European Gas Tech Conference: CCUS, Pyrolysis and BECCS – Advantage EU?

The 3rd edition of the European Gas Tech Conference CCUS, Pyrolysis and BECCS – Advantage EU? took place on 26 October 2023 (14:00 – 16:30 CEST) online.

In the framework of the Net Zero Industry Act, the conference brought together top-level industry leaders and policymakers to discuss the opportunities in Europe for low-carbon and potentially carbon-negative technology solutions, and the pace to meet the targets of the REPowerEU initiative.

Eurogas Events
26.10.2023
14:00 - 16:30GMT+1
Programme
Programme
14:00 - 14:05

Welcome speech

Speakers

Didier Holleaux

Didier Holleaux

President, Eurogas
Biography
Didier Holleaux
President, Eurogas

After graduating as an Engineer (Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole Nationale des Mines de Paris), Didier HOLLEAUX started to work as an Engineer in the car-manufacturing and in the oil industry. He then made a career in the French Civil Service which led him to the position of head of the departmental staff (“Directeur de Cabinet”) of the Energy Minister (1992-1993).

Didier HOLLEAUX joined Gaz de France (merged in GDF SUEZ in 2008 and renamed as ENGIE in 2015), in 1993. Since then, he held different managing positions in the transmission, distribution, and LNG businesses of the company. He also founded and managed the North Sea Exploration and Production (1997-2000) and managed the worldwide Exploration and Production of the group (2007-2015). Since 1st of July 2015, he is Executive Vice President of ENGIE. He is currently in charge of special projects particularly in the field of renewable gases and external representation.

Didier HOLLEAUX has been elected President of Eurogas in June 2021.

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14:05 - 14:25

Keynote speeches

Speakers

Jeroen Schuppers

Deputy Head of Unit for Clean Energy Transition, Clean Planet Directorate, DG Research, European Commission
Biography
Jeroen Schuppers
Deputy Head of Unit for Clean Energy Transition, Clean Planet Directorate, DG Research, European Commission

Jeroen Schuppers is Deputy Head of Unit for Clean Energy Transition within the European Commission. The unit supports research and innovation on all aspects of the clean ernergy transition.
Jeroen Schuppers holds a degree in geology from Utrecht University and a PhD from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. Before joing the European Commission in 2002, he held positions in the Geological Survey of the Netherlands and in the TNO Institute of Applied Geoscience.

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MEP Tsvetelina Penkova

Shadow Rapporteur NZIA, Member of ITRE Committee, European Parliament
Biography
MEP Tsvetelina Penkova
Shadow Rapporteur NZIA, Member of ITRE Committee, European Parliament

Tsvetelina PENKOVA is a Member of the European Parliament from the Group of Socialists and Democrats. She is a member of the Industry, Energy, Research, Regional Development and Internal market and the Committees. She is Vice-Chair of the Delegation to the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly. She was previously a finance specialist at an investment fund in London, an investment banker at the Royal Bank of Scotland and an analyst at Egon Zehnder. Prior to this she was a Consultant at ING and a financial analyst at Astra Zeneca. She holds a Master’s degree in Financial Economics from Oxford University, double Bachelor’s degree at Bocconi University in Milan and the Central European University in Budapest.

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14:25 - 14:35

Introductory speech – Role of carbon capture in the energy transition

Speakers

Etienne Anglès d’Auriac

Vice-President CCS Business Unit, TotalEnergies
Biography
Etienne Anglès d’Auriac
Vice-President CCS Business Unit, TotalEnergies

Etienne Anglès d’Auriac is managing the Carbon Capture & Storage business unit of TotalEnergies in Paris.
He has more than 20 years’ experience in the Oil and Gas sector, working in various locations such as
Dubai, Argentina, France and the UK.
After a first experience in Refining at ExxonMobil in the UK, Etienne joined TotalEnergies with growing
responsibilities in technical fields in France and the Middle-East.
He then left for a year’s training at the INSEAD business school in Fontainebleau. On his return, he held
various business development positions in France and in Argentina, including a position of adviser at
corporate level for TotalEnergies Executive Committee, he was then Vice-President for Strategy in the
Upstream Branch and was, in its latest position, Vice-President for Climate Strategy in Paris.
He graduated from French engineering schools in Paris and holds an MBA from INSEAD.

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Guloren Turan

General Manager – Advocacy & Communications, Global CCS Institute
Biography
Guloren Turan
General Manager – Advocacy & Communications, Global CCS Institute

Guloren is responsible for the Global CCS Institute’s Advocacy team globally, including its international climate policy activities focused on the UNFCCC and its related bodies. Guloren has extensive experience in the energy and climate fields. From 2015 to 2017, Guloren led the Government Affairs activities at the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline. Prior to this she held a number of roles over the course of 9 years at BG Group, including Head of Climate Change Strategy, Head of Business Risk for the Group and Lead Corporate Strategist. Guloren holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School of Government, an MBA from Cornell University and BSc Industrial Engineering from Istanbul Technical University.

