Speaker Profiles
Learn more about the speakers and experts that will contribute to the agenda
of the H2 Forum 2025
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Florian Birkeneder
Project Manager, TÜV Rheinland AG
Experienced inspector and project manager with expertise in power plants, pressure equipment, and failure analysis. Held roles as a ship engineer, service engineer, TÜV project manager, and responsible inspector. Coordinated inspections, repairs, and compliance checks globally, including UAE, Argentina, and USA. PED-trained, with extensive international experience.
Timo Bollerhey
CEO of H2Global Holding and Hintco and Co-Founder of H2Global Foundation
Timo Bollerhey is the Chief Executive Officer of H2Global Holding and Hintco, Creator of the H2Global mechanism and Co-Founder of H2Global Foundation. In addition Timo has also been apointed co-chair of the CertifHy Steering Committee, one of the leading European voluntary certification schemes. He is an investment and financial markets expert with more than 20 years of experience. Before initiating and designing H2Global, he worked as director for the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Brazil, focusing on blended finance approaches and the mobilization of institutional investors towards alternative assets. Prior to this, he served as Division Manager at the AfDB (African Development Bank) to foster the collaboration and co-financing with strategic private and public-sector partners. Between 2011 and 2016, Timo was director of business development at Allianz Global Investors where he oversaw the client coverage and advisory for African institutional investors. Prior to this he was head of financial institutions and sovereigns for Africa and the Middle East at Raiffeisen Bank International in Vienna and served as Chief Representative Officer Sub-Sahara Africa for UniCredit Group in Johannesburg.
Dr. Axel Bree
Deputy Director-General Hydrogen Ramp-up and Energy Research, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
Dr. Axel Bree studied law in Cologne and Washington DC and received his doctorate in Göttingen. In 2002, he joined the Federal Ministry of Economics. From 2005 to 2010, he has been in the Chancellery, the embassy in Washington and in the World Future Council in London. In 2016, he was head of department at the BMWK, and since 2024, he has headed the hydrogen ramp-up and energy research sub-department.
Manuel Brolich
Manager Software Defined Automation, Schneider Electric GmbH
With more than ten years of experience in the field of industrial automation I'm leading Schneider Electric's initiative towards software defined automation in the DACH zone. This includes business development, presales and technical execution mostly focussed on the automation part.
Detlef Brüggemeyer
Member of the Management Board and CTO, OGE
After successfully completing his degree in mechanical engineering at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, he held various management positions at E.ON Ruhrgas AG, E.ON Gastransport and later OGE. In 2013 he took over the management of the Network Planning and Control department at OGE. In July 2024 he has been appointed as a member of OGE's Management Board as CTO.
Dr. Hanno Butsch
Partner Counsel, BBH Consulting AG
Dr. Butsch focuses on sector coupling through hydrogen technologies and supports companies and municipalities in developing strategies for transformation processes. He also brings expertise in advising on corporate development issues.
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Tim Calver
Vice President Commercial, ITM Power
Tim joined ITM Power as VP Commercial in September 2022 and has responsibility for Business Development, Sales, Project Execution and Operational Customer Support. Prior to this he has extensive experience in the power and utilities sectors, and as an energy consulting Partner at EY.
Jorgo Chatzimarkakis
CEO, Hydrogen Europe
Jorgo Chatzimarkakis has been working at Hydrogen Europe since 2016. He currently holds the position of CEO of the association. He previously covered roles in the planning department of the Foreign Office of Germany, at Infineon Technologies and was Member of the European Parliament (2004-2014) inter alia in the ITRE Committee (Industry, Technology, Research and Energy).
Tim Cholibois
Vice President Strategy and Business Development, Enapter
Tim Cholibois is Vice President Strategy and Business Development at electrolyser manufacturer Enapter, the pioneer and market leader in AEM electrolysis. Previously, Tim worked as a strategy consultant in the European and North American energy sector. Tim holds a Masters degree in Environmental Change and Management from the University of Oxford.
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Markus Exenberger
Executive Director, H2 Global Stiftung
Markus Exenberger is a member of the Executive Board of the H2Global Stiftung. He is an economist and engineer and spent 20 years managing large and complex energy portfolios in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, dealing in particular with the development of large-scale energy and infrastructure projects. Markus has initiated H2Global together with Timo Bollerhey.
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Aida Fernández
Head of Business Development, Reverion
Aida leads Business Development and currently serves as a board member at Reverion. With extensive experience in the energy industry at two leading German energy corporations and in consulting, she drives strategic growth and new business opportunities. Aida holds an MBA and is an engineer by training.
