Argus Green Marine Fuels Conference

Pernille is Senior Business Development Manager of Decarbonization Green Fuels Sourcing at Maersk and is working on projects to decarbonise shipping with a focus on future marine fuels and is heading the negotiations of the commercial agreements for green methanol. Before joining the Decarbonization department of Maersk, Pernille worked for Maersk Oil Trading for 8 years within Business Development and Origination focusing on fuel sourcing projects and commercial tolling agreements. Prior to working for Maersk, she worked for Equinor for 6 years in roles within business development, in production planning at Equinor’s oil refinery in Denmark and in the US, where she worked with up- and midstream projects in North America on new crude oil projects. Pernille holds two master degrees, one in International Management and Economics from HEC in Paris and one in Economics from Copenhagen Business School in Denmark. Read less

Tom is a chartered Naval Architect who started his career in British Shipbuilders in Barrow-in-Furness. He then joined Lloyd’s Register where he was involved in all aspects of shipbuilding and ship survey, finishing up as a Senior Passenger Ship Specialist. He joined Carnival Corporation & plc in 2000 and has had a variety of senior roles across the group, including three years as SVP Marine Operations for Costa Crociere. Tom is now SVP Maritime Affairs based in the UK and is primarily engaged leading on the company’s decarbonisation strategy (including LNG). He chairs several industry committees including the CLIA EU Sustainability Advisory Committee, ICS Passenger Ship Panel, Royal Institution of Naval Architects Environmental Committee and UK Chamber of Shipping Safety and Environmental Committee Read less

Michele Francioni joined MSC Cruises in September 2018 as Senior Vice President. Michele has strong depth in Maritime and Sustainability issues. He has a degree in Naval Architecture and a Master’s in Marine and Mechanical Engineering from the University of Genoa. He started his career at the Italian Classification Society RINA, working as a structural engineer and marine surveyor before being appointed as Manager of Plan Approval Centre in Korea, Manager of Hong Kong and Singapore Office and lately as Asia General Manager. Before joining MSC Cruises, he served as CEO of RINA Services for over six years. He also served as Council Member of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) from 2013 to 2018. Read less

William Boatwright is the Senior Commercial Manager for Climate Solutions at NORDEN. He has been with NORDEN for over 10 years in both operational and chartering roles. His focus over the past few years has been for long term project development and helping clients understand new and upcoming climate regulations and reduce their emission intensity. William holds a bachelor of science in Marine Transportation from the State University of New York Maritime college. Read less

As Head of Svitzer EcoTow, Sven Lumber has first-hand knowledge and experience with the use of Biofuels at scale within the maritime industry. Svitzer EcoTow is a decarbonised vessel towage offering, which supports Svitzer’s customers in their decarbonisation journeys. It was created as part of a commercial innovation initiative and successfully launched to the market in 2021, quickly finding support from first mover customers. The solution is looking to achieved in excess of 20,000MT of carbon savings in 2022 and a double digit reduction in Svitzer’s scope 1 emissions from the established baseline. As we move into 2023 we are looking to continue scaling Svitzer EcoTow. Previously a professional mariner working on a range of vessels before transitioning ashore, Sven Lumber has possessed several operational and managerial roles within Svitzer. Most recently, before taking the role as Head of EcoTow in 2018, he served as Port Manager in London. Read less

Rasmus Hald Philipsen joined A.P. Møller – Maersk in 2021. As a Senior Advisor Europe, he covers Maersk's positioning, analysis, and outreach on European Union issues related to decarbonization and sustainable finance. Before joining Maersk, Rasmus worked at the Brussels office of global CEO consulting and advisory firm Teneo. As a senior consultant, he advised clients on climate, transport, energy, and sustainable finance policy Read less

