Kyriakos Maniatis

Former European Commission, DG ENERGY
EUBCE Industry Coordinator
Europe

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.

Nicolae Scarlat

European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Directorate for Energy, Mobility and Climate
EUBCE Technical Programme Chair
Europe

Nicolae Scarlat is scientific officer in the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC), Directorate for Energy, Mobility and Climate. He joined the JRC in 2006, providing scientific support for the formulation and implementation of the renewable energy legislation focusing on bioenergy and biofuels. He is coordinator of the bioenergy, biofuels, alternative fuels activities, assessing environmental impacts, technological development, greenhouse gas emissions and energy profiles. He contributed to the investigation of the role of biomass and bioenergy in a future bioeconomy, current status and perspectives for development. Other activities included biomass resource assessment, resource mapping and spatial analyses, integrating statistical & spatial data and sustainability constraints. He contributed to the assessment of the key bioenergy technologies, state-of-the-art, anticipated developments, market status and trends. He coordinates key activities, including assessing GHG emission savings of bioenergy and alternative fuels pathways; greenhouse gas emission accounting of innovative, low carbon projects; assessing greenhouse gas emissions from renewable fuels of non-biological origin and recycled carbon fuels and co-processing. He contributes to the activities aiming at decarbonising transport via advanced biofuels and alternative fuels at European scale in different transport modes (aviation, maritime, road transport). He is involved in many strands of work on assessing the sustainability of hydrogen production and greenhouse gas emission accounting. He contributes to several working groups, such as the IWG of SET-Plan on renewable fuels and bioenergy, IEA Bioenergy Task 39 and International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy.

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

Professor Li holds a PhD in Environmental Science and Engineering, from the Beijing University of Science & Technology. He also holds B.S. in Chemical Engineering Tianjin University. His field of expertise focusses on Advanced Biofuels Study including 1.5 generation (sweet sorghum ethanol) and 2nd (cellulosic ethanol, biogas), 4th generation biofules (photosynthetic hydrogen) biofuels research. Established a primary database of Biomass Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics and fundamental research system for solid state bioreaction at nm, μm, mm, and m levels, and successfully developed and tested the largest solid state bioreactor (55m long, 3.6m diameter) for bioethanol production in the world.

YB Ramakrishna

Former Chairman – Working group on Biofuels, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas

An Electronics Engineer by training had an illustrious career in Research, Marketing and business development. His journey on environment protection and Alternative Energy started in 1986 and is now completely devoted to the Bio Energy program. He Chaired the Task force on Biofuels in Karnataka. He later was made the Chairman of Karnataka State Biofuel development Board with the rank of a Minister. He was instrumental in setting up 30 Biofuel information & demonstration centers in the state of karnataka. He engaged over 400,000 farmers to plant and nurture over 45 Million tree based oil seed species in the state of Karnataka and was the architect of the Karnataka state Biofuel policy. He was appointed as advisor to the Government of India on Biofuels in 2014 and appointed Chairman of the Working group on Biofuels by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural gas; Government of India in 2015. He has been instrumental in drafting the Indian “National Biofuel Policy 2018” and many Biofuel initiatives in India. He has also played a catalytic role in the formation of Indo–EU cooperation in Advanced Biofuels and in the formation of the Biofuture platform. Partner in BEST Associates (Bio Energy for Sustainable transformation) founded in Feb 2021. He has been serving the Industry as an advisor to Indian federation of Green Energy (IFGE) and is the Chairman of the IFGE CBG Producers Forum. He is also the founder Co-Chairman of the Low Carbon Biofuel Forum.

Jim Spaeth

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.

Preeti Jain

IATA, International Air Transport Association

Dr. Preeti Jain is Head, Net Zero Research & Programs at IATA (International Air Transport Association). With more than 2 decades of experience with leading global energy companies she has successfully spearheaded policy advocacy and business development focused on environment, energy transition and sustainability. She serves on different industry committees and advisory board to drive energy transition. A Fulbright alumna by USDOE, she is an ardent believer of enhancing women equity across organisations.

