responsibility to operate machinery and instrumentation throughout. She also worked on the development of a system of processes for our company organisation and she consulted on the commissioning of the winch system for RRS James Cook. She was promoted to Deputy Head Platform Systems.

As Lead Specialist she works on sustainability related emerging technologies she contributes to two current EU projects and is and particularly interested in alternative fuels, where she has worked on projects related to alternative fuels, e.g. to run a marine auxiliary engine on biodiesel. Specifically on the subject of Methanol she has contributed to SPIRETH project and acted during this and the Germanica Project as a HAZID scribe. She is currently contributing to the METHASHIP Project.

Prof. Jamie Turner

Engines and Energy Systems, University of Bath

Jamie Turner is Professor of Engines and Energy Systems and is a member of the Powertrain and Vehicle Research Centre.

He studied Mechanical Engineering at City University London and later did his PhD at Loughborough University while at Lotus Engineering. On obtaining his MEng he worked for Norton Motorcycles on Wankel rotary engines, then completed a first stint at Lotus including research on 2-stroke engines, then Cosworth Engineering in F1 and IndyCar racing, the latter triggering a life-long interest in alcohol fuels.

He then returned to Lotus, where over 21 years there culminated in 10 years leading the Powertrain Research Group. As well as being a specialist in pressure-charged engines, he investigated many novel concepts during this period, including variable compression ratio 2-stroke engines, Brayton cycle engines, gas turbine/fuel cell hybrids and decarbonised fuel synthesis and blending.

Latterly he spent two years leading spark-ignition engine research at Jaguar Land Rover, during which time he was also a Visiting Professor at the University of Bath, before moving to join the University full time in January 2015.

David Banitt

CEO, NewCO2fuels Ltd. (NCF)

Mr. Banitt has 30 years’ experience in product development, marketing, and senior management in the high tech industry, including multidisciplinary systems, electro-optics, and energy products. He holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Tel Aviv University, Israel.

Dr. Uwe Flessner

Director Methanol & Hydrogen, Clariant

Uwe Flessner joined Clariant in 2012 as regional head of the Industry Group Refinery in EMEA. In 2013 he was appointed to run the global business of Methanol and Hydrogen catalysts of the Business Segment Syngas of Clariant.

Prior to that he worked with Süd-Chemie AG a leading supplier of catalysts and absorbents, where he held leading management positions in R&D, production and sales in the field of catalysis and absorbents.

Uwe Flessner received his Ph.D. in organometallic chemistry from the Technical University of Munich in 1992 and has more than 25 years of experience in research, production, technical service, project management and sales.

Prof. Karin Andersson

Maritime Environment and Energy Systems, Department of Shipping and Marine Technology, Chalmers University of Technology

Karin Andersson is professor in the division of Maritime Environment and Energy Systems. Her academic background is in Chemical Engineering (M Sc), Nuclear Chemistry (Ph D) and Environmental Systems Analysis. She also spent one year of studies in Archaeology. After working as a consultant in environmental systems analysis for seven years, she was one of the two founders of the research group for Environmental Systems Analysis at the department for Civil and Environmental Engineering at Chalmers in 1990 together with Torbjörn Svensson. The group has been active in developing and teaching environmental/sustainable development courses within different Master of Engineering programs at Chalmers and were a driving force in the development of research within Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in Sweden. This led to the start of a national competence centre, CPM with participation of more than 10 large Swedish companies. Karin is employed at the department of Shipping and Marine Technology since 2009. Her present research interests focuses on decision support relating to environmental impact and resource use caused by technical systems in shipping using Environmental Systems Analysis tools like life cycle assessment (LCA). Examples of present research projects are “future marine fuels from a life cycle perspective” and “marine energy systems modelling”. The research is connected to the maritime competence centre Lighthouse.

Mads Friis Jensen

Commercial Group Manager, SerEnergy

Mads Friis Jensen is Commercial Manager of SerEnergy A/S and has been working in the fuel cell industry for more than a decade with various technologies and applications.

