Speakers
MEP Jerzy Buzek – EPP, Poland, European Parliament
Member of the ITRE Committee, he was President of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2012. Between 1997 and 2001, he was the Prime Minister of Poland and a member of the Polish parliament. During his time as the Prime Minister of Poland, Poland joined Nato.
In the years 1971 and 1972, he researched at the University of Cambridge in Great Britain.
Buzek attended the grammar school in Chorzów and got his Matura there. After successful exams, he went to the Technical University of Silesia, where he studied chemistry and got a diploma in 1963. Buzek got Doctorates honoris causa from the University of Dortmund, the University of Seoul, the University of Isparta and also from the Technical Universities of Opole and Silesia.
During his studies and time spent in research, Buzek wrote about 200 patents and other papers.
Petr Binhack – Energy Attaché, Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the EU, Presidency of the Council
Petr Binhack is energy attaché at the Czech Permanent Representation to the EU, he held this position already between 2014 and 2019. Before joining the Czech Presidency team last year he was posted as a seconded national expert to the European Commission. Between 2011 and 2014 he worked in the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic where he was responsible for coordination of the EU energy, climate and environmental policies.
Petr Binhack holds a Ph.D. in International relations from the Charles University in Prague. In his lectures, research and publications he was focusing on internal energy market and external energy relations, mostly on post-Soviet area and the Middle East.
Boyana Achovski – Secretary General at GIE
Boyana Achovski is the Secretary-General of Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), a role she has held since September 2016. GIE is the European association of gas transmission, gas storage, and LNG regasification terminal operators. Boyana led the Analysis and International Operations Division in Bulgartransgaz, later joining GIE in 2012 as the first secondment of the Bulgarian gas infrastructure operator to the European association. She chaired the GasNaturally Steering Committee twice in 2017 and 2019. Boyana started her European affairs career in the European Parliament in Brussels. She has graduated in International Economic Affairs, specialised in International Finance, and holds a Master’s degree in Finance and in Management of International Associations from the Solvay Brussels School. Boyana has also obtained a certificate in Women’s Leadership from the University of Oxford and is involved in initiatives related to career development, women empowerment, and gender equality in the energy sector.
Piotr Kuś – General Director at ENTSOG
Before joining ENTSOG in January 2022 as ENTSOG General Director, Piotr Kuś held the position of Deputy Director in the Development Division at GAZ-SYSTEM S.A., since January 2017. His main areas of responsibilities included international cooperation, institutional relations, cooperation with EU institutions and international trade organisations.
Between 2019 and 2021, Piotr was GIE Board Member acting as a sponsor of the CH4 Area. Since 2016, Piotr was a member of the GTE Executive Committee to supervise activities of future sustainable solutions in the natural gas infrastructure. Prior to that, between 2008 and 2016, Piotr was Director of the Brussels Office of GAZ-SYSTEM, in charge of managing the company’s EU affairs.
Before joining GAZ-SYSTEM in 2008, he was employed by the Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG S.A.) and was seconded to its Representative Office in Brussels.
Piotr Kuś graduated from Warsaw School of Economics.
James Watson – Secretary General at Eurogas
Dr Watson is the Secretary General of Eurogas, a role he has held since January 2019. Eurogas is the association representing the European gas wholesale, retail and distribution sectors.
Prior to taking the helm at Eurogas, Dr Watson was the Chief Executive Officer of SolarPower Europe, the European solar industry association. Before joining SolarPower Europe, Dr Watson worked as the Director of Public Affairs for Weber Shandwick, specialising in energy and trade policy. Before coming to Brussels, Dr Watson worked for the Commonwealth Secretariat on a European Commission project on trade and sustainable development based in Ethiopia. Earlier in his career James worked for various UK government bodies in London and worked as a lecturer in Environmental Law at the University of Manchester.
He holds a Ph.D in International Trade and Environmental Law from the University of Leeds, and is currently a Visiting Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
Arno Büx – President of GLE
Arno Büx has been Chief Commercial Officer of Fluxys Group and Fluxys Belgium since autumn 2015. He oversees all commercial activities of Fluxys, both regulated and non-regulated as well as its business development in Europe. Arno Büx is Board Member of GIE and President of GLE, European Industry Association of LNG Terminal Operators. Arno Büx
holds degrees in Engineering and Business Administration. Before joining Fluxys, he has evolved within the ENGIE Group for 20 years, working in Belgium, France and Luxemburg but mostly contributing to the development of the Group’s energy activities in Germany.
