Eurogas Annual Regional Conference 'Czech Republic: The Energy Transition and the role of Gas'

Time
(Wednesday) 09:30 - 12:00
Location
Grandium Hotel Prague
Politických vězňů 913/12, 110 00 Nové Město, Praha
Event Details
7 December 2022 (09:30 – 12:00 CET) | Prague and online
Event Details
7 December 2022 (09:30 – 12:00 CET) | Prague and online
The second edition of the Eurogas Annual Regional Conference ‘Czech Republic: The Energy Transition and the Role of Gas’ has taken place on 7 December 2022 (09:30 – 12:00 CET) in Prague (Grandium Hotel Prague) and online. The event was organised in the context of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union, with the kind support of the Czech Gas Association.
Full programme:
09.00 | Registration & welcome coffee
09.30 | Opening speeches
Veronika Vohlídková, Acting Executive Director, Czech Gas Association
Didier Holleaux, President, Eurogas
09.40 | Keynote speeches
René Neděla, Deputy Minister for Industry and Trade – Energy, Czech Presidency
Cristina Lobillo Borrero, Director – Head of Energy Platform Task Force, DG ENER, European Commission
MEP Alexandr Vondra, Member of the ENVI Committee, European Parliament
10.05 | Panel 1 – Energy Emergency: Protecting the EU and the region
The panel will address the functioning of the regional gas market and its evolution, in the context of an emergency situation.
Paul Voss, Director General, European Aluminium
Martin Šik, Director of Analysis and Data Support Department, Energy Regulatory Office
Roxana Caliminte, Deputy Secretary General, GIE
Ing. Pavel Řežábek, Head Economist, ČEZ Group
Followed by a Q&A
10.55 | Coffee break
11.10 | Panel 2 – A transition to renewable and low-carbon gases in the EU and the region
This panel will discuss the potential of renewable and low carbon gases in the region in an emergency context.
Veronika Vohlídková, Member of the Board, Czech Hydrogen Technology Platform
Andreas Rau, CEO, Net4Ga
Jan Habart, Chairman, CZ Biom
Followed by a Q&A
12.00 | End
The conference was moderated by Lenka Kovačovská, Energy Policy Consultant
The conference was followed by a post-event networking lunch
#ARCCzechia
Speakers for this event
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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
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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
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Ing. Pavel Řežábek
Ing. Pavel Řežábek
Head Economist, ČEZ group
Head Economist, ČEZ group
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Jan Habart
Jan Habart
Chairman, CZ Biom
Chairman, CZ Biom
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Martin Šik
Martin Šik
Director of Analysis and Data Support Department, Energy Regulatory Office
Martin holds a master’s degree in public policy form Central European University in Budapest and a law degree from Charles University in Prague.
Martin has worked for the Energy Regulatory Office in the Czech Republic in various international as well as domestic positions since 2011. His tasks have included coordination of the European regulatory activities of the Office and direct participation in various European working groups (CEER, ACER, and EC). Over the year years, he has worked on a number of projects of national, regional, and Europe-wide significance. In 2017-2020 served on CEER Board of Directors as one of the organization’s vice presidents.
As of 2020 Martin is in charge of ERO’s data and analysis work, including market monitoring and statistics. In this capacity, Martin has contributed to the handling of the ongoing of the ongoing energy crisis making sure that the ERO leadership is supplied with accurate and up-to-date information on current market developments.Director of Analysis and Data Support Department, Energy Regulatory Office
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MEP Alexandr Vondra
MEP Alexandr Vondra
Member of the ENVI Committee, European Parliament (ECR, CZ)
Alexandr Vondra is a currentely Member of the European Parliament.
Alexandr Vondra was born on 17 August 1961 in Prague. From 1979 to 1984, he studied geography at the Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague. During the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, he joined the democratic opposition. Since the mid-1980s, he has been in contact with dissidents in Hungary, Poland and Lithuania. In 1989, he was a spokesperson for Charter 77 and one of the authors of the petition Several Sentences. During the Velvet Revolution in November 1989, he became a co-founder and leading member of the Civic Forum movement with former president Václav Havel. In 90s, he worked as a foreign policy advisor to President Václav Havel. In 2001-2002, he was the Czech Government’s Plenipotentiary for the preparation of the NATO Summit in Prague. Alexandr Vondra is former Minister of Defence and Foreign Affairs, as well as Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs. Vondra also served as Czech Ambassador to the United States.Member of the ENVI Committee, European Parliament (ECR, CZ)
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Paul Voss
Paul Voss
Director General, European Aluminium
Paul Voss is Director General at European Aluminium, the industry voice of the aluminium value chain in Europe. Mr. Voss is a long-term public affairs and governmental relations expert with 20 years of experience in the Brussels and energy sector. Prior to joining the aluminium industry, Mr. Voss served as Managing Director at Euroheat & Power, the association for the European district energy sector, and as Head of Public and Industrial Affairs at energy solutions provider Danfoss District Energy.
A British-Belgian national, Paul Voss is married with three children and holds degrees in Political Science and European Public Administration from Universities in Canada, France and Belgium.Director General, European Aluminium
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René Neděla
René Neděla
Deputy Minister for Industry and Trade - Energy, Czech Presidency
Mr. René Neděla graduated at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Control and Instrumentation of the Czech Technical University. He also graduated at the Masaryk Institute of Advanced Studies in the field of Business and Industrial Engineering in Industry. He also graduated from the Florence School of Regulation – Annual Training Course on the Regulation of Energy Utilities (Certificate of Attendance). Since 2011, he worked in the Energy Regulatory Office in several positions, starting from the Energy Regulatory Specialist, Head of Strategy and Advisory Department and Heat Department Director up to the Director of the Regulatory Section. At the same time, he lectured technical subjects at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the CTU and, later on, at the Technical University of Prague. He has been active in various governmental and non-governmental working groups on energy and water.
Deputy Minister for Industry and Trade - Energy, Czech Presidency
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Roxana Caliminte
Roxana Caliminte
Deputy Secretary General of GIE
Roxana has been the Deputy Secretary General of Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) since 2017. GIE is the voice of the European gas infrastructure operators, including gas pipelines, storage and LNG terminals. It has 70 members across 26 countries. Before joining GIE, she worked for the Romanian gas transmission operator Transgaz, where she was responsible for the company’s relations with the EU and national governments. She’s also worked in the Romanian Parliament as an advisor on international relations and economic affairs. Roxana holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and German. She has studied in Germany, Belgium and Russia. She was the coordinator of the now-defunct EU-Russia Gas Advisory Council. She is a visiting lecturer at the Bucharest Academy of Economic Affairs.
Deputy Secretary General of GIE
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Veronika Vohlídková
Veronika Vohlídková
Acting Executive Director, Czech Gas Association & Member of the Board, Czech Hydrogen Technology Platform
Veronika Vohlídková studied International Trade at the Faculty of International Relations at the University of Economics in Prague. From 2011 to 2016, she worked at ČEZ, where she focused mainly on the European agenda with a focus on financial legislation and regulation. Between 2016 and 2018, she worked at NET4GAS as a senior specialist for regulation. Since November 2018, she has been the director of the legislative-strategic department of the Czech Gas Association, and from June 2022 she has been acting executive director. Since November 2019, she has been a member of the board of directors of the Czech Hydrogen Technology Platform.
Acting Executive Director, Czech Gas Association & Member of the Board, Czech Hydrogen Technology Platform