Argus Clean Ammonia Europe Conference

Tobias Birwe

Head of Sales, Fertilizer and Methanol, Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions

Tobias has worked at Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions since 2003, and has been involved in large-scale EPC jobs in the fertilizer industry. He started his career as process engineer developing ammonia plants based on Thyssenkrupp’s uhde ammonia technology. After spending a year in Saudi Arabia on a commissioning job for the Ma’aden 1 ammonia complex, he joined Thyssenkrupp’s sales department, and since 2015 has headed its fertilizer and methanol unit. He has a diploma in industrial engineering from Germany’s Technical University Braunschweig.

Trevor Brown

Executive Director, Ammonia Energy Association

Trevor Brown, CFA is the Executive Director of the Ammonia Energy Association, a global industry group that promotes the responsible use of ammonia in a sustainable energy economy. He is also an independent ammonia industry analyst; in 2013, he founded AmmoniaIndustry.com, a website that provides data on capital investments in new ammonia plants, as well as on research and development in new ammonia production technology. Since 2012, he has been an agitator for the commercialization of sustainable ammonia synthesis technologies.

Alicia Eastman

President, InterContinental Energy

Before co-founding InterContinental Energy in 2014, Alicia led investment and strategy in global markets for 20 years, managing private equity funds, market entry and finance for multinational companies and institutional investors across Australasia including the Middle East. Alicia led international strategy and acquisitions at Elan Biopharmaceuticals and was vice-president of Prudential Asia Infrastructure Mezzanine Capital Fund. She was a founding principal at NetFuel Ventures and has held international strategy and investment positions at Gemini, Lend Lease and AirTouch International (Vodafone). Alicia currently sits on multiple industry and charity boards, steering committees, advisory boards and councils, and is a frequent speaker at clean hydrogen, ammonia and sustainability events. She holds a BSc in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a master’s degree in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Elsayed Ashraf Hassan

Chief Strategy Officer, Qatar Fertiliser Company (QAFCO)

Elsayed joined the company in 2017 and is currently responsible for Qafco’s strategic planning, business development, risk management and cyber-security governance functions. Before this, Elsayed was chief strategy officer for Oryx GTL. Elsayed started his career with QatarEnergy’s Offshore Operations (then QGPC) in 1988, working under the operations directorate. He graduated from Qatar University in 1986 with a degree in mechanical engineering.

Cornelius Matthes

CEO, Dii Desert Energy

Erik Mayer

VP Clean Energy Solutions, CF Industries

Jack Merriott

Manager - Consulting Services, Argus

Jack Merriott has ten years’ experience working in strategy consulting, strategic planning and market intelligence, spanning fertilizers, industrial products and consumer goods and is responsible for low carbon consulting projects at Argus Media, spanning green hydrogen, green ammonia and carbon markets. Prior to joining Argus, he was a Manager at Integer Research with responsibility for consulting projects in Europe and the America. Jack is a graduate of Oxford University and is fluent in French and Spanish.

Benedikt Messner

Senior Vice President, Uniper Global Commodities

Steve Petridis

Special Advisor to the Chairman, Air Products

Steve has more than 40 years of experience in the energy sector and the broader chemicals industry. His industry experience covers oil and gas exploration, industrial gases, carbon project development, chemicals, hazardous waste and industrial services, green and blue hydrogen, and ammonia, including carbon capture and sequestration. In his current role, Steve provides strategic input and undertakes special assignments and studies.

Vibeke Rasmussen

SVP Product Management and Certification, Yara Clean Ammonia

Vibeke joined Yara in 2014, where she has been working within R&D as head of the NPK and environmental technologies department, and as product quality director prior to joining the Yara Clean Ammonia team. Prior to joining Yara, Vibeke worked within the waste and water industry for many years, where she also held managerial positions. She was managing director for Norwegian water and wastewater engineering company BioTek, and was also COO for KrugerKaldnes, which is part of Veolia. Vibeke has an MSc in civil engineering from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and an MBA from Lincoln University.

Ruth Sharpe

Editor - Ammonia, Argus

Ruth has been editor of the Argus Ammonia report since 2017, most recently overseeing the report’s expansion into the green ammonia space. She joined Argus in 2009 and covered the coal, biomass and freight markets in the UK and US, before moving into fertilizers in 2016. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Brunel University London.

Bunro Shiozawa

Advisory Member, Clean Fuel Ammonia Association and Senior Researcher, International Environment and Economy Institute, Japan

After serving as Deputy Director General for Science and Technology Policy at the Cabinet Office of the Japanese government, Bunro engaged in the Cross-Ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Programme of the Cabinet Office (SIP) “Energy Carriers” (2014-18) as Deputy Programme Director. This project revealed the potential of ammonia as a CO2-free fuel and H2 carrier and triggered Japanese movements towards the introduction of ammonia as a power generation fuel. Bunro has written books and many articles on hydrogen and ammonia, including “Potential of Ammonia as CO2-Free Fuel and Hydrogen Carrier” (Chapter 3 of “CO2 Free Ammonia as an Energy Carrier — Japan’s Insights” (Springer May 2022) and “Implementation of Carbon Neutral Strategy — Electrification, Hydrogen and Ammonia” — (written in Japanese, Energy Forum, March 2021). He is presently acting as an independent expert on hydrogen and ammonia and serving Special Adviser to the Clean Fuel Ammonia Association and Senior Researcher at the International Environment and Economy Institute, Japan.

Akihiko Taniguchi

Senior Supervisor, Enterprise Value Creation Group, JERA

Akihiko has spent 30 years in the energy industry, with Chubu Electric and then JERA, and has been in his current role since April 2020. His focus is LNG — including annual delivery programmes, sale and purchase agreements, and price negotiations with Qatargas — and upstream thermal coal operations in Japan and Australia. He has a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Tokyo and an MBA from the International University of Japan.

Andrea Valentini

VP - Business Development Ammonia, Argus

Andrea Valentini has 15 years of experience of commodities market analysis. He is currently leading Argus' global ammonia business, as well as hydrogen and fertilizers markets in APAC and Middle East. Andrea was also the lead author of the highly regarded Argus Green Ammonia Strategy Report. Prior to joining Argus, he was the head of consulting for Integer Research. He is a regular speaker and industry events and has over 10 years of experience in APAC markets. Andrea is a graduate in Economics from the University of Padua in Italy and holds an MBA from McGill University, Canada.

Marc van Doorn

Vice President, Ammonia Europe