Paolo Frankl

IEA, International Energy Agency

Paolo Frankl is the Head of the Renewable Energy Division (RED) at the International Energy Agency (IEA), which he joined in summer 2007. In this role Paolo Frankl coordinates the Division’s activities, encompassing the status and progress of renewable energy technologies; renewable energy policies and markets; and system-integration issues. A physicist by training, Paolo Frankl holds a Ph.D in energy and environmental technologies from the University of Rome. Previous positions held were in academia and in private Italian consultancy firms researching renewable energy, life cycle assessment and eco-labeling.

Sergi Alegre

Airport Regions Council
Europe

Sergi Alegre (Ph D. Contemporary History) is the actual Director General of Airport Regions Council. Due his position he has participated as speaker in plenty of conferences and events focused on the different topics of the relationships between airports and territories and has been involved in the development of numerous EU funded projects on these topics, especially on the environmental ones with like OLGA, TULIPS, STARGATE, ALIGHT, D-AIR, etc. At the present moment he is member of the advisory committee of 8 EU funded project He is member of the Advisory Committee of Aeroports du Paris Group and of some of the most important European initiatives like the Alliance for a Zero Emission Aviation, the FlyingGreen Stakeholder Engagement and Consultation Group (EUROCONTROL), the Renewable and Low-Carbon Fuels Value Chain Industrial Alliance and the Zero Pollution Stakeholder Forum.

Jean-Marie Mizzi

Fuels Europe
Europe

Mr. Jean-Marie Mizzi joined FuelsEurope in August 2023 as Policy Executive in charge of fuels for automotive, aviation, maritime and heating oils value chains. He is seconded from ExxonMobil where he held a position as Low Carbon Fuels Policy Advisor for EAME during the development of the Fit-for-55 package, leading in parallel business development opportunities and performing advocacy with French authorities. Earlier in his career, Jean-Marie Mizzi held a variety of business transformation and business development positions at ExxonMobil. He led the conversion of the Esso branded service station network to a distributor model in France and was a forefront player in the centralization of ExxonMobil’s lubricants and specialties customer service activities in Europe. He also served a number of years in sales and sales leadership positions within ExxonMobil Chemicals and ExxonMobil Lubricants Divisions. Jean-Marie Mizzi has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Arts-et-Métiers ParisTech | ENSAM.

Marzouk Benali

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)
Canada

Chemical Engineering in training, Dr. Marzouk Benali is a Senior Research Scientist and Research Manager at CanmetENERGY, Natural Resources Canada. With extensive national and international experience in process design, intensification, and sustainability assessment, he leads R&D on bioeconomy, clean fuels, hydrogen integration, and biorefinery technologies. His work supports the scale-up of low-carbon solutions, from lab to demonstration, including intellectual property transfer, standards development, and decision-support tools. Dr. Benali’s leadership bridges science, technology, and policy to advance decarbonization in hard-to-abate sectors through integrated, regionally tailored strategies. He is the Canadian delegate to IEA-IETS TCP.

SSV Ramakumar

AM Green
India

Dr.SSV Ramakumar is currently the Chief Technology officer and Executive Vice President of AM Green- a company promoted by Greenko. In his current assignment, he is responsible for technology scouting, due diligence and adoption of various green technologies that will transform the company’s journey from green electrons to green molecules. He is also a member of the management committee (Board) of AM green, heading the subcommittee on technology & innovation. Previously, Dr. Ramakumar has been Director, (R&D) on the Board of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., from Feb.2017- July 2023.

Shashi Menon

EcoEngineers
USA

Shashi Menon is CEO of EcoEngineers, a clean energy consulting, auditing, and advisory firm recently acquired by leading global assurance partner LRQA. He holds more than 25 years of business strategy and business development experience in finance, investments, and renewable energy consulting. Mr. Menon established EcoEngineers in 2009 to steer low-carbon fuel producers through the complexities of emerging energy regulations in the United States. Today, he leads a global team of engineers, scientists, auditors, consultants, and researchers with deep expertise on global fuels policy, energy and carbon markets, and innovative technologies to meet energy demands. Visit ecoengineers.us.