Aljoscha Frede
Corporate Ecosystem Manager, H2UB GmbH
Aljoscha Frede is Corporate Ecosystem Manager at H2UB. In his role, he provides and develops services and products such as market intelligence and tech due diligence for H2UB's corporate partners. Previously, he worked as Start-up Ecosystem Manager at H2UB. He holds a PhD in Biochemical Engineering from TU Dortmund University.
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Dr. Thomas Gößmann
Chief Executive Officer, Thyssengas GmbH
After studying mechanical engineering and business administration, Dr. Gößmann received his doctorate from RWTH Aachen University in 1990. He then held various management positions at ABB, EnBW and terranets bw. Dr. Gößmann has been Chairman of the Management Board of Thyssengas GmbH since 2017 and has also been Chairman of FNB Gas since 2020.
Franziska Grammes
Head of Political Communication & Media Relation, Infener AG
Franziska Grammes is Head of Political Communication & Media Relations at Infener, where she engages with policymakers, media and associations. With a background in journalism and corporate communications, she has extensive experience in positioning renewable energy technologies. Passionate about sustainability, she shapes narratives that accelerate the energy transition.
Martin Greda
CTO, Fest GmbH
Martin Greda is Vice President Hydrogen Technology and CTO at Fest GmbH since 2020. Before his position at Fest, he has been Global Head of R&D at AEG Power Solutions, team supervisor R&D Electronics at KOSTAL Industrie Elektrik GmbH as well as team supervisor Advanced and Technology Development at Leopold Kostal GmbH & Co. KG.
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Alfred Hoffmann
Head of Energy Strategy, Salzgitter AG
Alfred Hoffmann has been employed over 25 years at Vattenfall. There, he has been responsible for i.a. Portfpoliomanagement, Central Energy Economics, Renewables Strategy and E-Mobility Business in Germany. Since October 1st this year, he is heading the Energy Strategy at Salzgitter AG.
Thorsten Herbert
Owner, Hydrogen Now - Herbert Knowledge and Network
Thorsten Herbert is a passionate and experienced expert in hydrogen and fuel cell technology, with over two decades of experience spanning the automotive industry, public sector, and both the German and Norwegian hydrogen industries. These roles equipped him with a robust technical background, strategic leadership skills, and professional communication expertise, which he is now happy to share.
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Jasmin Kaboni-Voit
Director Hydrogen Regulatory & Subsidy Management, RWE Generation SE
Jasmin Kaboni-Voit is Head of Regulatory & Subsidy Management at RWE Generation SE and is responsible for positioning regulatory issues in the hydrogen context for RWE and identifying funding mechanisms for the markets. Beforehand she worked many years as Head of Continental Power Legal in the Legal Department of RWE Supply & Trading GmbH. She joined RWE in 1999.
Uwe Kerkmann
Chief Executive Officer, H2UB GmbH
Uwe Kerkmann has been working as a business developer in an international context for more than 20 years. His focus is on innovation topics from the fields of environment and energy, digitalization, creative industries and knowledge transfer. Since November 2021, he is managing director of H2UB GmbH.
Gilles Le Van
Chairman of the Supervisory Board, AIR LIQUIDE Deutschland GmbH
Gilles Le Van joined Air Liquide in 1995 and belonged to the Management of AIR LIQUIDE Deutschland GmbH (ALD). From 2012-2017, he served as VP Global Strategic Account Management Large Industries. Until 2021, he was Managing Director of ALD before being appointed VP Large Industries and Energy Transition Central Europe as well as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ALD.
Matthias Lisson
Country Director Germany, Hy2gen Deutschland GmbH
Matthias Lisson is responsible for the activities of Hy2gen AG in D-A-CH as managing director. The process engineer is responsible for business development and operations at the production sites. As managing director of ATLANTIS GmbH, he manages Hy2gen's hydrogen production plant in Werlte, Lower Saxony. Lisson began his professional career in an engineering firm for energy and process engineering in the chemical industry and later worked for TOTAL Energies as head of the Energy Services division. He has professional experience in the areas of management, leadership, and administration, but also in the areas of energy efficiency and energy technology, as well as in the use of renewable energies. Since 2022, Lisson has been driving the development of renewable hydrogen production projects at Hy2gen and has been involved in the ATLANTIS-project, which is producing renewable hydrogen since 2014.