Rustin has worked in the oil industry for more than 20 years. Before becoming head of fuel oil procurement at Euronav, he worked at Macquarie Commodities Trading, leading the IMO 2020 strategy. Before this, he was the global head of fuel and feedstock trading at Cargill. He also spent seven years at Chevron, managing fuel oil and feedstock trading businesses supporting the US refinery base and managing bunker supply and trading businesses in Latin America and the US. Prior to this, he spent seven years at Hess working in supply and trading operations and as a port captain at the Hovensa refinery in St Croix. Rustin is a licensed master mariner and a graduate of the US Merchant Marine Academy. He has an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University in North Carolina. Read less

Naval Architect and Marine Engineer, working in sustainable energy systems for ships. Currently working at European Commission, Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport – Maritime Transport unit. In the Commission, Ricardo is engaged in the development, negotiation and preparatory work for implementation of the FuelEU Maritime regulation, under the Fit for 55 package. Before joining the European Commission, Ricardo worked in the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), responsible for technical and scientific support to the Commission on several topics of Ship Safety and Sustainability, with a focus on energy systems. In addition to the above, Ricardo has Classification Society, as well as previous experience as a Marine Engineer onboard naval ships and Naval Architect involved with newbuild and retrofit works. Read less

Katalin Dobránszky-Bartus is Senior Director - Innovation, Finance and Fiscal affairs at the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA). In her position, she focuses on ship finance matters and works to raise awareness of the importance of ship finance with EU regulators. Having worked with a wide range of financial stakeholders for the last two decades and specialising in sustainable finance, Katalin uses her experience to help shipping stakeholders navigate sustainable finance. Katalin is trained as a risk manager and investment analyst as well as in law. Katalin holds a PhD degree in sustainable finance and she is a member of WISTA Belgium. Read less

Tom Fox leads commercial offtakes and activities for HIF across the global portfolio. He has more than 15 years of experience in low carbon fuels. He previously served as a global biofuels originator at bp between 2006 and 2018. Between 2018 and 2022, he advised advanced biofuels projects and executed market research reports at his consultancy 9 Degrees East, as well as heading a renewable fuels brokerage team with Xpansiv prior to joining HIF Global. He holds a BA in Economics from Harvard University. Read less

Valerie Ahrens is the Global Director of New Fuels and Carbon Markets at Bunker Holding. Bunker Holding, headquartered in Denmark, is world-leading in purchasing, selling, and supplying marine fuel. Bunker Holding employs more than 1,500 skilled people and its presence extends to 1,764 ports worldwide and offices in 34 different countries. Since stepping into her role as Global Director of New Fuels and Carbon Markets, Valerie has managed to build a Centre of Excellence team of experts to drive the green transition, facilitate the change of fuels for the maritime industry, and support customers in implementing low-carbon solutions. She is responsible for collaborations and strategic alliances in the segment for biofuels, LNG, and methanol ammonia fuels with the purpose of pushing the agenda tied to making the maritime industry more sustainable. Prior to joining Bunker Holding, Valerie spent 30 years at Shell, where she held several senior international management and commercial roles in Oil Supply & Distribution, Lubricants, Retail, Aviation, Shipping, and Maritime. In addition, she spent 5 years as Head of Strategy for Shell Energy Europe and Environmental Products having successfully developed the renewable gas, carbon, and power strategies for the Shell trading and B2B departments. Valerie is a French and German citizen, residing in London. She holds a master’s degree in Science and Executive Engineering from Ecole Nationale Superieure des Mines de Paris. Read less

Michael is Commercial Director Marine at Titan LNG, with responsibility for developing the company’s marine and bunkering proposition. Michael has previously worked in various roles in the bunker industry, mainly in commercial and trading activities for physical suppliers such as Shell Marine Products and Argos Bunkering. His bunkering experience has proven helpful when translating the needs of vessel owners and operators to an LNG bunkering supply proposition, resulting in several milestone projects and deliveries of LNG as a marine fuel. Michael has a degree from Nyenrode Business University in the Netherlands. Read less

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Didier de Beaumont is an experienced Commercial Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the liquid bulk industry. Currently, he is focusing on developing the transshipment and production of renewable fuels and linking these to the existing terminal portfolio. In order to create a sustainable and future-proof energy cluster. Didier previously worked in various international commercial roles for Vopak and VTTI. Read less

