Hydrogen Days 2022 and
Czech-German Hydrogen Day

Ralph Bahke

ONTRAS Gastransport GmbH

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.

Jörg Bergmann

Focus: Strategy, Network Planning, Customer Services and HR

Chairman of the Board of Management at Open Grid Europe GmbH

Dr. Jörg Bergmann has been a member of the management board of Open Grid Europe GmbH since 2008 and was initially responsible for the Department of Commercial, Regulation and Asset Management. Since July 2017 he is chairman of the board of management and is responsible for the strategy and communication department, network planning and customer services.
After studying economics and working as a research assistant at the University of Münster, he joined E.ON Ruhrgas AG in 1994 after having received his doctorate.
There he worked in different management positions, most recently as Head of Controlling.

Vladimír Maryška

Marketing Specialist in Moravian-Silesian Region

Vladimír Maryška works as a specialist in new technologies in the department of Energy, Industry and the smart region under Regional council offices of Moravian-Silesian region, whose responsibility of the development of hydrogen technologies in the region.
He graduated the Heyrovsky High school of chemistry, specializing in organic chemistry. In professional practise he focused on strategic planning of projects in the field of chemical engineering nad enviromental operations.
Sice 2017 he has been an employee of the Moravian-Silesian Region, where he is developing the project „Hydrogen Valley of the Moravian-Silesian Region“ and coordinates all activities related to the evelopment of hydrogen technologies in the region, including development of infrastructure, research and scientific activies, industrial applications and energy.

Dr. Geert Tjarks

Hydrogen Valley Oldenburg „HyWays for Future”

EWE GASSPEICHER GmbH

Dr.-Ing Geert Tjarks has joined EWE GASSPEICHER GmbH in October 2020 and is responsible for Stakeholder Management in the business unit hydrogen. He is in charge of the political and economic networks for the implementation of the National Hydrogen Strategy at EWE AG.
Before joining EWE, he was with the National Organization Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology – NOW GmbH in Berlin for four years. At NOW he was responsible for international cooperation and represented the federal German government in various international multilateral bodies for hydrogen technologies. In 2019 and 202 he supported the federal government for the development of the national hydrogen strategy. In January 2017 he finalized a PhD at RWTH Aachen with a focus on water electrolysis systems.

Stefan Dürr

Head of Technology & Innovation

Center Hydrogen.Bavaria (H2.B)

Stefan Dürr studied chemical and bioengineering at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg and the École Polytechnique Montréal.
From November 2015 to June 2020, he worked as a research assistant at the Chair of Chemical Reaction Engineering. As part of his scientific work, he dealt with various issues in the field of chemical hydrogen storage.
Since 1 July 2020, he joined the the Center Hydrogen.Bavaria as Head of Technology and Innovation. In this role, he deals with the evaluation of current hydrogen technologies and specific hydrogen projects, including technical matchmaking for the stakeholders of the Hydrogen Alliance Bavaria.

Karel Tichý

Economic and Social Council of the Ústí Region

Karel Tichý is a professional consultant with broad experience in the several fields such as regional development (coal regions, just transition, restructuring activities, business development and innovation), public administration and preparation, realization and evaluation of projects of European funds. Between 2016 and 2020 he has been part of the national team preparing and implementing the Strategy of Economic Restructuring of Usti, Moravian-Silesian and Karlovy Vary Regions. Through its current position of Project Manager of the Economic and Social Council of the Ústí Region he is actively participating in the processes related to the preparation and implementation of the Just Transition Mechanism in Czech Republic and throughout supporting the activities of intensifying the cooperation of coal regions in the middle Europe in diverse fields. He is also active as a Developer of Strategic Projects in the field of hydrogen in Ústí Region.

Andreas Rau

NET4GAS

Andreas Rau studied Mechanical Engineering at the Ruhr University in Bochum, and European Studies at RWTH Aachen.
His career in the energy industry began in 1997 with Ruhrgas AG Technical System Design in Essen. After holding various positions in technical and commercial gas transmission management with E.ON Ruhrgas AG, he was appointed member of the Board of Directors of eustream, a.s. in Bratislava in 2006, where he later took over as Chairman of the Board of Directors. By the end of 2011, he developed eustream into a separate and independent transmission system operator, which in terms of transmission volume belongs to one of the largest TSOs in the EU. In early 2012, Andreas Rau was appointed member of the Board of Directors of SPP, a.s. in Bratislava, where he was responsible for gas supply & sales, gas trading, electricity sales activities and portfolio optimization until early 2013.
He has been the CEO at NET4GAS since December 2013.