Since 2011 he has been focused on Methanol fuel cells and helped grow SerEnergy A/S to a leading technology and solutions provider within the Methanol fuel cell industry. Besides ensuring susses in the near term commercial markets for stationary power, Mr Jensen has also been responsible for the creation of the first Methanol Refuelling station in Europe and accompanying Methanol fuel cell vehicles.

Mads Friis Jensen holds a MSc in Engineering from Aarhus University and has been upgraded at INSEAD within Strategy, innovation and Management.

Eelco Dekker

Chief Representative Europe, Methanol Institute

Eelco Dekker joined the Methanol Institute (MI) as Chief Representative Europe in October 2014. Having worked as Chief Marketing Officer for BioMCN for the past seven years, Eelco brings extensive knowledge to MI about the European arena with regard to fuel blending, energy applications and regulatory affairs. Eelco primarily supports MI in the fields of gasoline blending and marine fuels, as well as exploring further possibilities to broaden the use of methanol in traditional diesel segments. Prior to working for BioMCN, Eelco has held several marketing and commercial roles at international chemical companies like DSM and Ciba Specialty Chemicals (now BASF) for more than 10 years.

François Bollon

Director, FRMB Consulting

François Bollon has worked for years as a consultant for industry entities such Total Gas & Power and the International DME Association. Beginning in 2005 he worked as DME Project Manager for Totalgaz. Prior to that Mr. Bollon managed a number of subsidiaries of Elf and Total in France and China involved in various fields, including LPG, dense-loading of catalysts, and lubricants.

François is a graduate of the Ecole des Mines de Paris and the French Petroleum Institute.

Eyal Erlich

CEO, DME - Fuel of the Future Ltd.

Eyal Erlich (57) is an Israeli businessman and Entrepreneur.
He graduated the law faculty of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on 1985, and is now married with four children.

During the 1980’s Erlich became a well-known journalist in Israel, and worked for leading Israeli newspapers. In 1992 Erlich left journalism and became an active businessman. In his first few years as a businessman he focused on the food area, mainly as an importer and trader. At that time he also established his first project as an entrepreneur – a big fish farm in the red sea.

More recently, Erlich decided to focus on the Energy sector. In 2012 he joined forces with Hezy Ram and together they established DME - Fuel of the future Ltd. The company is planning to establish a 50,000 TPY DME plant in Israel, and a 300,000 TPY DME plant in Russia.

Rafi Sela

CEO, AR Challenges, Ltd.

Rafi Sela is CEO of AR Challenges, Ltd. (Israel), AR Challenges Ltd (UK) and AR Challenges (USA), Inc. He is also founder and first President of the ILHSIA – Israeli Homeland Security Industries Association and Co Chairman of the Airport Security Task force at HSIA – Homeland Security Industries Association (USA).

Mr Sela was born in Israel in 1947 and served in the Israeli Defense Forces for 20 years as a senior ordnance officer. He was in the first team that designed and manufactured the Merkava tank and other unique products and equipment for the special operation forces. (Including the design and manufacture of special equipment for the Entebbe rescue mission).

Mr Sela has a B.Sc. ME from the Technion – Israeli Institute of Technology and MBA from the University of Washington (Seattle). Extensive Defense, Homeland Security, Renewable Energy, Business Development, Technologies and training experience in the USA and Europe for over 40 years. He has held various upper management positions in Israeli and at multi-national companies in the high tech, Manufacturing and security arenas.

Mr Sela currently serves as the CEO of the AR-EIL JV (USA) which provides turnkey management for Renewable Energy and WTE projects around the world.

Jim Abbott

Strategic R&D Engineer, Process Technologies, Johnson Matthey Plc

Jim Abbott is a Strategic R&D Engineer with the Syngas group in Johnson Matthey’s Process Technologies Division. He graduated from Cambridge University in 1979 with an MA in Chemical Engineering and has worked for ICI and Johnson Matthey since then.

In 1989 he joined the Methanol process team and worked on the development and demonstration of JM’s LCM technology. Since then he has worked mainly in the Syngas, Refinery and Gas Processing businesses of ICI and Johnson Matthey. Much of this time has been spent in process development of reforming, gas purification and conditioning, and syngas conversion to products’ technologies and he has more than 20 patents to his name.