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Ashkan Shoja-Nia joins the company with more than 12 years experience in business development. Prior to joining StormFisher Hydrogen, Shoja-Nia served as Senior Manager, Project Development and Investment at EPCOR where he developed regulated and non-regulated water, wastewater, natural gas, electricity, and waste-to-energy infrastructure and systems. As the Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, Shoja-Nia will lead the origination and development of clean fuel production facilities across North America. Shoja-Nia holds a Bachelors of Commerce in Finance and Economics from University of Alberta and is a CFA Charterholder. Read less

James J. Corbett, P.E., Ph.D. joined WSC in 2021 and brings 25 years of expertise in technology-policy to his WSC role as Environmental Director, Europe. Dr. Corbett's previous research on freight sustainability includes ground-breaking research on air emissions from maritime transport and environmental impacts of freight transportation, and assessment of technological and policy strategies for improving goods movement. During his university career, he authored seminal studies evaluating international shipping’s role in use of technology to meet environmental and climate goals. Dr. Corbett was a lead author of three IMO studies of Greenhouse Gases from ships (2000, 2009, 2014), and served on IMO expert steering committees. Dr. Corbett received a B.S. in Marine Engineering Technology from the California Maritime Academy. At Carnegie Mellon University he earned both a M.S. and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and Engineering and Public Policy. Read less

Jan Cuyt is a former captain. Maritime Career in Ships Agencies and Technical/logistic services Since 2021 Port of Antwerp-Bruges; Customer relations department Focus on Ship Operators and their transition to Alternative Fuels and Shore Power As part of the Multifuel Project, working on Green corridors Read less

Elyse Lawson is the Senior Programme Manager for Green Shipping and Ports at C40 Cities, where she is responsible for engaging and promoting the decarbonization of the maritime sector. She has experience working with both public and private stakeholders at the intersection of international collaboration, climate risk, and green shipping corridors. Prior to joining the C40 team, Elyse managed decarbonization projects with the First Movers team at the Global Maritime Forum. She was a key contributor for the Zero-Emission Shipping Mission’s Blueprint for Future Ports Program, and part of the team driving the Poseidon Principles initiatives. Originally from the midwest US, Elyse now lives in Copenhagen, Denmark. She has a BA in Global Studies with a focus on peace, conflict, and human rights from Appalachian State University in North Carolina, and a MSc in Security Risk Management and Environmental Governance from the University of Copenhagen. Read less

Nick Lurkin works since 2014 as a Senior Adviser Climate & Environment with the Royal Association of Netherlands’ Shipowners and is involved in climate and environmental policy matters for maritime transport at national, EU as well as IMO level. Nick is also active as an adviser to the delegation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands during IMO’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) meetings. Read less

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Dr Nish Rehmatulla is a Principal Research Fellow at the University College London (UCL) Energy Institute, where he has established and leads the social sciences research component of the world-leading multi-disciplinary shipping research group focused on the decarbonisation of shipping. His research focusses on the understanding of barriers to decarbonisation in the shipping sector and exploring solutions, both public and private, to accelerate transitions to a low carbon industry. He co-leads the group in terms of it's research direction and strategically, overseeing a portfolio of grant funded research and consultancy projects. He gained his PhD in Energy and Transport (Market failures and barriers affecting energy efficient operations in shipping) from UCL in 2014, has an MSc in Energy, Trade & Finance and BSc in Management, both from Cass Business School, City University. Read less

Gautam Puri is the Vice President of Business Advisory and Energy Transition Advisory Services at Lloyds Register. As a trusted partner and a resilient thought leader, he finds innovative solutions for advising Maritime Stakeholders in their Decarbonsation Journey, Regulatory Compliance, and Fleet Optimisation initatives. A 20 year veteran in the Shipping industry, Gautam had lead cross-functional and multi-disciplinary teams, leveraging technology to de-risk and future – proof Clients Business. Prior to this role, Gautam enjoyed a successful career with Maersk, Rolls-Royce and Shell where he pioneered Projects within Innovation, Shipping Finance and Business Strategy. Gautam holds a CFA Charter, Marine Chief Engineer ( MCA,U.K.), Chartered Ship Broker ( I.C.S.) , M.B.A from Oxford University and A.M.P. from Harvard Business School. Read less