Charles Jolliffe – VP Sales UK at Locusview
Charles Jolliffe is VP Sales UK at Locusview. He has 7+ years of experience working with UK industry leaders including National Grid, Cadent, SGN, ESB, Salesforce, and ClickSoftware; experienced in business development and engaging with corporate management at gas, electric, and water utilities.
MEP Nicolás González Casares – S&D, Spain, European Parliament
Born in A Coruña (Galicia-Spain) in 1972, he studied nursing at the University of Santiago de Compostela, working in 061 -Emergency service- and as a specialist teacher in life support.
In parallel, Gonzalez Casares has developed his political career at the local level, becoming first deputy mayor and councillor for Urbanism, Social Services, Health and Sport during the last legislature in Lalín, a village in the heart of Galicia.
After the elections to the European Parliament last May, he became an MEP for the PSOE. In the European Parliament, he is a member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy – where he is the spokesperson for the Spanish Socialist Delegation for Energy -, the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee and the Committee on Fisheries.
González Casares have been part of the European Parliament Delegation that participated in the 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25) last December. In this context, he was the Socialist rapporteur in ITRE for the European Parliament resolution on COP25. He’s also been appointed Socialist rapporteur in ITRE for the Climate Law.
Augustijn Van Haasteren – Senior Expert - Team Leader at DG ENER, European Commission
Augustijn van Haasteren is working for the European Commission. Since 2003, his assignments are related to energy market development. He currently works for the unit within DG Energy responsible for ‘Decarbonisation and Sustainability of Energy Sources’ where he is the team leader of the hydrogen team. This team is in charge of, for instance, the hydrogen aspects of the hydrogen and gas market decarbonisation package and the REPowerEU’s ‘hydrogen accelerator’.
Previously, he worked within DG Energy on internal energy market related issues and coordinated the legislative process for the electricity market design components of the Commission’s ‘Clean Energy for All Europeans’ package. He also dealt with energy related matters in the restructuring programme for Greece. Prior to his assignments in DG Energy, he worked in DG Competition where he enforced the antitrust and merger control rules, including in the IT, media and energy sectors.
Ralph Bahke – Hydrogen Area Sponsor at GIE & Managing Director at ONTRAS
Bahke, born 1964, studied Information Technology at the Technical University of Dresden. He joined VNG – Verbundnetz Gas AG in 1994 and became responsible for the planning of automation technology. In 2001 he changed to the Gas Transportation Department where he held various senior management positions.
Between January 2006 and November 2008, Bahke worked in senior management posts of the Network Marketing Department in the newly established transmission system operator ONTRAS. Since November 2008 he has been one of the two ONTRAS managing directors, responsible for the division controlling and development.
From December 2009 to December 2015 Bahke was board member of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG).
In 2011 Bahke was appointed member of the Energy Advisory Board of the German Free State of Saxony. Since December 2012 Bahke was Chairman of the board of “Vereinigung der Fernleitungsnetzbetreiber Gas e.V.”, the association of German Transmission System Operators for Gas. He gave up this position in 2020 and joined GIE (Gas Infrastructure Europe) board in January 2021.
Narcís de Carreras Roques – CEO of NEDGIA
Narcís de Carreras Roques is Chief Executive Officer of NEDGIA, S.A. since August 2020. He has worked
in the energy sector from the very start of his professional career, covering different positions in
industrial, banking, consulting and engineering companies at the international level, and residing for
several years in the United States and in Italy. He joined the Naturgy Group (former Gas Natural Fenosa) in 2006, and since then has held different management positions in several units of the company, with a focus in international corporate development. In 2013 he moved to México, first as Commercial Director for Latin America, and in 2015 was appointed Managing Director and Country Manager of Naturgy in México. In August 2020 he moves back to Spain to Nedgia.
He was appointed President of GD4S in February 2022, for a two-year period.
He is a graduate in Business Administration and has an MBA from the Escuela Superior de Administración y Dirección de Empresas (ESADE) of Barcelona.
Daria Nochevnik – Director for Policy and Partnerships at Hydrogen Council
Daria is an expert in climate and energy policy and regulation. Over the past decade she has worked with energy companies, industry associations, policymakers and consultancies helping them navigate the policy and regulatory landscape in Europe, as well as building and successfully implementing their advocacy strategies. Daria’s main focus areas have been the development of the enabling policy and legislative framework for hydrogen, carbon pricing and the design of the European wholesale energy markets.
Geert Meulenbelt – Export manager at DCbrain
Geert Meulenbelt is export manager for DCbrain, a Paris headquartered specialist in the design and optimization of digital network twins. With a 25-year long background in the software industry he is specifically focusing on business and partnership development within the European gas TSOs and DSOs.