Bart Biebuyck

Executive Director

Clean Hydrogen Partnership

Bart Biebuyck is since 16th May 2016 the Executive Director of the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (Clean Hydrogen JU), a public-private partnership aiming at facilitating the deployment of fuel cells and hydrogen technologies in Europe. Under his leadership, a strong emphasis on cooperation with cities and regions led to the creation of the European Hydrogen Valleys partnership with around 40 European regions. Dissemination of project results, building technology awareness and enhanced basic research became his key focusing points.
Before, Bart Biebuyck was at the Fuel Cell department of Toyota Motor Europe where he held the position of Technical Senior Manager. His expertise in the automotive industry includes extensive knowledge related to the deployment of new technologies in the European market. It is, as part of the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) program in Berlin, that Bart worked at reinforcing European trials for the Toyota Fuel Cell Vehicle. He also had the opportunity to develop and expand his expertise in Japan, where for two years he worked on the development of Toyota and PSA’s small vehicle.
In addition to his industrial experience, Bart has been politically active in his local town since 2006. In 2013 he became the vice president of the City Council, responsible, among others, for the local economy and education.
Bart’s term as the Executive Director of the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking was extended for four years until 15 May 2023.
Bart studied Automotive engineering at the HTS Autotechnieken in Arnhem (previously Appeldoorn).

Stefan Kaufmann

Innovation Commissioner for Green Hydrogen

Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

Dr Stefan Kaufmann has served as Innovation Commissioner for Green Hydrogen at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) since 19 June 2020. Federal Research Minister Anja Karliczek appointed Dr Kaufmann, an experienced education and research policy maker, in the context of implementing the Federal Government’s National Hydrogen Strategy. The Innovation Commissioner for Green Hydrogen is a permanent guest on the State Secretaries’ Committee for Hydrogen of the participating ministries as well as the National Hydrogen Council. He is responsible for coordinating the focus of the BMBF’s research and development activities and the transfer of R&D results into practical application, cooperating with various stakeholders from politics, industry and research who are involved in this process. The Innovation Commissioner is also tasked with introducing promising, innovative approaches and ideas from BMBF-led research on the political stage and in public debate.
Prior to his appointment as Innovation Commissioner for Green Hydrogen, the fully qualified lawyer served as chair of the Study Commission “Vocational Training in the Digital Work Environment” and CDU/CSU spokesperson on the Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment of the German Bundestag. Dr Kaufmann served as directly elected Member of the Bundestag for his Stuttgart constituency from 2009 to 2021. He chairs the CDU Federal Committee on Education, Research and Innovation.

Dipl.-Ing. Alexander Stiehl

Dipl.-Ing. Alexander Stiehl joined the regional transport company Regionalverkehr Köln GmbH (RVK) in July 2021. He is responsible for the department Alternative Antriebe (alternative drives) with a focus on conception and operation of refueling infrastructure (hydrogen and CNG) and their safety aspects. Alexander Stiehl studied chemical engineering at the Hochschule Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences.

Alisa Meyer

Alisa Meyer joined the RVK in February 2020. She is part of the department Alternative Antriebe and is responsible for introducing and evaluating alternative drive systems including fuel cell buses and the corresponding infrastructure especially focusing on efficient applications with the target of reducing greenhouse gas emission. Alisa Meyer holds a master’s degree in human geography from the University of Cologne.

Jan Wegener

Jan Wegener has been working in the international department of NOW since 2017. As Team Leader Europe he oversees a broad field of topics ranging from hydrogen and fuel cells to charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. He deals mostly with EU regulatory aspects regarding hydrogen and alternative fuels. Currently, he is mainly assisting the German Federal Government in the context of the proposals of the Fit for 55 package but has also been working on the new state aid rules and miscellaneous other policies. Before joining NOW, he worked for an international consultancy active in the field of hydrogen, battery technology and electric mobility as well as renewable energies and transport policies.
His academic background is also based in the regulatory field: he obtained a Franco-German double degree in “Public administration and European Governance” focusing on policy analysis and quantitative methods. Stations of his academic career were Berlin, Lyon, Constance and Grenoble. During this time he gained experiences in several consultancies covering energy and transport policies as well as in development and journalism in Brussels, Berlin and Frankfurt.

Prof. Olivier Joubert

Brief Overview of Current French Hydrogen Research Activities, Focus on electrolyte development for proton ceramic cells

Université de Nantes & CNRS

Olivier Joubert (1965) is presently full professor in Chemistry of Materials at University of Nantes and is Chair of electrochemical storage and conversion of energy group (ST2E) of "Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel (CNRS-IMN)". The major research interests of professor Joubert revolve around development of new materials for technological applications such as high and intermediate temperature ceramic Solid Oxide (SO) fuel or electrolyser cells (SOFC and SOEC). He is co-author of 120 publications, 25 invited talks and 5 patents. Olivier Joubert is chairing the French Research Network on Hydrogen Energy which assembles the major French academic research groups in the field of electrolysis production and storage of hydrogen and also its conversion to electricity using fuel cell.

