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Eurogas Annual Conference 'A Pathway to Solutions'

21mar14:3017:30Eurogas Annual Conference 'A Pathway to Solutions'Brussels

Time

(Tuesday) 14:30 - 17:30

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Location

Stanhope hotel, rue du Commerce 9, Brussels

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Event Details

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The Eurogas Annual Conference ‘A Pathway to Solutions‘ took place on 21 March 2023 in Brussels (Stanhope hotel) and online from 14:30 to 17:30 CET, followed by a networking drink.

Programme

Welcome speech
Didier Holleaux, President of Eurogas

Keynote speeches
Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President, European Commission
MEP Jerzy Buzek, Member of the ITRE Committee, European Parliament

Introductory speech
Oleksiy Chernyshov, Chairman of the Board & CEO, Naftogaz of Ukraine

Panel 1 – Emergency measures: Enhancing Solidarity
Cristina Lobillo Borrero, Energy Platform Task Force, DG ENER, European Commission
Dennis Hesseling, Head of Department, Infrastructure, Gas and Retail, ACER
Matthias Buck, Director Europe, Agora Energiewende
Miroslav Kulla, CEO, SPP

Coffee break

Biomethane for Heavy-Duty Transport: Efficient and sustainable decarbonization today and tomorrow
Zoltan Elek, CEO, Landwärme

Panel 2 – The future of renewable & low-carbon gases in Heavy-Duty Transport
Timm Kehler, President of NGVA Europe
Nadège Leclercq, Senior Director, Government Relations and Market Development, Westport Fuel Systems
Julia Poliscanova, Senior Director Vehicles and Emobility, T&E

Katinka von Bonin, Environmental Manager, IRU

Closing
Ditte Juul Jørgensen, Director General, DG ENER, European Commission

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

Speakers for this event

  • Cristina Lobillo Borrero

    Cristina Lobillo Borrero

    Director, Energy Platform Task Force, DG ENER, European Commission

    Originally, from Cordoba in Spain, Cristina Lobillo Borrero is a lawyer with qualifications
    from Spain, Belgium and the Harvard Business School.
    Having previously worked in the Spanish government for the Ministry of Agriculture,
    Fisheries and Food, she joined the European Commission in 2004, working originally on
    agriculture policy and then moving to trade issues.
    From 2014 to 2019 she was the Head of Cabinet to the then EU Commissioner for Climate
    Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete. As Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete was the EU’s
    chief negotiator in the COP, she was present in Paris for parts of the COP21 session and
    therefore had an important role in the EU team. Former Commissioner’s term in office was
    also noted for its successful overhaul of EU energy legislation under the so-called Clean
    energy for all Europeans package.
    From December 2019 to June 2020, she was Principal Adviser at the Directorate General for
    Agriculture and, from June 2020 to June 2022, she was Director for Energy Policy: Strategy
    and Coordination in the European Commission’s Directorate General for Energy. In this role,
    she was heavily involved in the preparations of the legislative proposals of “fit for 55”
    package. Her responsibilities as Director also included overseeing EU international relations
    on energy issues, coordination with Member States as well as with the EU institutions,
    together with the communication, legal and economic aspects of EU energy policy.
    Since June 2022 she is Director – Head of Energy Platform Task Force in DG ENER, European
    Commission.

    Director, Energy Platform Task Force, DG ENER, European Commission

  • Dennis Hesseling

    Dennis Hesseling

    Head of Department Infrastructure, Gas and Retail, ACER

    Mr. Dennis Hesseling joined the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators ACER as Head of the Gas Department in December 2012. He is responsible for the Agency’s gas activities regarding network codes, infrastructure, and market monitoring. He is also the Agency’s representative to the Energy Community Regulatory Board.
    Before joining ACER, Mr. Hesseling worked as Head of Unit in the Competition Department of the Netherland Competition Authority NMa (ACM), responsible for merger control and antitrust enforcement in the Dutch energy, telecommunications and media sectors. Prior to that, he worked in the NMa’s Energy Regulation department from 2002 on, mainly on gas issues. From 2000 he worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company in Brussels, providing strategic and operational advice to postal companies and banks.
    Mr. Hesseling holds a PhD in Mathematics from Utrecht University, the Netherlands. He received additional training at McKinsey, business school IMD (Lausanne), and the Dutch programme for prospective top civil servants. Mr. Hesseling trained energy regulators and competition authorities in Romania, Bulgaria, the Ukraine, Turkey and Vietnam, and political parties in various African countries.