Daniel Muthmann – Head of Corporate Development, Policy and Communication at OGE / European Hydrogen Backbone
Daniel Muthmann has been in the energy business since 1998. He has profound experience in the international gas and LNG business following various senior commercial roles along the natural gas value chain, including sales, trading, long-term supply, and LNG, working for Ruhrgas, BP and E.ON. In 2013 he founded his own advisory boutique global gas partners together with a small group of senior energy executives. In 2017 Daniel was appointed head of strategy, policy and communication at OGE. He set OGE’s direction with regard to hydrogen and decarbonization following an intensive strategy review process in 2018. Daniel is the Coordinator of the European Hydrogen Backbone. He is an industrial engineer by education. He is an industrial engineer by education.
Nicola Rega – Director of Energy at Cefic
Since February 2003 Nicola has been working in Brussels on EU-related policies for a wide range of stakeholders, including industry associations, the European Commission, NGOs, governmental institutes and consultancies. His main areas of expertise are energy and environmental policies.
In December 2020 he joined Cefic as the new Energy Director. His role is to represent the industry’s interests to European institutions, international organisations and relevant stakeholders.
Nicola has a master’s degree in law from the University of Turin, an advanced master’s in political and social European integration from Vrije Universiteit Brussel, and a master of laws in energy and environmental law from KU Leuven.
Jean-Marc Brimont – Head of EU Affairs and Head of Brussels office at GRTgaz
Engineer by training, Jean-Marc has a full 20-year career working in the energy business with focus on gas infrastructure. He started at GRTgaz at the Engineering department before becoming Key account manager at the Commercial Division, and then Head of Economy & Regulation Department at the Strategy and & Europe Division. In 2014, Jean-Marc was appointed by Engie to work at its Asian Pacific office in Jakarta (Indonesia) where he led gas related projects aiming to develop new opportunities within the region such as small-scale LNG, LNG terminals, transmission pipelines, and industrial parks. 3 years later, in 2017, Jean-Marc came back to GRTgaz with the specific task of opening its EU office in Brussels. He is currently heading GRTgaz’ EU affairs department.
Thilo von der Grün – Subject Manager Interoperability & Data Exchange at ENTSOG
Thilo studied petroleum engineering at the Technical University of Clausthal and business law at the University of Münster. After collecting some experience as a consultant for LNG terminals and as a project manager of a project of common interest (PCI), he worked for the business development department of GASCADE Gastransport GmbH.
At GASCADE he was responsible for the national network development plan as well as capacity modeling. In this context, he was involved in the planning of network expansion measures, the incremental capacity process, hydrogen readiness, and SoS related topics.
Thilo joined ENTSOG’s System Operation Business Area in August 2020.
Bart Jan Hoevers – President of ENTSOG
Bart Jan Hoevers studied Monetary Economics at the University of Groningen. He started his career at the Dutch National Bank (Nederlandsche Bank) specializing in sovereign risk and export credit insurance.
He then moved to the Ministry of Finance, where he worked in the field of state participations, managing the purchase and restructuring of state participations (TenneT, Port of Rotterdam and Gasunie).
In 2007, Bart Jan started working for Gasunie, where he had various functions in the field of regulation, business development and management of joint ventures. Since April 2015, Bart Jan was on the management team of GTS, as Manager Network Planning.
From 1 September 2017 Bart Jan Hoevers is a member of the Executive Board of Gasunie. Within the Executive Board, he is responsible for the focus areas Unit Operations and Projects.
Stefano Guglielmo – Head of Grid Management Central Services at Italgas
Stefano has been working in the energy sector for 10 years after graduating in Materials Engineering in 2011.
He gained technical expertise in the gas distribution sector at Italgas, covering operational and technical staff roles in different areas of Italy (2011-2015 Head of Monitoring and Technical Support, 2015 – 2017 Operation and Maintenance Center Manager, 2017 – 2018 Business Process Manager). This experience was followed by a passionate management experience in the Sicily area (2018 -2021 Operations Network Area Manager). Since 2021, he has been Head of Grid Management Central Services in Italgas Reti. He is currently in charge of managing odorization plant and controls, implementation and oversight of metering inspection activities, definition and development of LDAR programs and MRV of fugitive emissions.
Because of the introduction of innovative technologies (e.g. CRDS technology), he is responsible for defining reduction programs and pipeline replacement protocol developing smart maintenance tools which conformed to UNEP standards, and participate actively in OGMP.
Joachim Balke – Infrastructure & Regional Cooperation at DG ENER, European Commission
Since November 2019 Head of Unit for Infrastructure and regional cooperation in DG Energy. Held previous posts in the Commission in the Cabinets of Energy Commissioners Guenther Oettinger and Miguel Arias Cañete, as well as in the units dealing with Renewable Energy and Energy Taxation (DG TAXUD).
