Argus Clean Ammonia Europe Conference

Tinne Van der Straeten is Minister for Energy of Belgium. She served in the Belgian Federal Parliament (2007-2010, 2019-2020) before she became minister. In 2010 she co-founded Brussels-based law firm Blixt. A law firm specialized in energy law where she gained 9 years of experience in the energy sector. She has been a board member for many organizations, such as the King Baudouin Foundation and CAW Brussels. Tinne Van der Straeten studied at UGent and VUB and has a law degree. Read less

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. Read less

Alexander has served as CMB’s chief executive since September 2014 and before this, he was the company’s director from 2006. In 2004, he founded Delphis, a short-sea container shipping firm. Alexander has a master’s degree in law from the University of Leuven and Complutense University of Madrid and holds an MBA from the Fachhochschule für Wirtschaft Berlin. Read less

Carlos joined Cepsa’s team in February 2022 as executive vice-president of commercial and clean energies, also becoming part of the management committee. Before this, he spent more than two decades at BP, where most recently he was in charge of BP’s Spanish subsidiary and vice-president of integrated solutions globally (promoting the decarbonisation of cities and large companies). He also has widespread experience in leading the transformation and growth of businesses in the downstream markets and leading global teams. Read less

Dr Kubota joined IHI Corporation in 1990, and had numerous general management roles in various departments. In 2019 he became Associate Director and General Manager of the Business Development Department of Resources, Energy and Environment Business Area. He has been in his current post since April this year. Dr Kubota obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Engineering at Yokohama National University in 1988 and 1990, respectively, and completed his doctorate in Engineering at the University of Tokyo in 1997. Read less

Before joining the Port Authority in January 2017, Jacques was active at Elia, the Brussels network operator and listed company, where he held various management positions since joining it in 2001, and became chief executive in 2012. He has occupied various directorships with companies such as Febeg (Federation of Belgian Energy Companies) and the Federation of Belgian Enterprises. He is currently an active board member of the data platform NxtPort, Kunsthuis Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Royal Antwerp Football Club and the Belgian coffee brand Vascobelo. He is also co-founder, and chairman of the Belgian sustainability platform The Shift, as well as co-investor in Qpinch, which generates energy from waste heat. Jacques, who currently lives in Antwerp, graduated with a Master of Laws, a qualification which he later supplemented with a masters in European Studies, a middle management course with Vlerick Business School and an “advanced management programme INSEAD”. He is married to Barbara Baeckelmans, with whom he has three children. Read less

Tom graduated as a master industrial engineer – option in construction at the KIHO in Ghent, Belgium. Subsequently, he attended additional management training courses in Fontainebleau, France: INSEAD and CEDEP. He started his professional career in 1993 as project manager of industrial projects at Lafaut NV. As a job site manager, he supervised new industrial projects and concepts. In 1998, he joined the West Flemish multinational Bekaert and became a general manager with strong international experience. At Bekaert, he rose to senior vice-president within the building products division, which consists of 700 people all over the world. He also negotiated various partnerships across several continents. Since October 2020, he took up the role of chief executive at the Port of Zeebrugge. After the merger with the Port of Antwerp in April 2022, he was appointed chief commercial officer. Tom is a very strong team leader. He also transfers this positive quality to his whole team. Not only because of his strategic thinking and operational experience, but also because of his track record in highly internationalised environments. Read less

For the past three years, Claus has been responsible for fleet transition, ship design, technology, fleet performance, operational vessel solutions and safety management at the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping in Copenhagen. He has 25 years’ experience in the maritime industry, encompassing technical and managerial roles. As part of the executive management team, he focuses on establishing, strategising and ramping up the Center’s global activities. Read less

Carla is a Policy Officer within the Directorate for Climate Action from 2020 at the European Commission. After experiences in research, she specialized in the hydrogen sector and worked on implementation in the ETS Innovation Fund. She now works on policies related to industry and energy with a focus on hydrogen and gas. Before joining the Commission, she had several experiences in other sectors including agriculture and worked at the International Energy Agency on energy investments. Read less

Benedikt Messner is Senior Vice-President in Global Origination and LNG at Uniper Global Commodities SE, based in Düsseldorf, Germany. In this role, Benedikt primarily focuses on building a portfolio of renewable power purchase agreements, global green hydrogen-related projects and offtake agreements. His interests extend into clean technology and energy transition ventures. Benedikt was General Manager at Enerjisa in Turkey until July 2016, which is a joint venture between Germany utility Eon and Turkish conglomerate Sabanci. Before joining Enerjisa in 2013, Benedikt was Origination Director at Eon Global Commodities in Düsseldorf. Before that, he held various managerial roles, including leading the power trading desks at Eon, Acton Energy and Enron Europe. Benedikt has a master’s degree from Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. Read less