Biljana Kulisic

European Commission, DG ENER
Europe

Biljana Kulisic, PhD, is policy officer at the Unit C2 Decarbonization and sustainability of energy sources within European Commission Directorate-General for Energy. Biljana has over 20 years of experience in concerted policy and assessing socio-economic aspects of bioenergy that she brings to the European Commission. She is looking how scientific concepts can be transformed to the evidence-based policies in biomass use for the climate change adaptation and mitigation. The focus is to use biomass for bioenergy in its best and only when needed, while keeping the eye on the sustainable and circular bioeconomy. She has been involved in work with IEA Bioenergy TCP since 2005, now representing the European Commission. For this session, it is important to highlight that biomethane, either as biogas or its upgraded version, falls under her files.

Bella Zhang

Envision Hongshan Carbon Neutrality Fund
China

Bella Zhang is Vice President at Envision Hongshan Carbon Neutrality Fund. Prior to this, she founded and led Plug and Play’s Energy & Sustainability programs in China, fostering corporate-startup collaboration. She holds a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from UC Berkeley and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering with a Business minor from HKUST.

Alastair Βlanshard

ICF
USA

Alastair leads the sustainable aviation team at ICF, supporting companies and governments across the global industry to reduce the environmental impact from aviation. This includes development and implementation of decarbonization strategies, working with airlines and investors to understand, identify and contract for sustainable fuels, and developing aviation decarbonisation policies. In recent projects, he’s contributed to the EU and UK SAF policies, supported over $10 Billion of investments and offtakes in SAF, and has been a lead author for decarbonisation studies in Canada, US, Japan, Kazakhstan, Australia, Iceland, UK, and ongoing work in South America.

Greg Archer

Lanzatech
USA

Greg Archer is Policy and Projects Director at LanzaTech which captures and transforms waste carbon using biotechnology. LanzaTech contributed to the approval of the SAF Alcohol to Jet pathway and has spun out LanzaJet to commercialize the technology. LanzaTech produces over 300kt pa of ethanol from waste which it uses to produce diverse products ranging from textiles to fragrancies, packaging and surfactants and fuel replacing virgin fossil feedstock with recycled carbon. Greg’s role includes both advocating for a shift from fossil to sustainable feedstock in the chemicals industry & developing SAF supply chain projects. During a career focused on environmental policy, Greg has worked in every sector including government, industry and NGOs. Key past achievements include leading the development of the world’s first national carbon and sustainability report scheme for biofuels; exposing the industry-wide nature of the Dieselgate scandal; successfully advocating for a phase-out of cars with engines in the UK and EU; and for the UK SAF Mandate. He is a member of the Board of the Renewable Carbon Initiative and CO2 Value Europe and describes himself as a pragmatic environmentalist.

Maxime Vassieu

AXENS
Europe

Maxime Vassieu is a seasoned engineer with over 20 years of experience in technology development and promotion. He is currently the Lead Technologist at AXENS Renewable Products Line, focusing on low-carbon fuel production technologies and collaborating with R&D to enhance profitability. Throughout his career at Axens, Maxime has worked on various technologies, including gasoline production, Sustainable Aviation Fuel, and more. Previously, he was the Technical Support Leader at Newton's, specializing in drying and desulfurization catalysts. Maxime holds a Chemical Engineering degree from Centrale Engineering, Marseille, and a Master's in Chemistry from the University Aix Marseille 3.

Denis Arguin

Enerkem
Canada

Denis Arguin leads the technical and commercial activities in the development of projects using Enerkem technology from the feasibility study to the final investment decision by our partners. Denis brings over 30 years of experience in industrial process/product development, new technology commercialization, engineering, and operational management experience. Denis joined Enerkem more than 15 years ago. Prior to that, he led over 20 plant start-ups across the globe in a wide range of industries from oil & gas refining, petrochemicals, biofuels, process minerals and metallurgy. He held several management roles in Canada, the USA and Europe with increasing responsibility, including Gulf Canada, Union Carbide, Kemtec (now Parachem), Minerals Technologies, Technologies Orbite and CelluForce. Denis Arguin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering as well as an Executive MBA from Western University in London, Ontario.