René Zuidam is working as Senior Account Manager newbuild sales at Wärtsilä Marine Power Solutions. Focussing on consultative approach with Designers, Shipowners and Yards on future proof propulsion and power generation concepts. As ambassador for Wärtsilä Ship Electrification Solutions (SES), Integrating Power and Hybrid for optimal function and use. Before Wärtsilä, René was working 11 Years at Kongsberg Maritime as local Service Manager in the Netherlands. After his studies, René has served the Royal Dutch Navy as Petty Officer Weapons System on Walrus class Diesel Electric Submarines. This has contributed to his broad knowledge and interest of electronics, programming and mechanical engineering. In his spare time, René is mentor of the local CoderDojo community, making youth enthusiast of electronics and programming basics. Read less

Alexander Hueser is an independent business consultant and currently contracting with the Aspen Institute’s Energy and Environment Program, specifically the Cargo Owners for Zero Emission Vessels (coZEV) initiative – a coalition of major multinational consumer companies and other freight buyers working to accelerate the pace of decarbonisation in maritime shipping. With his extensive experience in Procurement and change management he acts as the Operations Lead for the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA), a first of its kind initiative of cargo owners intending to accelerate the transition to zero emission shipping by providing committed demand to the market. Prior to this engagement he supported the UK government during the onset of the pandemic by sourcing innovative solutions from suppliers to test against the Corona virus and help build capacity for the government’s testing strategy. During his 15 years of industry experience in the healthcare and automotive industries at GSK UK and BMW Germany respectively, Alexander learned to regard suppliers not as opponents but as partners whose potential to generate innovation, quality and efficiency is key to any organisation’s success. He is also passionate about psychology, history and philosophy and has a degree of „Diplom-Ingenieur“, equivalent to a Master of Engineering in industrial engineering from the Technical University Berlin, Germany. Alexander is based in London, UK. Read less

Jesse Fahnestock is Project Director at the Global Maritime Forum, where he leads the work on First Movers towards Zero-Emission Shipping, including the organization’s work on maritime Green Corridors globally. His background is in energy and climate, having worked in business, research and civil society on delivering the energy transition. In the early 2000’s he helped establish the Global Risks program at the World Economic Forum, where his focus was on climate and energy security risks. He then served as climate policy advisor for the Swedish power company Vattenfall, and later as head of energy and policy foresight at the Swedish national research institute RISE. Before joining the Global Maritime Forum he was global lead for the Energy Transition at WWF International. Jesse holds a B.A. in history from Princeton University and an MBA from the University of Oxford. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden. Read less

Dr Peter Swift is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA) and represents RINA at the principal IMO meetings. He is a former Director of Ardmore Shipping Corporation, Managing Director of INTERTANKO and worked for Shell for 25 years in a variety of senior management positions, including Group Naval Architect with responsibility the design and construction of the Group’s oil and gas tankers, and offshore production and support vessels. He is currently a Committee Member of the Green Award Foundation, Chair of the Korean Register’s European Committee and Chairman of the international maritime welfare charity Sailor’s Society. Read less

Serving the MAN PrimeServ organization over 25 years, with the last 14 years focusing on Retrofit & Upgrade opportunities for our customers. In this period I have collected and used experience in product development to market needs as well as sales responsibility in fuel conversion and Lifecycle conversion projects. My focus is on creating and selling pioneering decarbonization roadmap products for MAN 4 stroke medium speed engines in to the marked and therewith serving customer strategic short, mid and long term goals. Read less