Miquel Lope
Vice President and General Manager, Air Products
Miquel Lope is vice president‒Northern Continent at Air Products. He is responsible for driving the strategy and profitability of the company’s Industrial Gases business in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Mr. Lope joined Air Products in 1997 as the financial analyst for Packaged Gases and Liquid Bulk in Southern Europe. He then transitioned to roles as financial analyst and controller for the European Electronics Division. In 2004 Mr. Lope became European financial analysis manager for the European Healthcare Division, and in 2009 he was appointed European Bulk Argon, Carbon Dioxide and Hydrogen business manager. Starting in 2012, Mr. Lope held various senior management positions in Southern Europe, including Supply Chain and Operations manager for the subregion and Tonnage and Merchant business manager. He was appointed vice president, Southern Europe and Maghreb, leading the subregion from 2020-2024.
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Angelique Mesch
Director GH2 DACH, Schneider Electric
Angelique Mesch holds a master’s degree in business and engineering. She began her career as a field engineer. Since then, Ms. Mesch has taken on various global roles in technical sales, program management, engineering, product management, and digital transformation consultant. She is now focused on advancing the green hydrogen sector at Schneider Electric.
Jens Müller-Belau
Managing Director Energy Transition Germany, Shell Germany
Jens Müller-Belau is one of the managing directors for the Shell companies in Germany and manages the company's initiatives for the energy transition and transformation. Previously, he headed the Shell Technology Centre in Hamburg and was globally responsible for innovation for Shell’s Mobility business.
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Robert Nave
CEO, Green Hydrogen Technology GmbH
Before Robert Nave took over the management of GHT, he worked as a junior partner at the management and strategy consultancy McKinsey & Company. There, the business economist and former J.P. Morgan investment banker helped companies with green transformation processes and decarbonization programs.
Dr. Christoph Noeres
Executive Director gH2, thyssenkrupp nucera AG & Co. KGaA
Dr. Christoph Noeres heads the Green Hydrogen division at thyssenkrupp nucera and is responsible for research & development, product development, business development, sales, project implementation (including manufacturing, procurement and project management and service). He has more than 20 years of experience in chemical engineering, particularly in the fields of research & development, sales and implementation of EPC projects and electrochemical process technologies at thyssenkrupp. Before his current position, he was Chief Operating Officer at thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers (Japan) Ltd. and Managing Director and Representative Director of thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engine.
Robert Meitz
Co-Founder & COO, Eternal Power GmbH
Robert holds a Chemistry degree and has three years of experience in green hydrogen. He co-founded Eternal Power and, as a partner in a boutique management consulting firm, gained extensive expertise in corporate strategy and transformation.
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Rafael Pauli
Vice President of Sales, Stargate Hydrogen Solutions
Rafael Pauli has over 8 years experience in different roles in international industrial companies such as Airbus, Alstom, MTU Aero Engines, McPhy. Since 2021, he is working for a greener future in the field of alkaline electrolysis. He holds his M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering from Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany.
Samantha Phillips
Co-founder, Dynelectro.dk
Samantha Phillips is Co-founder at Dynelectro, Board Member and Technical Advisor. She is now employed 25+ years in energy and resource development, specialising in tech deployment, operations and project financing. Moreover, she has expertise in stakeholder engagement and global markets. Samantha is an active member of the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, foucsing on global market development (MENA, Australia, N. America, Europe).
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Elena Scaltritti
Chief Commercial Officer, Topsoe AS
Elena Scaltritti is Chief Commercial Officer of Topsoe. In her role, Elena works closely with customers and partners to help them achieve their decarbonization and emission reduction goals. As a member of Topsoe’s Senior Leadership Team, Elena brings unique insights on new market demands, industry trends and innovative technologies. She is responsible for the company’s commercial offerings across existing and emerging markets around the world. Elena is a member of the World Refining Association’s Conference advisory board and a leading industry voice on decarbonization of energy-intensive industries and long-distance transportation, with a special focus on sustainable aviation fuels to decarbonize aviation. Before joining Topsoe in 2022, Elena served as Executive Vice President at SONGWON Industrial Group, where she was responsible for global commercial activities. She also held leadership roles with BASF, Cipa Specialty Chemicals and Nalco Holding Company.
Marian Schmidt
Business Development Hydrogen, Festo Vertrieb GmbH & Co. KG
In 2013, Marian Schmidt has completed his Bachelor of Engineering. From 2017 onward, he worked at Festo as a Sales Engineer for Process Industry focussed on the region Mid-West Germany. In 2023, he joined MHA Zentgraf as Global Head of Sales. In 2024, Marian Schmidt returned to Festo to take on a role in Business Development and Industry Segment Management for Hydrogen.
Christian Scheller
Chief Executive Officer, DILO Armaturen und Anlagen GmbH
After completing his bank apprenticeship and economics studies, Mr. Scheller worked 6 years as a strategy consultant at Roland Berger. He then managed the "Mobile partition walls" sector of the DORMA Group, became Managing Director of DORMA Hüppe, and has been CEO of DILO Armaturen und Anlagen GmbH, the SF6 gas handling leader, for 12 years.