His current role is to identify and develop new products across JM’s Process Technologies Division.

John Bøgild Hansen

Senior Advisor, Haldor Topsøe A/S

John Bøgild Hansen is Senior Advisor to Management in the Company Management of Haldor Topsøe A/S. He graduated with a MSc in Chemical Engineering from DTU in 1975 and has been employed by Haldor Topsøe since then.

In 1979 he joined the Research & Development Division where he was Department manager from 1984. In 2000 he became Advisor to the chairman and founder, Dr. Haldor Topsøe

John Bøgild Hansen holds 24 patents and has made more than 60 publications. He has presented more than 30 invited key note lecturers on synthetic fuel production, fuel cells, solid oxide electrolysis and fuels from biomass production.

Youseff Travaly

Project Coordinator, SCOT

Youssef Travaly holds a PhD in Materials Science together with a MBA. He has 15+ year work experience in managing highly complex, national, regional and transcontinental projects of strategic importance, with multiple stakeholders in a variety of sectors. He was for many years the chair/member of international scientific committees and has authored/co-authored 100+ journal and conference papers. He is currently coordinating, on behalf of GreenWin, the Smart CO2 Transformation (SCOT) project, a collaborative European project focused on accelerating the market development of carbon dioxide utilization.

Ingvar Landälv

Senior Project Leader, Energy Engineering, Luleå University of Technology

Ingvar Landälv has more than 35 year of experience in process R&D, design, engineering, construction and operation of gasification process plants based on oil, coal and biomass feedstock. 1997 to 2012 he served as the Chief Technology Officer at Chemrec, engaged full time in the development and commercialization of the company’s black liquor gasification technology. Since 2013 he is working for Luleå University of Technology (LTU) as one of the key individuals in the LTU Biosyngas R&D Program. In this capacity he also continues his engagement with the development of Chemrec’s gasification technology.

In 2005 he was involved in the formation of the European Biofuels Technology Platform in which he currently serves as vice chair. He also participates in other biofuels related groups within EU such as the newly formed Sustainable Transport Forum.

Ingvar holds a number of patents in the area of energy integration in gasification based processes, and has an MSc in physics and chemistry.

Marc de Jong

Principal, FIA WRC Academy

Marc de Jong has been part of the promotional team behind the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) for the past 15 seasons. At WRC Promoter GmbH, Marc is responsible for the commercial relationships with the automotive sector – including OEMs and leading suppliers. Among specific projects managed by Marc are the development of young drivers categories and regulations.

Marc has extensive international experience in the car industry, motorsports and broadcasting. He has worked at the highest levels in touring cars, world rally, GT & sports car racing in projects with major brands and automotive suppliers. Between 2004 and 2010, Marc was part of Energy Efficient Motorsport - a UK government-funded think-tank focussed on promoting the use of sustainable technologies in motorsport. He has competed as an international rally co-driver, most recently in the five-day electric vehicle challenge through the Alps.

The World Rally Championship is the FIA’s premium rally series. WRC showcases authentic motorsport, high performance cars and the world’s best drivers competing in dramatic surroundings ranging from the ice and snow of Scandinavia to the stifling heat of Sardinia. Established in its current format in 1973, WRC participants battle for the drivers’ and manufacturers’ world titles at rallies spanning 13 countries and four continents. More information can be found at www.wrc.com and www.wrcplus.com. WRC Promoter GmbH i is responsible for all commercial aspects of the FIA World Rally Championship, including broadcast formats, TV production and the marketing of global media and sponsorship rights. The Promoter also has responsibility to increase the field of participants and to propose the venues that form the FIA WRC calendar.

Bo Gleerup

CEO and Co-Founder, Nordic Green

Mr. Gleerup serves as the CEO and is co-founder of Nordic green.

He has more than 15 years of experience with sales and distribution of different raw materials and ingredients for the food, feed and pharmaceutical industries.

He is furthermore the owner and Chief Executive Officer of the agency- and distribution company Johannes Eriksen. He is also a board member and business advisor for several companies.

BSc Business Administration, 41.