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Johanna Fiksdahl

CCUS Team, DG Energy, European Commission
Biography
Johanna Fiksdahl
CCUS Team, DG Energy, European Commission

Johanna Fiksdahl is a policy officer and a seconded national expert on CCS in DG Energy
in the European Commission. She has more than 10 years of experience from
working in the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, on different topics
– most recently with the government follow-up of the Longship CCS project.
Johanna is an economist by training, with a Master of Science in International
Business and Politics from Copenhagen Business School (CBS).

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Rodrigo Moliner

Decarbonisation Strategy & Partnership Program Leader Europe & SSA, GE Power
Biography
Rodrigo Moliner
Decarbonisation Strategy & Partnership Program Leader Europe & SSA, GE Power

Rodrigo is an Industrial Engineer graduated by Universidad Pontificia de Comillas (Spain) and MBA by IE Business School. He has over 15 years of experience in the power generation technology sector starting my career with GE as a Field Engineer, then moving into contract manager roles managing key accounts in Europe and Middle East and currently working as Europe’s Decarbonization strategy and partnership leader for GE Gas Power. Throughout his career, Rodrigo’s stretch relationship with utility, industrial and oil & gas customers, has provided him with a holistic understanding of the decarbonization challenges that the customers face today to remain relevant and competitive in the current energy transition market. He now helps customers define a decarbonization strategy and accompanies them along the path to achieve their net zero targets through a range of groundbreaking sustainable solutions

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14:35 - 15:25

Panel 1 – European Leadership in Gas Tech – CCS & CCUS

Speakers

Etienne Anglès d’Auriac

Vice-President CCS Business Unit, TotalEnergies
Biography
Etienne Anglès d’Auriac
Vice-President CCS Business Unit, TotalEnergies

Etienne Anglès d’Auriac is managing the Carbon Capture & Storage business unit of TotalEnergies in Paris.
He has more than 20 years’ experience in the Oil and Gas sector, working in various locations such as
Dubai, Argentina, France and the UK.
After a first experience in Refining at ExxonMobil in the UK, Etienne joined TotalEnergies with growing
responsibilities in technical fields in France and the Middle-East.
He then left for a year’s training at the INSEAD business school in Fontainebleau. On his return, he held
various business development positions in France and in Argentina, including a position of adviser at
corporate level for TotalEnergies Executive Committee, he was then Vice-President for Strategy in the
Upstream Branch and was, in its latest position, Vice-President for Climate Strategy in Paris.
He graduated from French engineering schools in Paris and holds an MBA from INSEAD.

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Guloren Turan

General Manager – Advocacy & Communications, Global CCS Institute
Biography
Guloren Turan
General Manager – Advocacy & Communications, Global CCS Institute

Guloren is responsible for the Global CCS Institute’s Advocacy team globally, including its international climate policy activities focused on the UNFCCC and its related bodies. Guloren has extensive experience in the energy and climate fields. From 2015 to 2017, Guloren led the Government Affairs activities at the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline. Prior to this she held a number of roles over the course of 9 years at BG Group, including Head of Climate Change Strategy, Head of Business Risk for the Group and Lead Corporate Strategist. Guloren holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School of Government, an MBA from Cornell University and BSc Industrial Engineering from Istanbul Technical University.

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Johanna Fiksdahl

CCUS Team, DG Energy, European Commission
Biography
Johanna Fiksdahl
CCUS Team, DG Energy, European Commission

Johanna Fiksdahl is a policy officer and a seconded national expert on CCS in DG Energy
in the European Commission. She has more than 10 years of experience from
working in the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, on different topics
– most recently with the government follow-up of the Longship CCS project.
Johanna is an economist by training, with a Master of Science in International
Business and Politics from Copenhagen Business School (CBS).

