Confirmed speakers
MEP Andrea Wechsler, Member of ITRE Committee, European Parliament
Born in 1977, Professor Dr. Andrea Wechsler belongs to a generation that grew up in peace, security, freedom, and prosperity. For her, Europe is a nearly 80-year success story, achieved through deliberate political effort. As an MEP and Full Member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), as well as the energy policy spokesperson of the CDU and CSU in the European Parliament, she is dedicated to shaping a Europe where future generations can enjoy shared values. At the same time, she strives for a competitive, innovative, and strong economy within the Union.
From 2013 to 2024, she served as a Professor of Business Law at Pforzheim University, where she also led strategic development initiatives as Prorector. She directed the GründerWERK – Center for Entrepreneurship, guiding future leaders in business creation. Her experience includes serving on the Consumer Commission of Baden-Württemberg and as the Director of the Institute for Mediation and Conflict Management (IMK).
Professor Wechsler has held prestigious fellowships at the European University Institute in Florence and the Schöller Research Center and worked with the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition. Her academic journey includes degrees from Columbia University, the University of Oxford, and Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, where she earned her doctorate summa cum laude.
Joaquim Nunes de Almeida - Director, Mobility & Energy Intensive Industries, DG GROW, European Commission
Joaquim Nunes de Almeida is director in charge of “Mobility and energy intensive industries” at the European Commission in the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) since March 2021. This includes raw materials, renewable energy industries and alliances such as hydrogen and solar energy as well as green and circular economy and sustainable product design. Before that, he was director in charge of single market policy (since 2016).
Joaquim started his career at the European Commission in 1995 and has extensive experience in policies related to the internal market and home affairs (police cooperation, terrorism, law enforcement, asylum and immigration).
He studied law and worked as a lawyer at the Bar of Lisbon, Portugal, from 1989 to 1994, dealing mainly with anti-trust law as well as commercial and civil law.
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.
Arno Büx, President, GIE, CEO, FluxSwiss, SVP Corporate Commercial, Fluxys Group
Arno Büx is Senior Vice President Corporate Commercial of the Fluxys Group. Since November 1st, 2024, he is also CEO of FluxSwiss , the group’s Swiss affiliate.
Arno Büx is GIE President since October 2024. He also served as GLE President between 2019 and 2023.
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. He held various executive and non-executive management positions in businesses targeting the B2B and B2C commodity markets as well as the gas midstream sector.
Arno Büx holds degrees in Engineering and Business Administration as well as a certificate in Corporate Governance.
Luis Ignacio Parada - President, Gas LNG Europe (GLE), EU Energy Policy & Regulation Director, 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 has served as Board member in ENTSOG and in GIE (Gas Infrastructure Europe), and since January 2024 he has been serving as President 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).
Matti Malkamäki - Chair of the BotH2nia Steering Group, Founder and Chairman of Hycamite TCD Technologies
Matti Malkamäki, a hydrogen business specialist and cleantech entrepreneur of over 20 years, is dedicated to decarbonizing the industry through his role as Founder and Chairman of Hycamite TCD Technologies Ltd. Committed to sustainability, Matti has played a key role in adopting clean energy technologies and has hold positions in influential groups such as ECH2A and the BotH2nia association. He served for three years as a steering group member of the Finnish Hydrogen Cluster, too. He is a sought-after speaker on hydrogen possibilities and has written numerous articles on the topic. With extensive experience in power generation and cleantech, Matti drives the transition to a low-carbon, high-energy-efficient economy through Hycamite’s revolutionary methane-splitting technology.
Jeroen Sanders - Member of the Executive Board, Chief Transition Officer, Enexis
Jeroen Sanders, as Chief Transition Officer at Enexis Groep, plays a key role in shaping and building the energy system of the future. He is passionately committed to bringing innovative solutions into practice and has an integrated view of the energy system, where both renewable molecules and electrons play an important role. He emphasizes the importance of synergy between different parties – municipalities, provinces, and market players – to make joint progress in the energy transition.
Jeroen’s career in the energy sector is diverse. Before taking on the role of CTO, he held various leadership positions within Enexis, including Director of ICT. His experience extends to positions such as General Manager at Endinet, Sustainability Manager at Fudura, and various management roles at Edon and Essent.
His involvement is not limited to Enexis. Jeroen is a valued member of the broader energy community, actively serving in roles such as Vice President of Gas Distributors for Sustainability and board member of ElaadNL.
Christoph von dem Bussche - Managing Director, GASCADE Gastransport GmbH and NEL Gastransport GmbH
Christoph von dem Bussche is Managing Director of the German transmission system operators GASCADE Gastransport GmbH and NEL Gastransport GmbH, which connect Germany with five neighboring European countries via their transport system. GASCADE plans to convert important parts of its transmission system to hydrogen transport and is involved in several hydrogen infrastructure projects on land and at sea.
Von dem Bussche holds a doctorate in chemistry and began his professional career in 1993 at BASF in Ludwigshafen. Before becoming Managing Director of GASCADE in 2009 and Managing Director of NEL in 2012, he held various senior positions in the oil and gas sector of the group, including European gas sales and strategic planning.
Christoph von dem Bussche has been a member of the ENTSOG Board of Directors since 2016. In addition, he has been a member of the board of the AquaVentus Förderverein since 2020. The association pursues the goal of making large quantities of green hydrogen produced offshore available to the German and European hydrogen market via an offshore pipeline.
