Speakers
MEP Radan Kanev, Member of the EMPL Committee, ENVI Rapporteur on Industrial Emissions Directive
Radan Kanev is a Bulgarian politician and Member of the European Parliament with the EPP Group. He entered the political arena as a notable political blogger in 2004, emphasizing media freedom, transparency, and alternative means of public communication.
Throughout his political career, Kanev held key positions such as the chairman of the Democrats for Strong Bulgaria and co-chair of the Parliamentary group of the Reformist Bloc coalition in the National Assembly of Bulgaria. Within the European Parliament, he is actively involved in various committees, including Environment Public Health and Food Safety, Petitions and Employment and Social Affairs, where he serves as a member.
Kanev has established himself as a leading figure in the industrial and energy sectors, working actively on the Fit for 55 package. He serves as the rapporteur for the Industrial Emissions Directive within the ENVI Committee. This role underscores his dedication to addressing critical issues related to industrial emissions and energy sustainability in Europe. Radan Kanev’s work in these areas reflects his commitment to improve industrial policies while preserving the competitiveness of European industry and ensuring it isn’t burdened with excessive administrative hurdles.
Tom Howes – Advisor to the Director, Green Transition and Market regulation, DG ENER, European Commission
Tom Howes is Advisor to the Director on the green energy transition and energy market regulation, in the energy department of the European Commission. Previously, he headed the Energy and Environment Division at the International Energy Agency, and has worked on renewable energy legislation, market and grid integration issues, energy modelling, and energy finance for the European Commission and worked for the UK and Australian governments.
Johannes Bruun - ENTSO-E Board Member & Director for Electricity Markets, Energinet
Johannes Bruun is a board member of ENTSO-E, the European Network of Transmission System Operator for Electricity, and director for electricity markets at Energinet, the Danish TSO for electricity and gas. He has worked for 18 years with Energinet in various positions covering legal, gasmarket, interconnectors, electricity market coupling, capacity calculation, institutional matters and unbundling. He has been part of ENTSO-E work since the very establishment of ENTSO-E covering legal, marked, policy & communication task as well as European governance and institutional matters.
Johannes Bruun holds a law degree from University of Copenhagen and a Master in Environmental & Energy Law. He has been teaching Constitutional Law at University of Copenhagen and Energy Market Regulation at University of Southern Denmark.
Daniel Fraile - Chief Policy Officer, Hydrogen Europe
Daniel Fraile is Chief Policy Officer at Hydrogen Europe where he leads the policy work of the association. He has 18 years of experience on energy policy, renewables energy technologies and international cooperation. He is an engineer with a masters on telecommunications and a Masters in renewable energy. Today, he is leading the Hydrogen Europe policy work, leading a team of analysts and policy specialists. Before, Daniel had been Director of Market Intelligence at WindEurope, where he worked for 7 years leading the market research and leading several policy topics such as system integration and hydrogen. Previously, Daniel has worked on strategic management consulting in the Power to gas sector, has worked for the European photovoltaic industry association, for the environmental NGO CAN-Europe and for the Spanish utility Iberdrola.
Peter Vermaat - Secretary General, EU DSO Entity
Peter Vermaat started out his carrier at VolkerWessels, the No. 2 Dutch construction company, in 1991. After having taken up different senior and international management positions, mainly in infrastructure, he became CEO of Evides Watercompany in Rotterdam (The Netherlands) and subsequently moved to Enexis Group in 2014 to become CEO of this leading Dutch distribution system operator (DSO).
In September 2021 he started as Secretary General of the newly established EU DSO Entity, Brussels-based organisation. Mandated by EU regulation, DSO Entity unites over 900 European DSOs to provide technical and regulatory advice on energy transition to the European Commission.
Throughout his international career, Peter has taken a particular interest in organizational development, public-private partnerships, sustainability, and in energy transition.
Peter holds a MSc in Civil Engineering from the Technical University of Delft and an MBA from the Rotterdam Erasmus University.
Thilo von der Grün - Director of System Development, ENTSOG
Thilo studied petroleum engineering at the Technical University of Clausthal, business law at the University of Münster, and international association management at the Solvay Business School in Brussels.
Thilo is seconded by GASCADE and joined ENTSOG in 2020. Until 2022, he was leading the interoperablity team in the System Operation Business Area. Thilo is now Director of the System Development Business Area.
Renato Winkler – Senior Director, Business Development at Picarro
Dr. Renato Winkler holds the position of the Senior Director of Business Development at Picarro Europe. In this role, he has supported gas distributors in implementing the Picarro solutions for methane emissions quantifications and leading the path towards net zero.
Dr. Winkler is also involved in further developing Picarro’s products for the natural gas industry, providing methods and solutions to respond to new methane regulations and emissions reporting standards, such as OGMP 2.0
He obtained his of Master of Science in physics from the university of Berne, and a PhD in climate physics from the university of Versailles.
Tania Meixus, Senior Advisor, OGMP 2.0 UN Environment Programme
Tania Meixus is a Senior Advisor in the OGMP 2.0 team, with 15 years of experience in the gas business in different departments of Enagás, involved in international organisations, environmental regulatory development & policy analysis, as well as coordinating environmental projects.
During the last years, Tania has been focused on the management, quantification, and abatement of methane emissions. Tania was chairwoman of the methane emissions group in Gas Infrastructure Europe and coordinated the OGMP 2.0 mirror group of the gas mid/downstream segments. She was also deeply involved in other associations and initiatives as the European Gas Research Group (GERG), MARCOGAZ, the Methane Guiding Principles and the International Gas Union (IGU).
University education in Environmental Chemical Engineering. Master in risk management: Health and Safety in the workplace. Master in Energy Business Management. Management Development Program (PDD at the IESE Business School).