Per Stefenson

MSc Naval Architect, Marine Standards Advisor, Stena Teknik

Per Stefenson graduated at CTH in Gothenburg, Sweden as Naval Architect, M.Sc., in 1981. He works as Marine Standards Advisor at Stena Rederi AB since 2009 with the task to follow standards and regulations development within international organizations such as IMO and EU. He is also coordinating the company´s RTD projects including the efforts to test Methanol and other alternative fuels due to the new sulphur regulations. Per has previous experience as project manager from SSPA (maritime consultants) and the Swedish Maritime Administration where he was Head of Research and Technical Development. Per has also served as Marine Engineer in the Royal Swedish Navy, specialized in naval craft light weight design.

Adam Chase

Director, E4tech

Adam Chase leads our work on energy policy, strategy and finance and has degrees in Economics, Engineering, Energy & Environmental Technology. Adam has been a Director of E4tech since joining in 2000 and he has played a role in most of the projects which E4tech has undertaken through its London office. His project work often relates to corporate or national strategy and involves an understanding of how energy systems operate, rather than technologies in isolation. Adam’s particular interest is low carbon innovation in the energy and automotive sectors. He also has operational responsibility for the London office.

Adam was previously a manager with the global management consulting firm A.T.Kearney, where he took part in and led teams engaged in a wide range of strategic and operational projects across the international energy and chemicals sectors. Prior to this, Adam worked for seven years in the upstream and downstream oil and gas industry and also spent time as a journalist with the Financial Times organisation, focusing on energy, environment and automotive issues. He speaks English and French.

Expertise:
Strategy and operations consulting, project management, market assessment, business growth, oil and gas industry, automotive industry, energy technology, hydrogen energy systems.

Paul Wuebben

Senior Director, Renewable Fuels, Carbon Recycling International (CRI)

Paul Wuebben is the Senior Director for Renewable Fuels for Carbon Recycling International, responsible for downstream strategic planning and market acceptance of renewable methanol by transportation and energy storage end users, auto and engine manufacturers, and regulatory officials. He plays a central role in the company’s growth, investment partnerships, end use technology optimization and future expanded large scale production of renewable methanol from recycled CO2. Mr. Wuebben began his career as an EPA Fellow at the Harvard University School of Public Health. Subsequently, he had a three-decade long career at South Coast Air Quality Management District, serving as the Head of Mobile Source Control Planning, and as the Clean Fuels Program Manager, where he oversaw the nation’s 1st multi-million dollar alternative fuels research, development, and demonstration program. In that capacity he administered over $35 million in cost-shared RD+D projects covering the full range of alternative fuels and vehicle segments, including the world’s first fleet demonstrations of alcohol flexible fuel vehicles, plug-in electric drive hybrids, LNG trucks and H2 fuel cell buses. Mr. Wuebben was a founding member of the California Three Agency Methanol Task Force, as well as the Chairman of the California Electric Vehicle Task Force. From 1993 until 2011, Mr. Wuebben served as the agency’s Clean Fuels Officer, where he oversaw all aspects of regulatory and legislative policy formation, including regulations governing the refining and distribution of gasoline and diesel fuels.

Jan Arnell

Manager DME, Volvo Group Trucks Technology

Jan Arnell graduated from Chalmers Technical University in 1984 with a M SC degree in Mechanical Engineering. He worked 4 years at the faculty of Internal combustion engines before joining the Volvo group. Through the years he has worked with different technical projects, mostly for advanced heavy duty diesel engines. After 2008 he has mainly worked with alternative fuels. He is situated in Goteborg Sweden at Volvo Group Trucks Technology. Jan is inventor and co-inventor on patents for engine systems and component design.

Michel Hamrouni

Manager Market Development & Regulatory Affairs, Methanex

Within Methanex Michel is responsible for commercializing methanol energy applications in Europe, Central Asia and Middle East. Working with the global Methanex team, he also has global responsibility for coordinating and executing Methanex’s renewable methanol strategy
Michel holds an MSc and an MBA from Solvay Business School. He has spent the last 16 years of his professional career working in global product and business development roles, most recently as Product Development Leader with Thermo King.