    Head of Department Infrastructure, Gas and Retail, ACER

  • Didier Holleaux

    Didier Holleaux

    President of 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.

    President of Eurogas

  • Ditte Juul Jørgensen

    Ditte Juul Jørgensen

    Director General, DG ENER, European Commission

    Ms Ditte Juul Jørgensen became the Director-General for Energy at the European Commission on 1 August 2019. In this capacity, she leads the Directorate-General and its efforts to ensure access to affordable, secure, reliable and clean energy for all Europeans; to promote efficient production and use of energy; and to drive the process of becoming the first climate-neutral continent while contributing to Europe’s sustainable growth and job creation. Before assuming this role, Ms Juul Jørgensen served as the Head of Cabinet for Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. During this time, Ms Juul Jørgensen steered work to ensure that all companies compete equally and fairly on their own merits to benefit consumers, businesses and the European economy as a whole. A committed civil servant in the European Commission since 1992, Ms Juul Jørgensen also held Head of Unit and Director positions in the Directorate-General for Trade. It was here that she managed European Union policy and negotiations in the World Trade Organization, provided legal advice and led dispute settlement work. Ms Juul Jørgensen has almost twenty years of experience in multilateral trade policy and World Trade Organization matters. As Head of Unit, she has also worked on sustainable development, sanitary and phytosanitary issues and European Union trade relations with partner countries. Ms Juul Jørgensen’s career also includes service as the Head of the Economic Section of the European Union Delegation to the United Nations in New York, where she represented the European Union on trade, sustainable development, international partnerships, finance and legal issues. Other formative experiences include work in the Directorate-General for Competition and at the European Court of Justice. Ms Juul Jørgensen is a law graduate from the University of Copenhagen and the College of Europe.

    Director General, DG ENER, European Commission

  • Julia Poliscanova

    Julia Poliscanova

    Senior Director Vehicles and Emobility, T&E

    Julia joined T&E in June 2015 and now leads its vehicles and electrification work across light and heavy-duty road transport. This includes policy and projects on car emissions and emobility, such as EU vehicle CO2 standards, sustainable batteries, and infrastructure for electric vehicles. Julia also represents T&E on the board of the Global Battery Alliance, and is an unpaid advisor to the board of Vulcan Energy Resources. Julia previously worked as senior EU environment expert for the Mayor of London and, as an advisor to an MEP, followed legislation on renewables, energy efficiency and sustainable transport. Hailing from Latvia, Julia studied European politics and French at Goldsmiths, University of London, and holds an MSc in energy from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, specialising in batteries and fuel cells. She speaks English, French, Latvian and Russian, and loves swimming and travelling in her spare time – as well as good red wine (with emphasis on oenology, not drinking, of course).

    Senior Director Vehicles and Emobility, T&E

  • Katinka von Bonin

    Katinka von Bonin

    Environmental Manager, IRU

    Katinka is leading on environmental files at the International Road Transport Union (IRU) and is responsible for political advocacy on files relevant to the commercial road transport sector that are linked to environmental topics, such as GHG or pollutant emission reduction.
    Her professional experience involved political advocacy at Deutsche Post DHL, where she was employed as EU Regulatory Affairs Manager for more than six years, focusing on transport and environment related topics. She also worked at NGVA Europe where she was employed as EU Regulatory Affairs Manager for four years, responsible for political advocacy on transport and environment topics.
    Katinka holds a degree in business administration and management with a focus on marketing and international relations.