Prof. Daniel Hissel

Towards PEM fuel cell systems with improved durability

University of Franche-Comte, FEMTO-ST, CNRS

Prof. Daniel Hissel obtained an electrical engineering degree from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Ingénieurs Electriciens de Grenoble, France, in 1994. Then, he obtained a PhD from the Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse, France, in 1998. Until 2000, he worked for ALSTOM Company where he was system engineer on electrical and fuel cell buses projects. From 2000 to 2006, he has been an Associate Professor at the University of Technology Belfort. Since 2006, he is a Full Professor at the University of Franche-Comté, France. Since 2012, he is the Head of the “Electric Actuators, Hybrid & Fuel Cell Systems” research team in FEMTO-ST (CNRS) Institute. His main research activities are concerning hydrogen-energy systems dedicated to automotive and stationary applications, modelling, non linear control, energy optimization and state-of-health estimation of these systems. Between 2012 and 2019, he has been the founding Director of the FCLAB Research Federation (CNRS), devoted to Fuel Cell Systems Research and Technology. Since 2020, he is the Deputy Director of the French national hydrogen research federation (CNRS), gathering about 300 researchers on hydrogen technologies in France. He is a Fellow of the IEEE since 2021. He has published more than 500 scientific papers in peer-reviewed international journals and/or international conferences (his h-index is 59 with more than 11000 citations – Google Scholar). He has been awarded by the Blondel Medal in 2017 for his work towards industrialisation of fuel cell systems. He has also been awarded by the Innovation Medal of the CNRS in 2020 for his exceptional research work that has led to ground-breaking innovation in the technological field.

Prof. Christophe Coutanceau

Clean hydrogen production from electro-reforming of bio-sourced oxygenated organic compounds

Université de Poitiers, IC2MP, CNRS

Christophe Coutanceau obtained his Ph.D. degree in Physical Chemistry in 1994 under the supervision of Prof. Claude Lamy at LACCO (Laboratory of Catalysis in Organic Chemistry, University of Poitiers, France). After his PhD, he obtained a post-doctoral position at the “Insituto Superior Tecnico” of Lisbon (1995–1997, Portugal) and was hired as Assistant Professor at the University of Poitiers (LACCO) in 1998 before being promoted in 2008 as full professor.
At present, he is Professor at IC2MP (Institute of Chemistry of Poitiers, University of Poitiers-CNRS) and head of the “Catalysis and Non-conventional Media” group. His current research interests include development of synthesis methods for nanostructured supported metals using green processes (microwave activation, electrochemical methods, etc.) and solvents (polyols, water) and their application as electrocatalysts in low temperature fuel cells, electrolysis cells and electrosynthesis reactors. He is also interested in electro-conversion of biomass into valuable compounds using electrochemical methods.
He is co-responsible of the research axis “Stationary applications” of the French Hydrogen Federation of CNRS (FRH2), project manager for the “Energy Hub” of the CNRS, and French representative at the Annex 31 (low temperature fuel cell) of the International Energy Agency.
He has more than 140 papers in international journals, 50 invited conferences, 2 books, ten book chapters and 4 international patents. His h-index are 53 (WoS), 54 (Scopus) and 60 (Google scholar) with more than 10,000 citations.

Prof Dr Robert Steinberger-Wilckens

A circular carbon economy for green transport fuels

University of Birmingham, UK

Prof Steinberger-Wilckens is a Physicist by training with a specialisation in renewable energies. He has been active in the areas of renewable energies, energy efficiency, hydrogen, fuel cells and electric vehicles over the past 30 years, both in business and academic contexts. He holds the chair for Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Research at the University of Birmingham, leading a group of 55 lecturers, PostDocs and PhD students, one of the largest academic units working in this field worldwide. His research interests cover fuel cell materials and design, system integration, green hydrogen production, and socio-techno-economical issues of hydrogen and fuel cell employment.

Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas von Unwerth

Chair for Advanced Powertrains

Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany

Mechanical engineer with a degree from University of Dortmund. Director of the Institute for Automotive Research, Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany, since 2014. Appointed Professor for Advanced Powertrains at Chemnitz University in 2010. Previously worked in Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg corporate research – in fuel cells, batteries and fuels, team leader fuel cell systems, project manager fuel cell vehicles in China, Project manager fuel cell APU-Systems. Member of the Association of German Engineers (VDI), head of group for hydrogen and fuel cells, Saxony, Germany.
Since 2017 President of the Saxonian Innovation Cluster for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells HZwo e.V.
Since 2018 Founder and CTO of FCP Fuel Cell Powertrain GmbH, Chemnitz, Germany