Flavia Sollazzo – Senior Director, EU Energy
Transition at Environmental Defense Fund Europe
Flavia leads the EU Energy Transition agenda, shaping the Environmental Defense Fund’s EU engagement to secure full energy transition and associated emission reductions at both EU and member state levels. She leads the methane campaign and works on growing the Environmental Defense Fund Europe’s work on other energy transition opportunities, such as the EU hydrogen agenda.
Flavia’s experience spans from leading teams to conducting negotiations at the EU and UN level and managing portfolios of partnerships in development and transition countries, including in China, Africa and the Middle East. Her expertise spans across the European energy, environment and climate agenda and she has a deep understanding of how to effectively join forces with the multiple actors in the EU co-legislative process (i.e. European Commission, European Parliament and EU countries).
She has worked for the Italian government on a range of EU- and international environment and climate dossiers in Rome and Brussels. In the latter role, she led the international work of the environment and climate team at Italy’s permanent representation to the EU. After leaving the Italian government, she led the office of a Member of the European Parliament, the environment cluster of a consultancy providing strategic advice about the impacts of EU policies, working with experts from academia, business and the public sector and drove the sustainability agenda of a Tech-Trade Association shaped around the efficient use of resources.
Flavia’s mother tongues are German and Italian. She is also fluent in English, Spanish and French.
Luis Ignacio Parada – EU Energy Policy & Regulation Director at Enagás
Luis Ignacio Parada is EU Energy Policy & Regulation Director at Enagás, the main gas transmission, LNG and gas storage operator in Spain. He has 25 years of experience in the energy sector, where he has specialised in energy economics, gas and hydrogen sector regulation and energy policy.
Before joining Enagás, Luis started his career in 1998 at Gas Natural, and worked in NERA Economic Consulting from 2001 to 2004.
Since May 2023 he serves as Board member in ENTSOG, in GIE (Gas Infrastructure Europe) and as Executive Committee in GLE (Gas LNG Europe). He is also engaged as Board member in EASEE-gas since March 2019, and was a member of the Executive Committee of GTE (Gas Transmission Europe) from December 2020 to May 2023.
Luis Ignacio holds an Executive MBA from IESE Business School and a MSc. in Applied Economics. He graduated in Economics at Universidad de Salamanca (Spain).
Charlotte Roule – President, Gas Storage Europe (GSE) & CEO, Storengy
President, Gas Storage Europe (GSE).
On 1 March 2023, Charlotte Roule took the position of Chief Executive Officer of Storengy, the European leader in underground natural gas storage.
She will continue to develop and leverage the company’s unique expertise in the storage of renewable gases and the production of natural hydrogen, while accelerating its role as a leader in the energy transition.
As part of her significant roles, she will also assume the management of the storage business in France following the departure of its Managing Director, Pierre Chambon, who has just joined ENGIE. Charlotte Roule was hitherto ENGIE Group Strategy Officer. In charge of long-term forecasting, strategic dialogue, and competitive intelligence, she participated in the review of major projects for the company. Before joining the Strategy Department, she managed Storengy UK and ENGIE in China where she coordinated projects focusing on renewable energy, clean solutions for cities and industries, such as cooling networks and electrical mobility.
She was Vice President of the European Chamber of Commerce in China from 2018 to 2021. Now, she represents the Chamber in Paris. Moreover, she is currently a member of the Board of Directors of France Gaz (formerly Association Française du Gaz).
In 2022, Charlotte Roule accompanied the President of ENGIE in his role as co-chair of the B20 (G20business group) Energy, Sustainable Development and Climate working group.
Joachim Balke – Head of Unit, Infrastructure and Regional Cooperation, DG ENER, European Commission
Paul Voss - Director General, European Aluminium
Paul Voss is Director General at European Aluminium, the industry voice of the aluminium value chain in Europe. Mr. Voss is a long-term public affairs and governmental relations expert with 20 years of experience in the Brussels and energy sector. Prior to joining the aluminium industry, Mr. Voss served as Managing Director at Euroheat & Power, the association for the European district energy sector, and as Head of Public and Industrial Affairs at energy solutions provider Danfoss District Energy.
A British-Belgian national, Paul Voss is married with three children and holds degrees in Political Science and European Public Administration from Universities in Canada, France and Belgium.
Ralph Bahke - Managing Director Controlling and Development, ONTRAS
Ralph 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.
Nevin Alija - Head of EU Affairs, Floene
A lawyer by trade, Nevin is currently Vice-Chair of the Distribution Committee at Eurogas and EU Affairs Manager at Floene Energias S.A. (Floene) , the leading gas distribution group in Portugal . She is also one of the co-founders and member of the Implementation Team of Women in Energy – Mulheres na Energia Portugal, and a member of the UNDP External Advisory Group for Energy Governance. Due to her active contributions to the energy sector, both from industry and academia, she was invited in June 2023 by the European Commission to be one of the 30 European Young Energy Ambassadors, also as sole representative of Portugal. Since March 2023, Nevin has been a member of the World Energy Council’s Global Future Energy Leaders Programme and since 2021 a member of the Future Energy Leaders Portugal. She also co-founded and worked as a researcher at Nova Law Green Lab, where she was taught and contributed to the creation of several programmes on renewable energies.
Vasiliki Klonari - Head of Energy System Integration, WindEurope
I am a civil engineer with a PhD on power distribution networks. I have been working for WindEurope since 2018. I am responsible for WindEurope’s activities on energy system integration and infrastructure, electricity grid development and grid integration of wind energy. I have worked in the energy sector since 2009 on the system integration of wind and solar energy, electricity grids, battery storage and energy efficiency of buildings.
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.
Anne-Sophie Corbeau – GRIDTech 2023 Moderator & Global Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia SIPA
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.