    Environmental Manager, IRU

  • Maroš Šefčovič

    Maroš Šefčovič

    Vice-President, European Commission

    Maroš Šefčovič (born in 1966) is a Slovak diplomat, who since 1 December 2019 has served as Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight. In this capacity, he leads the Commission’s work on interinstitutional relations, better policymaking, strategic foresight and the European Battery Alliance. He is also responsible for the European Union’s relations with Western non-EU countries, notably Andorra, Iceland, Monaco, Norway, Lichtenstein, San Marino and Switzerland. He also co-chairs the EU-UK Partnership Council under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the EU-UK Joint Committee for the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement. European affairs have been at the centre of Mr Šefčovič’s career for almost two decades. In 2014, he was elected as a Member of the European Parliament. From 2010-2019, he was Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of first Interinstitutional Relations and Administration, and then the Energy Union. In 2009-2010, he was European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth. From 2004 -2009, he was the Permanent Representative of the Slovak Republic to the European Union, contributing to the country’s major integration projects, such as its entry to the Eurozone and the Schengen area. As a diplomat by profession, he served between 1992 and 2004 in Zimbabwe and Canada and as Ambassador to Israel. He graduated from the University of Economy in Bratislava, Slovakia, and the Moscow State Institute for Foreign Relations. He holds a degree as Doctor of Law and a PhD of European Law from Faculty of Law at the Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. He also undertook training in diplomacy at Stanford University, USA. He wrote a book “Driving the EU forward – talks with Maroš Šefčovič”, focused on his first mandate as the Commission Vice-President. In 2018, he was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa at the Pan-European University in Bratislava, Slovakia.

    Vice-President, European Commission

  • Matthias Buck

    Matthias Buck

    Director Europe, Agora Energiewende

    Matthias Buck directs the European energy policy work at Agora Energiewende with activities in Brussels, France, Poland, the Pentalateral Forum region, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Romania, and the six Western Balkan countries.

    Before joining Agora Energiewende in September 2015, Matthias Buck worked for more than ten years with the European Commission: in the Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy; as a Commission expert seconded to the German government advising on EU aspects of the German energy transition; as member of the cabinet of Janez Potočnik, former EU Commissioner for the environment; and as EU negotiator for multilateral and regional environmental and free trade agreements.

    Matthias Buck is a fully qualified German lawyer and political scientist. He studied in Germany, Spain, the US, and the UK. Matthias is the author or editor of several books and has written numerous papers and book chapters. He was co-founder and a long-year editor of the Journal for European Environmental & Planning Law.

    Director Europe, Agora Energiewende

  • MEP Jerzy Buzek

    MEP Jerzy Buzek

    Member of the ITRE Committee, European Parliament

    Jerzy Buzek – Member of the European Parliament continuously since 2004. In 2009-2012 he was the President of the European Parliament, being the first and only head of this institution from Central and Eastern Europe. In the current 9th term of the EP, he is a member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE). Currently, he is the rapporteur for the key regulation on the EU market for hydrogen, natural gas and renewable gases. In addition, he is leading – on behalf of the European People’s Party, the biggest political group in the EP – work on a directive on the same subject. He also managed the work of the EP negotiating team on new regulations on gas storage. At the EP, he was the author of important reports, including amendments to the gas directive, regulation on the security of gas supply or the 7th Framework Program for Research and Innovation. In 2016, the “Euractiv” portal placed him in the “EurActory40” ranking among the three most influential people in the European energy policy. “Member of the European Parliament of the Year” 2006 and 2013, according to the Brussels “The Parliament Magazine”. The winner of the “Rzeczpospolita” daily rankings for the best Polish MEP in 2008 and 2018. In the years 1997-2001, Jerzy Buzek was the Prime Minister of the Polish Government, who introduced the reforms of administration, education, health and retirement, and began negotiations regarding Poland’s membership in the European Union. He is the Knight of the Order of the White Eagle.