Magdalena Vallebona - Climate & Energy Director, Cerame-Unie
Magdalena Vallebona is a Climate and Energy Director at Cerame-Unie. She has 15 years of expert experience in the EU climate & energy policy management. Magdalena joined Cerame-Unie in 2015 and has been in charge of the climate and energy field since then as well as held a role of the Secretary General of TBE (Tiles & Bricks Europe Association). She gained her first experience in the EU climate and energy legislation working as a Parliamentary Assistant in the European Parliament in 2009-2014. She holds a post-graduate degree in European Politics from the Polish Academy of Science, Political Studies Institute and a Masters’ degree in the EU International Relations and Diplomacy at the College of Europe in Bruges (Belgium) and a Masters’ degree in the Economic International Relations from the Warsaw School of Economics (Poland). Magdalena speaks English, French, German, Italian and Polish.
Annika Brack - Director, Head of Practice, Energy, Mobility and Sustainability, CERRE
Annika Brack is the Director for the Energy, Mobility and Sustainability (EMS) practice at the Centre on Regulation in Europe (CERRE). Previously, she served as representative for Uniper SE in Brussels and led the political affairs unit at 50Hertz Transmission in Berlin.
Her experience also includes senior roles at an emerging technology think tank and the World Economic Forum. Annika is a UNAOC and WEF Global Leadership Fellow, with a background in international studies in Paris, Washington D.C., and Berlin.
Joost Hooghiem, Director Hydrogen Network Netherlands, Gasunie
Joost Hooghiem has been appointed Director of the Hydrogen Network Netherlands since summer 2023 and is responsible for developing the new venture, a 100% Gasunie subsidiary, Hynetwork Services BV. In this role he is responsible for: delivery of the assets, commerce & regulation and the transformation of the Gasunie organisation (ie people, processes and IT) to be prepared for operating the hydrogen network.
Joost joined Gasunie in 2006 and has fulfilled management positions in the following parts of the organization: ICT, Operations, Procurement, Projects and now Business Development. He is specialized in crisis and change management and leads large transitions and transformations.
Besides Gasunie, Joost also works for Gasunie’s pensionfund (> EUR 2 bln; > 4.000 participants) since almost 10 years and currently fulfils the role of Chairman of the Board and he is member of the Investment Committee. The pensionfunds is currently transitioning to the new Dutch pension scheme.
Daniel Fraile - Chief Policy & Market Officer, Hydrogen Europe
Daniel Fraile is Chief Policy Officer at Hydrogen Europe where he leads the policy and market intelligence 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 in Telecommunications and a Masters in Renewable Energy. Today, he is leading the Hydrogen Europe policy work, directing a team of analysts and policy specialists. Previously, Daniel had been Director of Market Intelligence at WindEurope, where he worked for 7 years managing the market research and leading several policy topics such as system integration and hydrogen. Daniel has also performed strategic management consulting in the Power to gas sector, and has worked for the European photovoltaic industry association, for the environmental NGO CAN-Europe and for the Spanish utility Iberdrola
Michał Wendołowski - Senior Manager Climate Technology and Policy, Bellona Europa
Michał is a Senior Climate Technology and Policy Manager at Bellona Europa, a European climate NGO. Michał holds a master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Lodz and a postgraduate diploma in Carbon Management from the University of Edinburgh. Michał brings his experience of working in an energy-intensive sector (fertilizers) on low-carbon technologies (incl. CCUS and green hydrogen/ammonia), EU ETS, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and natural gas markets. At Bellona, he works on industrial decarbonisation with a specific focus on CCS deployment in Central and Eastern Europe, ports as decarbonisation hubs, and a Just Transition.
David Gil - Subject Manager, Interoperability & Data Exchange, ENTSOG
David Gil is MSc in mechanical Engineering and during his career in the energy sector he has taken a few different roles. In October 2018, David was seconded by REN, the Portuguese gas and electricity TSO, to ENTSOG, where he first worked in the Market Area as a Gas Market Development Adviser before moving to the System Operation Area as Interoperability Adviser in October 2022. In April 2023, David was appointed Subject Manager for Interoperability and Data Exchange. He has had the opportunity to participate in several projects covering subjects like network codes, biomethane, hydrogen and gas quality, network operations or LNG.
Boyana Achovski – Secretary General, 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.
More information available soon.
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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.
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.
Piotr Kuś - General Director, 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
Andreas Guth - Secretary General, Eurogas
Andreas Guth is the Secretary General of Eurogas, a role he has held since September 2024.
Andreas is a seasoned EU affairs professional and Policy Director at Eurogas. With over 15 years of experience in EU affairs in Brussels, he has been at the forefront of policy advocacy in various fields.
In 2019, Andreas joined Eurogas, the leading association representing the gas industry in Europe, as the Policy Director. In this role, he was responsible for the coordination and implementation of the association’s policy work and advocacy strategy, including on all relevant aspects of the Green Deal, Fit for 55, and REPowerEU. Andreas works closely with Eurogas’ members to ensure that their collective voice is heard at European level and that they contribute to shaping the EU’s energy transition agenda.
Before joining Eurogas, Andreas worked for the biofuels industry, where he developed expertise in energy and climate policy. His experience in EU affairs covers a broad range of sectors, including energy, transport, trade and customs policy.
Andreas holds an MA in political science from the University of Maastricht, where he specialized in European integration and governance. He is passionate about contributing to the development of sustainable policies that support the EU’s transition to a low-carbon economy.
More speakers to be announced soon!
Moderator
Anne-Sophie Corbeau – GRIDTech 2024 Moderator & Global Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University
Anne-Sophie Corbeau is a Global Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University and a visiting professor at Sciences Po. She leads the Center’s research on hydrogen and natural gas. Anne-Sophie has around 25 years of experience in the energy industry and is a recognized expert on natural gas and hydrogen. She is the author of many publications focusing on gas, LNG markets, hydrogen, Asia, China, India and Africa, including the book “LNG markets in transition: the great reconfiguration”. She is also the co-chair of Gastech’s 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.