Kyriakos Maniatis

Former European Commission, DG ENERGY
EUBCE SAF Roundtable &
Industry Track Coordinator

Kyriakos Maniatis till his retirement was Principal Administrator in Unit C2 – Directorate General for Energy, European Commission. In that role he was responsible for technical issues related to biofuels and managed the DG ENER demonstration component on advanced biofuels in the Commission’s the 7th Framework Programme. He contributed accordingly to the legislative actions of the EC and to the European Industrial Bioenergy Initiative of the SET Plan and he was involved in the CEN standardisation work on liquid and gaseous biofuels. He coordinated the team that launched in June 2011 the Biofuels FlightPath for Aviation in close cooperation with the aviation and biofuels sectors. Kyriakos also represented the European Commission in the Executive Committee of IEA Bioenergy Implementing Agreement and served as the ExCo Chairman in 2002, 2005-2007. He regularly organized workshops and conferences on these subjects.

Kees Kwant

Former Netherlands Enterprise Agency,
Ministry of Economic Affairs, RVO,
Co-Chair EUBCE 2026,
The Netherlands

Kees W. Kwant is a Senior Expert on Bioenergy and Circular Biobased Economy. He was employed at the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), a department of the Ministry of Climate and Green Growth in the Netherlands. He primarily links researchers and industry to help develop the circular biobased economy and bioenergy in the Netherlands and abroad. He has been active in bilateral collaborations on biobased applications and involved in the IEA Bioenergy Exco and was the chairman between 2014 – 2017. He was a member of the CEM Biofuture Initiative and Mission Director of the Mission Integrated Biorefineries for fuels and chemicals within Mission Innovation till the end of 2025. He is now ready to act as one of the chairman’s of the EUBCE and will continue to work in this area voluntarily and from his own company.

Mehdi Lakhdari

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan),
Canada

Mehdi Lakhdari serves as an Economist at Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) Canadian Forest Service (CFS) . For more than 15 years, Mehdi has focused on innovation and international collaboration representing Canada and developing projects under Mission Innovation Integrated Biorefineries, managing the Sustainable Aviation Fuel competition “Sky’s the Limit Challenge”, but also supporting the development of technology firms. Mehdi also worked on international trade (Canada – US softwood lumber Agreement), green finance and sustainable finance. Mehdi started his carrier in the private sector working for a Geneva based firm investing into oil projects before creating its own company. Mehdi is always looking for new ideas and to develop new projects. Mehdi has 2 Master’s degree, Economics, and Industrial Relations.

Shizhong Li

Tsingua University China,
China

Chief Scientist, Hydrogen Energy Materials and Engineering Research Center, Yangtze Delta Region Institute of Tsinghua University. Consultant, United Nations Development Programme （UNDP）-China Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Project. Organizing Committee Member, European Biomass Conference and Exhibition (EUBCE); Chair，EU-China Session of EUBCE. Research Interests: Biomass-to-Energy and Chemicals Conversion Technologies. Key Achievements: Pioneered systematic research on solid-state bioreactions across multiple scales (nm, µm, mm, and m). Developed the world's largest continuous solid-state bioreactor (55m length × 3.6m diameter) for successful ethanol demo production, and granted patents in multiple countries including the US and Australia. Invented low-cost transition metal catalysts and a staged reforming reactor system achieving 90% hydrogen yield from ethanol reforming. Also actively promotes the development of the ethanol-to-jet fuel industry. Strategic Contributions: Led/participated in formulating China's biofuel/bioenergy development strategies, roadmaps and incentive policies. Publication & Patents: 146 peer-reviewed papers, 61 authorized invention patents, 1 software copyright.

YB Ramakrishna

Senior Vice President IFGE, Chairperson IFGE, Former Chairman Working group on Biofuels MoPNG,
India

An Electronics Engineer with extensive experience in research, marketing, and business development, he has been actively involved in environmental protection and alternative energy since 1986 and is now fully dedicated to India's Bioenergy program. He chaired the Task Force on Biofuels in Karnataka and later served as Chairman of the Karnataka State Biofuel Development Board with ministerial rank. At the national level, he has played a pivotal role in biofuel policy formulation, serving as a Member Expert (Chairman: 2015-2018) on the Working Group on Biofuels, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG). He was instrumental in drafting the National Biofuel Policy 2018 and has contributed significantly to Indo-EU cooperation on Advanced Biofuels and the BioFuture Platform. Recognized for his contributions, he has received the Guliano Grassi Prize 2024 (EUBCE 2024), the Lifetime Contribution to Bioenergy Award from the Karnataka State Bio-Energy Development Board, and the Outstanding Green Energy Activist Award from the Indian Federation of Green Energy. Currently, he serves as a Member Expert on the Working Group on Biofuels (MoPNG) and the Apex Committee on Methanol Economy (NITI Aayog). He chairs the Task Force on Methanol Production from Biomass/MSW (NITI Aayog) and the Study Steering Committee on Surplus Agricultural Biomass (DST-TIFAC). He is also the Chairperson of the IFGE-CBG Producers Forum and an Advisor to GreenMeUp, a European Union initiative on Bio-Methane. He is actively associated with key industry organizations, including the Bio-Diesel Manufacturers Association of India (BMAI), Indian Federation of Green Energy (IFGE), Association of Bio-Technology Led Entrepreneurs (ABLE), Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association (ICEMA), and CII – Bioenergy.

James J. Spaeth

Former US DOE Bioenergy System Development & Integration (SDI) Program Manager Independent Sustainable Fuels Consultant,
USA

Jim has over 40 years of engineering, project management, business development and government affairs experience in the private sector and federal government. Jim served as the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office - System Development and Integration Program Manager for the last 12 years. In this role, Jim led the Bioenergy Program’s deployment and coalition development strategy for sustainable aviation fuels. His portfolio included the DOE investments in integrated biorefinery projects focused on advanced biofuels and bioproducts including sustainable aviation, marine and other heavy-duty biofuel applications. Jim also led the DOE Bioenergy international engagement activities, including serving as the Chair of the Biofuture Clean Energy Ministerial Initiative for the last four years, and also completed a 3-year term as the Chairperson of the IEA Bioenergy Technology Collaboration Program.

Angela Grassi

ETA-Florence Renewable Energies, Managing Director
EUBCE organiser & ExCo Chair

Angela Grassi is ETA-Florence Managing Director. Project management based on Economics and Political Science background and experience. Over 20 years organisation and management of high level international Conferences and Exhibitions in the field of Renewable Energies. Executive Committee Member of international conferences. Since 2000 organisation and management of the annual European Biomass Conference and Exhibition. Coordinator of international projects on renewable energies. Responsibilities include project definition, setting up of international teams, guidance and follow-up of project work, reporting, budgeting, project results assessment and dissemination of results. Author and co-author of papers published in proceedings of national and international conferences; contributions to specialised books. Preparation of final project reports for the European Commission. Managing editor of brochures, publications, scientific proceedings.