Previous experience working in the energy sector for a utility group, as well as in the European Parliament.
Holds a Masters Degree in European Studies from the College of Europe, Natolin.
Giulia Laura Cancian – Member of ENZA and Secretary General at EBA
Giulia Laura Cancian is the Secretary General at the European Biogas Association. Before joining the EBA in 2022, Giulia led Bioenergy Europe’s advocacy department. She gained experience in sustainability, traceability of raw materials and energy working with the biodiesel, non-ferrous metals and hydropower European trade associations in Brussels. Giulia holds a MA in International Relation from the University of Rome and a MSc in European Affairs from the Free University of Brussels.
Camille Bonenfant-Jeanneney – CEO of Storengy & GSE President
Camille Bonenfant-Jeanneney, an engineer and political science graduate, was previously Executive Director of CPCU (Compagnie Parisienne de Chauffage Urbain), a subsidiary of ENGIE Group. After spending three years at the head of France’s leading district heating network, which provides heat and hot water to 500,000 equivalent housing units, she began a new phase in her career with the ENGIE Group by taking over the management of Storengy, one of the world’s leading underground natural gas storage companies, a developer of geothermal energy solutions and a producer and storer of low-carbon energy.
Camille Bonenfant-Jeanneney began her training at Ecole Polytechnique (2000) and then followed a double degree at École Nationale des Ponts Chaussés and Institut d’études politiques – Sciences-Po. She began her career in European affairs, as a diplomat at the Permanent Representation of France to the European Union (2006-2012) on industrial and environmental issues and as an advisor to the cabinet of the Minister Delegate in charge of European Affairs (2012-2013). In 2013, she joined RATP as head of the Greater Paris mission and then Chief of staff to the Chairman and CEO (2014-2015).
In 2015, she joined the ENGIE Group, initially as Director of NewCorp within the General Secretary. In 2018, she took over the management of the Paris district heating company; as a director of Storengy since 2018, she got to know the company she is joining today.
Niko Bosnjak – Head of Policy & Communications at OGE
Niko Bosnjak holds a PhD in European Climate Change Law (2015). From 2012 he has been Legislative and Political Advisor for two Members of German Federal Parliament (Bundestag). From 2017 Energy Policy Manager, then from 2018 Head of Regulatory and Public Affairs at ONTRAS. Since 2021 he has been Head of Communications and Policy at OGE.
Thierry Lepercq – President of DH2 Energy
Thierry Lepercq is a serial entrepreneur in energy. He is the initiator of HyDeal Ambition, the world’s largest green hydrogen project aiming at delivering 3.6 million tons of green hydrogen at 1.5 €/kg by 2030, and the President of HyDeal España, a joint venture bringing together upstream (renewable energy), midstream (gas transmission) and downstream (steel, chemicals) industry players. He is the author of Hydrogen is the New Oil.
Thierry Lepercq was EVP Technology and Innovation at Engie from 2016 to 2018. From 2006 to 2016, he was the president of Solairedirect, a global pioneer of competitive solar power, which has developed and built 3 GW of capacity on four continents at prices as low as 20 $/MWh.
A graduate from HEC Paris, Thierry Lepercq started his career in technology financing.
Anne-Sophie Corbeau – GRIDTech 2022 Moderator & Global Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy
Anne-Sophie Corbeau is a Global Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Her research focuses on hydrogen and natural gas. Anne-Sophie has over 20 years of experience in the energy industry and is a recognized expert on natural gas. She is the author of many publications focusing on gas, LNG markets, Asia, China, India and Africa, including the book “LNG markets in transition: the great reconfiguration” (Oxford, 2016). She is also a member of the Gastech governing body.
Prior to joining the Center, Mrs. Corbeau was a senior Leader and head of gas analysis at BP, where she was responsible for advising the Leadership Team on gas market developments and long term pricing assumptions. As part of the Economic and Energy Insights team, she was leading the Energy Outlook’s analysis on gas, industry, nuclear and hydrogen. She also served as a member of BP France’s Comex (board). Before joining BP, she was a Research Fellow at KAPSARC (King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center) in Riyadh where she set up and expanded the natural gas program. She also worked for the International Energy Agency (IEA) where she was responsible for managing the research on global gas markets, and for IHS CERA.
She began her career as an engineer working on fuel cells and hydrogen at Peugeot and Debis Systemhaus. Anne-Sophie holds an MSc from the Ecole Centrale Paris and an MSc from the University of Stuttgart.