Dr. Jens Schmidt
Chief Executive Officer, Tree Energy Solutions
For the past 20 years, Jens Schmidt has worked with Fortune 500 companies as Corporate Technology Consultant/Fellow and Global Technology/Production Director to develop, start up, run, and improve world-scale production assets and advise mega projects on technical innovation and Operational Excellence across multiple businesses and geographies. He also led multiple cross functional global teams and task forces on technology strategies and roadmaps, digitalization and innovation management and specifically advised on decarbonization strategies and technologies for businesses in various industries around the world as expert e.g. on the decarbonization of energy and chemical production assets via green hydrogen and CCU, as well as other sustainable production routes for key raw materials.
Kathrin Schulz
Director Business Development, Member of the Management Team, Hynamics Germany GmbH
Renewable energy professional with more than 20 years of leadership experience, clear entrepreneurial mindset and in-depth skills in developing new business fields (hydrogen, power-to-X, energy storage, green gas, CCS/CCU, geothermal) as well as M&A and post-merger integration, very strong team and stakeholder manager.
Dr. Philipp Steinberg
Director General Economic Stabilization, Energy Security, Gas, Hydrogen Infrastructure, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
After having received his International Baccalaureate from the United World College of the Atlantic in Wales, UK, he studied law (License/Staatsexamen/PhD), economic policy and taxation/business administration (EMBA) at the Universities of Berlin (Humboldt-University), Paris (Panthéon-Assas) and Münster (Westfälische Wilhelms Universität).
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Willemien Terpstra
CEO, Gasunie
Willemien Terpstra is the Chief Executive Office (CEO) and Chair of the Executive Board of N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie, a European energy infrastructure company at the forefront of the energy transition. With over 25 years of experience in the chemical industry, Willemien has been instrumental in driving sustainability and decarbonization efforts.
Dr. Geert Tjarks
Chief Executive Officer, EWE Hydrogen GmbH
Dr.-Ing Geert Tjarks has joined EWE GASSPEICHER GmbH in October 2020 as Head of Business Development Hydrogen within the business unit Hydrogen. Since 2024 he is Managing Director of EWE HYDROGEN for the production of hydrogen within the EWE Group.
Özlem Tosun
Green Hydrogen Manager, Iberdrola Germany
She works as a green hydrogen manager at Iberdrola Germany, where she focuses on business development and the green hydrogen strategy for the German market. She holds a master’s degree in electrochemical energy conversion and has a background in engineering. Previously, Özlem worked as a project manager, building the world’s first hydrogen refilling stations for railway.
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Tobias van Almsick
Head of Gas Quality Competence Centre, Open Grid Europe GmbH
In 2006, Tobias van Almsick earned a PhD in Analytical Chemistry at the Ruhr University Bochum. Since then, he has held leading positions at E.ON Ruhrgas, and OGE. Since 2017, he has been serving as the Head of the Gas Quality Competence Centre at OGE. Additionally, Tobias van Almsick is actively involved as a chairman and member of various committees at DVGW, FNB Gas, CEN, and Marcogaz.
Tatiana Vilarinho
R&D Hydrogen Technology lead - Europe, Fortescue
R&D Hydrogen Technology Manager leading green hydrogen-related technology development programs in an international & collaborative approach, with 15 years professional experience in R&D and technology development, productionalisation & commercialisation strategy, including pilot projects for technology demonstration and scale-up.
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Maximilian Wack
CEO, HTM Hydro Technology Motors GmbH
Maximilian is one of the founders and CEO of the start-up HTM. HTM is a spin-off of the Technical University of Darmstadt and develops hydrogen hybrid systems for use in light commercial vehicles. In doing so, they are focusing on an new innovative system design that can be individually adapted to different use cases.
Franziska Weiss
Vice President Market & Business Development Europe, Siemens Energy
Franziska is a Vice President at Siemens Energy (SE), leading on market and business development in Europe. Her team’s territory stretches across 40 countries and is focused on eight sub regions, including Germany and the UK. SE is one of the world’s leading energy technology companies. Around one sixth of global electricity generation is based on technologies from SE.
Tilman Wilhelm
Director Policy and Communications, Press and PA, DVGW e.V.
From 2006-2008, Tilman has been policy officer for environmental policy and transport policy with the EU office. Then, from 2008-2022, he has been working at Germanys National Organisation Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NOW), first as Head of communications, then Head of communications and regional political networks. Since 2022, he is Head of public affairs and communications with German Gas and Water Association (DVGW).