Ge Panzhu

Sinopec
China

Dr. Ge Panzhu, Group Lead，Senior Engineer at SINOPEC Research Institute of Petroleum Processing Co., LTD. (RIPP). She holds B.S. degree in environmental engineering and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemical technology. She has over 10 years’ experience in research and development of technologies for petroleum product quality and processing efficiency improvement, as well as for green and low carbon development of refineries. Ge Panzhu’s main research and development achievements cover the quality upgrade and high-value added utilization of gasoline and diesel, deactivation of hydroprocessing catalysts, biomass oil processing and hydrogen production/utilization. Among them, the gasoline selective hydrodesulfurization technology and catalysts, and high activity diesel hydrotreating catalysts have been wildly used. Ge Panzhu has more than 30 patents and over 20 research publications.

Lindsay Fitzgerald

GEVO
USA

Lindsay Fitzgerald currently serves as the Chief Advocacy and Communications Officer at Gevo. She leads a global team whose mission is to develop and promote policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Before joining Gevo in 2021, Ms. Fitzgerald was Director of Government Affairs at Renewable Energy Group, a leading provider of biodiesel and renewable biodiesel, where she was responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive regulatory policy strategy at the state, local, federal, and international levels. She also served as Director of Regulatory Affairs at the National Biodiesel Board. She started her career as a consulting member, then government team member responsible for implementation of the Renewable Fuel Standard at the U.S. EPA. She is a seasoned government affairs professional with a special aptitude for strategy, collaboration, and big-picture, actionable planning, and execution.

Jordan Salomon

Ecostar
Canada

Jordan Solomon is the President and CEO of Ecostrat, where he has overseen the Biomass Advisory Group and Biomass Supply Group for over 25 years. He is also the Chairman of the Biofuel Development Opportunity (BDO) Zone Initiative, which aims to catalyze and accelerate new bio-based plant development across North America with the goal of "1000 BDO Zones in 4 years". Jordan is a recognized North American leader in biomass supply chain risk assessment and development. He led the development of the Canadian and US National Standards for Biomass Supply Chain Risk. He has overseen the development and operation of biomass supply chains for over 5,000,000 tonnes of feedstock for various bioenergy, biofuel, renewable chemical, and biogas projects. Jordan's expertise includes bio-project supply chain risk assessment, finance, bio-resource trading, contracting, and risk mitigation for feedstock supply.

Dusita de Hoop

SkyNRG
Europe

Dusita has a background in chemical engineering from Delft University of Technology and work experience in the petrochemical industry on topics within decarbonization. After finishing her Engineering Doctorate in process and equipment design, Dusita joined SkyNRG in 2023. Her role as a senior analyst in the R&D team focuses on the development of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through research on prospective feedstocks and novel SAF production technologies with key areas of interest in pathways using biomass. She is involved in the SkyNRG market outlook analysis in addition to multiple R&D projects on novel SAF production pathways and SAF ASTM certification.

Shaofeng Gao

Jinan Shengquan Group Share-Holding Co.
China

Michael Hecquet

TotalEnergies

Currently, he serves as the Director of the Biomass Research Institute of Jinan Shengquan Group Co., Ltd. and the Chief Engineer of Daqing Shengquan Green Technology Co., Ltd. He holds a senior engineer title and has received the May Day Labor Medal of Jinan City. With over 20 years of experience in chemical engineering and biomass process design, research, and management, he has undertaken more than 20 key national, provincial, and ministerial-level projects. Among them, he has led 1 project under the National High-Tech Research and Development Program (863 Program), 2 projects under the National Key New Product Program; he has accumulated 211 granted patents, including 4 international invention patents, 1 China Patent Excellent Award, 1 Patent Excellent Award in the Textile Industry, 1 Shandong Provincial Patent Award, and the company has thus become a national experimental base for patent information utilization. He has also won 1 First Prize of Excellent Engineering Survey and Design in Shandong Province and 1 First Prize of Science and Technology Progress in Jinan City.