He is responsible, in conjunction with the Nautical Director for the development and implementation of ICS policy on technical, operational and environmental regulatory risks affecting international shipping. He actively participates in IMO Committees and industry associations, to represent the interests of ICS Members, shipowners and operators. The first 23 years of his career has been founded in the shipping sector, mainly working on the design, construction and operational support of passenger ferries. For the subsequent 15 years he has focused on the floating production sector of the Oil and Gas industry, project managing FPSO and FLNG design work, supporting field developments, and supervising procurement of floating production vessels. He has also acted as Lenders’ Technical Advisor on behalf of banks and Export Credit Agencies. He is a chartered engineer, a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, and a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. Read less

Anthony (Tony) Cottone is VP of Carbon Solutions for 1PointFive, a leading industrial-scale Direct Air Capture company, and is responsible for the sales and marketing of carbon removal credits and other carbon products, such as low carbon fuels. Prior to this role, he was Senior Director of Strategy leading strategy development, planning and execution for Oxy Low Carbon Ventures. His team was responsible for the financing and funding of Carbon Capture, Utilization and Sequestration projects utilising 45Q tax credits and developing creative financial and business models to deploy first-of-their-kind technologies that reduce global emissions. He has a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Emory University and an MBA from Columbia University Read less

Carlos Ruiz is a Program Officer at the International Renewable Energy Agency, leading the agency's work on transport decarbonization, specifically on shipping and aviation. Carlos’s academic background is in mechanical and electrical engineering and he holds a Master's degree in Sustainable Energy Technologies from the Royal Institute of Technology of Sweden (KTH). His professional background includes over 10 years of experience in different areas in the energy sector, including long-term energy planning, renewable energy project development and financing, and emission reduction strategies in end-use sectors such as industry and transport. Read less

Angel Alvarez Alberdi has been Secretary General of European waste-to-advanced biofuels association EWABA since its creation in 2013. EWABA is a Brussels-based trade association defending the interests of waste-based biofuel producers using feedstocks such as used cooking oil (UCO), tallow and other wastes to produce sustainable biofuels with greenhouse gas savings ranking among the highest available on the market. Angel has been working in EU government and institutional affairs in Brussels for the past decade, with a particular focus on energy matters and on EU legislative procedures. He started his career in Brussels with a stint at the European Commission’s Secretariat General, then worked for an international public affairs consultancy, the trade association European Biodiesel Board and a global law firm. A lawyer by training, Angel has an MA in European interdisciplinary studies with a major in EU governance from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. Read less

Rianne Vriend-Vrijenhoef (1984) has been working for Proton Ventures BV since 2016. Prior to that she worked in various marketing and communication roles in various companies. Within Proton Ventures she has worked on positions such as, but not limited to, HRM, Administration and Marketing. At present she is Marketing Director responsible for internal and external communications and employee engagement. Since 2017 she organizes the very successful European NH3 Event – in 2023 the 6th edition of the event takes place - and she is in the board of directors of the Ammonia Energy Association. Read less

Since February 2022 Manuel is responsible for Global Sales, Bid Management and Solution Development for Sustainable Energy Systems, which focuses on power-to-hydrogen, power-to-liquid applications, as well as hybrid applications for a hydrogen-based economy. From April 2020, Manuel was the Head for Middle East and Africa for New Energy Business. Since February 2022, responsible for Global Sales, Bid Management and Solution Development for Power to Hydrogen, Power to Liquid and Hybrid Sustainable Energy Systems. April 2020 to February 2022, Head of New Energy Business for Middle East and Africa, implemented first industrial scale green Hydrogen plant in Dubai. 2017 to 2022, Member of the Board of Siemens Pakistan Engineering Company Ltd., registered in Karachi, Chairman from January 2020 onwards. 2014 to 2020, responsible for strategy and business development at Siemens Middle East HQ in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi. Key activities included the partnership with Expo 2020 Dubai and driving transformational projects in the power sector, e. g. in Egypt and as project manager for the Siemens activities in Iraq. 2005 to 2014, Consultant, Project Manager and Vice President at Siemens Management Consulting (SMC). Manuel obtained his education at the Technical University Ilmenau in Germany, the Federal University of Santa Catharina (UFSC) in Brazil and the European School of Management and Technology (ESMT) in Berlin. He holds diplomas in Industrial Engineering and Advanced Management. Read less