    Member of the ITRE Committee, European Parliament

  • Miroslav Kulla

    Miroslav Kulla

    CEO, SPP

    He has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Slovenský plynárenský priemysel, a.s. since 9 October 2022. He also serves as the CEO. In the period of 2002-2005, he worked at various positions in Slovak Telekom. He joined VSE Holding in 2005, initially serving as the Acting Chief Financial Officer and the Development Manager. Later, between 2006 and 2022, he worked at various positions as the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer, Member of the Board of Directors and the Sales Director. In the period of 2008-2022, he was the Managing Director of RWE Gas Slovensko and its successor company – innogy Slovensko, s.r.o. Between 2013 and 2016, he also served as the Director of Operations and the Member of the Board of Directors of RWE Hrvatska/RWE Energija. He graduated from ESCP-EAP, Paris Business School and the Faculty of Management of Comenius University in Bratislava.

    CEO, SPP

  • Nadège Leclercq

    Nadège Leclercq

    Government Relations and Market Development, Westport Fuel Systems

    Nadège Leclercq is Senior Director, Government Relations and Market Development at Westport Fuel Systems. Since 2011 she has been actively engaged in facilitating the deployment of alternative fuel vehicles, particularly in the European heavy-duty transport sector.
    Westport Fuel Systems is a leading supplier of advanced fuel delivery components and systems for a wide range of affordable alternative low-carbon fuels such as natural gas, biomethane, propane, and hydrogen. Westport is driving cleaner performance by addressing lower emissions regulations with practical applications using innovation available today.
    Nadège is an active member of several industry associations including Eurogas, Hydrogen Europe and the Hydrogen Council. She has been Senior Vice President of NGVA Europe, the European Natural & bio Gas Vehicle Association, until the association merged with Eurogas in 2024. She is active on the political, technical, and marketing and communications issues specific to renewable gas in transport. Nadège has also been President of the French standardization group BNG 326-340 dealing with gas mobility installations and Vice Chair of the NGVA Europe Technical Committee.

    Government Relations and Market Development, Westport Fuel Systems

  • Oleksiy Chernyshov

    Oleksiy Chernyshov

    Chairman of the Board & CEO, Naftogaz of Ukraine

    Prior to joining Naftogaz, Mr. Chernyshov served as Governor of Kyiv Region in 2019-2020 and minister of Communities’ and Territories’ Development of Ukraine in 2020-2022.
    Chernyshov has over 20 years of experience in business and investment in Ukraine and abroad. Before entering the public sector, he implemented a number of economically crucial projects as CEO and Founder of investment and development companies.

    Chairman of the Board & CEO, Naftogaz of Ukraine

  • Timm Kehler

    Timm Kehler

    President of NGVA Europe

    Since 2013 Dr Timm Kehler has been serving as Chairman and CEO of Germany’s leading gas advocacy group “Zukunft Gas”. Zukunft Gas is committed to ensuring that the potential of gaseous energy sources, such as natural gas, biogas and hydrogen, and the existing gas infrastructure is used to further drive the energy transition, both now and in the future. The advocacy group is the key point of contact for consumers, policymakers, and market partners on gas-related matters. Since its foundation in 2013, around 130 leading companies along the gas value chain, such as importers, regional suppliers, and municipal utilities, have joined the initiative. Various affiliated industry associations, heating suppliers and vehicle manufacturers support Zukunft Gas as partners. To further promote the benefits of natural gas mobility on a European level Dr Timm Kehler was appointed President at NGVA Europe in September 2020. From 2009 to 2015 Dr Timm Kehler was the CEO of erdgas mobil GmbH, a service provider offering infrastructure, sales and marketing services, which are now operated by Zukunft ERDGAS, today Zukunft Gas. Before joining erdgas mobil, Kehler held various management positions at the BMW Group over a time period of 12 years. Among others, he served as Vice President Marketing Pre-Development and Innovation, where he was responsible for the marketing innovation think-tank, telematics and online services as well as the hydrogen vehicle initiative “BMW CleanEnergy”. Dr Kehler studied mechanical engineering and industrial design in Berlin and received his Ph.D. in production engineering from the Technical University in Berlin. In 2007, he was nominated “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum.

    President of NGVA Europe

  • Zoltan Elek

    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.

    CEO, Landwärme