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Rodrigo Moliner

Decarbonisation Strategy & Partnership Program Leader Europe & SSA, GE Power
Biography
Rodrigo Moliner
Decarbonisation Strategy & Partnership Program Leader Europe & SSA, GE Power

Rodrigo is an Industrial Engineer graduated by Universidad Pontificia de Comillas (Spain) and MBA by IE Business School. He has over 15 years of experience in the power generation technology sector starting my career with GE as a Field Engineer, then moving into contract manager roles managing key accounts in Europe and Middle East and currently working as Europe’s Decarbonization strategy and partnership leader for GE Gas Power. Throughout his career, Rodrigo’s stretch relationship with utility, industrial and oil & gas customers, has provided him with a holistic understanding of the decarbonization challenges that the customers face today to remain relevant and competitive in the current energy transition market. He now helps customers define a decarbonization strategy and accompanies them along the path to achieve their net zero targets through a range of groundbreaking sustainable solutions

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15:25 - 15:35

Coffee break

15:35 - 16:25

Panel 2 – European Leadership in Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage and pyrolysis

Speakers

Eve Tamme

Chair, Zero Emissions Platform
Biography
Eve Tamme
Chair, Zero Emissions Platform

Eve Tamme is a senior advisor on climate policy. Her expertise covers a broad range of policy tools and processes, including carbon markets, carbon removal, carbon capture and climate governance.

Working on climate policy since 2004, she has led the Climate Department in Estonian national administration, advised on climate policy in DG CLIMA in the European Commission, served as a diplomat at the Estonian Permanent Representation to the EU, and shaped international climate policy engagement at a global non-profit.

Today, Eve leads Climate Principles, a climate policy advisory. She works with private and public sector clients, providing strategic advice on European and international climate policy, focusing on carbon markets, carbon removal and carbon capture.

Eve is the Chair of the Zero Emissions Platform (ZEP), serves on the Board of Directors at Puro.earth, and on the Advisory Board of Carbon Gap.

She holds a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from TalTech University.

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Maria João Duarte

EMEA Representative to EU institutions, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Biography
Maria João Duarte
EMEA Representative to EU institutions, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Maria João Duarte is Representative to the EU institutions in Brussels and the head of the
Brussels Liaison Office for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries EMEA. She has 15 years’ experience in
public affairs, with a focus on energy transition and sustainability policies. Prior to joining the
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group, Maria João worked as an advisor to different trade
associations representing the interests of key industry players in the power generation and energy
storage businesses.
Ms Duarte represents the Group in a number of European and Global initiatives, like the Hydrogen
Council and the EU CCUS Forum.

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Matti Malkamäki

Chairman of the Board and founder, Hycamite TCD Technologies
Biography
Matti Malkamäki
Chairman of the Board and founder, 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 holds positions in influential groups such as ECH2A, the Finnish Hydrogen Cluster, and the BotH2nia initiative. 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.

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Zoltan Elek

Zoltan Elek

CEO, Landwärme
Biography
Zoltan Elek
CEO, Landwärme

Zoltan Elek graduated from the Technical University of Munich after completing a degree in Electrical Engineering, where he majored in Energy Technology. He is also a graduate of the Center for Digital Technology and Management at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, participated in an MBA program in cooperation with the University of California (Berkeley), and completed an executive program at Harvard Business School. After working for notable names such as E.ON Engineering, Stadtwerke München public utility company, and McKinsey & Company, Mr. Elek founded Landwärme in 2007 and is now the CEO of the Germany-based company. Landwärme is a biomethane supplier active in the European market. With a trading portfolio of more than 2.5 TWh, the company is the leading biomethane trader in Europe today. Besides trading, Landwärme also plans and operates biogas upgrading plants and offers services along the entire biomethane value chain. Not only is Mr. Elek’s company a pioneer in the German market, it is also building bridges between Eastern and Western Europe and doing away with obstacles that currently stand in the way of an integrated European market for renewable gas. Landwärme played a vital role in the successful implementation of the first Eastern European biomethane plant in Hungary, for example. In all, Mr. Elek offers a wealth of experience in, and well-founded knowledge of, the biomethane industry and markets in Europe. He actively participates in the discourse surrounding renewable energies and biomethane in particular and has given numerous presentations at both German and European events.

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16:25 - 16:30

Concluding remarks

Speakers

James Watson

James Watson

Secretary General, Eurogas
Biography
James Watson
Secretary General, Eurogas

Dr Watson is the Secretary General of Eurogas, a role he has held since January 2019. Eurogas is the association representing the European gas wholesale, retail and distribution sectors.

Prior to taking the helm at Eurogas, Dr Watson was the Chief Executive Officer of SolarPower Europe, the European solar industry association. Before joining SolarPower Europe, Dr Watson worked as the Director of Public Affairs for Weber Shandwick, specialising in energy and trade policy. Before coming to Brussels, Dr Watson worked for the Commonwealth Secretariat on a European Commission project on trade and sustainable development based in Ethiopia. Earlier in his career James worked for various UK government bodies in London and worked as a lecturer in Environmental Law at the University of Manchester.

He holds a Ph.D in International Trade and Environmental Law from the University of Leeds, and is currently a Visiting Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

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Additional information

The conference was moderated by Sasha Twining, Journalist, radio & TV presenter