Alex Karalis leads the shipping & new fuels desk at Pennine Energy where he is responsible for implementing targeted strategies along the low & zero carbon fuels and carbon savings certificates value chain. He also co-leads the sustainability focus group for the Marine Fuels Alliance; a non-for-profit organisation which sets out to address the complex challenges that physical bunker suppliers face. Prior to joining Pennine Energy, Alex held various roles with Trafigura and ArrowResources AG. He holds a MSc in Shipping, Trade, and Finance from Cass Business School and a BSc in Maritime Business and Maritime Law from the University of Plymouth. Read less

Tobias is an industrial engineer and senior consultant public affairs, strategy and communication. After studying Energy and Environmental Management at the University of Flensburg he obtained his doctorate at the University of St. Gallen. Before joining eFuels, he worked for more than five years in the technical development department of Audi AG, including on the commissioning of the first industrial power-to-gas plant. Read less

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Cailean joined the European Biodiesel Board as Technical and Regulatory Officer in April 2021, having recently completed a PhD in Chemistry at the University of Glasgow. With a professional grounding in scientific research and political strategy, Cailean has made a career bridging these two realms as he finds satisfaction in promoting robust, science-based public policy. As EBB Maritime FuelS Lead, he is dedicated to finding creative solutions to the problems faced by Europe’s marine industries as they aim to meet the ambitions of the Fit for 55 package. Read less

Eric van den Heuvel, partner at and co-owner of studio Gear Up, is a senior expert in the field of sustainable energy, with a focus on business strategy and innovation on biomass and waste/residues for energy and alternative transport fuels (for road, shipping and aviation). He has nearly thirty years of strategic consultancy and management experience and a track record in leading and operating in international teams in. He has a large international network in Europe and overseas. He holds a University of Oxford, Saïd Business School 2011 Post-Graduate Diploma on Strategy and Innovation. In 2015 he founded studio Gear Up, an independent firm supporting national and international companies, institutions and government organisations in the transition to a low carbon economy, by providing strategic advice, process and project management services and guiding and facilitating stakeholder involvement processes. Furthermore, the studio develops own concepts in the field of biomass resources, biofuels, alternative fuels and the circular economy. Read less

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. Read less

Charles is Vice President of Argus Media’s consulting practice in London. Charles specialises in providing market due diligence analysis in the bio and fossil fuel industries, helping clients to plan investment, acquisition and market entry strategy. Over the past five years, Argus has advised oil majors, national oil companies, fuels wholesalers, feedstock providers and national governments, on the development and outlook for the biofuels industry globally. Beginning in the energy strategy practice at Accenture, Charles spent seven years managing client engagements in biofuels and bio-based specialty chemicals. Prior to joining Argus Media, he worked for the UK government as Head of Foresight, on long-term policy making in the energy and transportation sectors. Read less

Catherine is responsible for coordinating Argus’ business development strategy for base oils, marine fuels and bitumen. For base oils, her role involves engaging with market participants to explain the benefits of using Argus base oil spot prices to facilitate risk management. From London, she works closely with the global editorial team to develop awareness and understanding of Argus Base Oils in global markets. Prior to her current role, Catherine was responsible for European base oils market coverage at Argus: contributing spot prices, market commentary and analysis to Argus’ weekly global base oils report. Catherine holds an MSc in Petroleum Geoscience from the University of Aberdeen and a BA in Natural Sciences from Trinity College Dublin. Read less

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David has more than 30 years’ experience of working in energy markets. Prior to joining Argus, David was most recently chief economist at commodity trading company Gunvor. Before this, he managed the oil industry and markets division of the International Energy Agency and edited its influential monthly Oil Market Report. David has a master’s degree in energy policy and economics from Imperial College London. Read less