Aarti has more than 15 years of experience in the mining and energy industries and has a particular focus on green ammonia and hydrogen. She is passionate about the intersection and interdependence of the renewables and mining sectors as global markets seek to navigate the energy transition. Her deep commercial and technical background, along with experience working in an American law firm, top-tier investment banks and private-sector companies, operating in a variety of sectors including mining, renewable and traditional energy, and agriculture, enable her to advise clients on all aspects of a transaction. She has worked in Australia, Southeast Asia, the US and the UK, with degrees in business and law, and a master’s in law. Read less

Olivia leads the low carbon commodities team at utility EnBW. Her particular focus is on the commercialisation of upstream green and low-carbon molecule projects, to unlock midstream infrastructure and secure downstream end use in Europe. Olivia has almost two decades’ experience in the energy and utilities sectors. She began her career at ExxonMobil, optimising equity gas production flows and securing long-term production for South Hook LNG. After ExxonMobil, Olivia spent over a decade at European trading firm Vitol, trading the pan-European gas portfolio and expanding it to new markets in the North Sea and eastern Europe. Read less

Christian has over 25 years of international leader experience in the oil and gas and offshore wind industries. His background includes hands-on experience with vessels, marine consultancy and offshore chartering. He joined Amogy Norway in 2022 as Managing Director, and was previously Commercial Director with Yara Clean Ammonia. Read less

Tobias leads the new energy solutions division at German renewable energy company Enertrag. Enertrag is involved in wind and solar photovoltaic power generation, as well as storage, green hydrogen and grid infrastructure. The new energy solutions division is responsible for green hydrogen. Before joining Enertrag in 2017, Tobias led the energy centre at the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, and served on the inaugural South African Ministerial Advisory Council on Energy. Tobias is author of the book South Africa’s Energy Transition, which outlines a roadmap for a low-cost, decarbonised and job-rich future for South Africa’s energy sector. Tobias studied engineering and public administration in Darmstadt, Berkeley and New York. Read less

Wouter has 25 years’ experience, executing different roles in chemical businesses in research and development, sales and marketing, supply chain and product management. Wouter currently develops projects for INEOS’ own use and sales to third parties to use hydrogen as both a feedstock and transport fuel, and replacing natural gas. He has a doctorate in Applied Biological Sciences from the Catholic University of Leuven Belgium. Read less

Tjaša Bole-Rentel has more than 15 years of experience as a researcher, adviser, campaigner and now project developer in the low-carbon fuels sector, from biofuels to electrofuels. Her work includes assessments of feedstock production potentials for biofuels, techno-economic assessments of various low-carbon fuels technologies, evaluation of policy support options, developing decision-support tools, sustainability assessments of carbon sources for various advanced fuels, as well as hands-on policy development and sustainability standard development. Before joining Enertrag, Tjaša was the Bioenergy Programme Manager at WWF South Africa, and before that she held various research positions in South Africa and the Netherlands. Tjaša has a BA in Economics from the University of Ljubljana and an MSc in Environment and Resource Management from the Free University in Amsterdam. Read less

Hans is the chairman of the Pherousa group and a co-founder of Pherousa Green Shipping. A shipbroker by profession, he created freight solutions for the energy, forestry and mining industries for 25 years. He lives in South America. Read less

Tim is Senior Vice President for the fertilizer sector at Argus. Tim worked a process manager at an ammonia/urea plant in South Africa before moving to the UK to join KBR (then M.W. Kellogg) as a process engineer in the ammonia technology team. More recently Tim has covered fertilizer and industrial nitrogen as a market analyst. Read less

Nancy De Groof is a distinguished executive from Antwerp, specialising in the petrochemical and energy sectors. Nancy’s career began at Core Laboratories, where she rose to the role of Managing Director, establishing a foundation for leadership that spans over two decades. At Oiltanking, she progressed through various senior roles, including Commercial Director and Vice-President for the Belgian cluster, showcasing her capacity for driving profitability and strategic growth. Her tenure there was marked by impactful decision-making and fostering stakeholder relationships. In her current position as Vice-President of Advario, Nancy oversees the Belgian operations, implementing organisational strategies and upholding corporate values. She also serves as Chair of the Belgian Association of Tankterminals, influencing policy and innovation within the industry, and holds a board membership at Energia, reflecting her commitment to sustainable energy solutions. Nancy’s career is characterised by a focus on results, ethical leadership, and a passion for addressing the challenges of tomorrow’s energy landscape. Her professional approach is grounded in a philosophy that embraces empathy, teamwork, and mutually beneficial outcomes. She holds a BSc in Industrial Chemistry and a Master of Law, with a focus on Corporate and Social Law, blending technical prowess with legal expertise. Read less

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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

Abeer has more than 14 years of expertise in the fertilizer and petrochemical industry. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Strategic Management from Ain Shams University. Abeer is also an adjunct teacher at Cairo Engineering Faculty, where she teaches Energy Economics and delivers international courses on hydrogen investment and finance. Read less

As leader of BASF’s nitrogen-based chemical business in Europe, Wolfgang plays an essential role in driving the sustainability journey of the chemical company. A key component of the portfolio he manages is ammonia, of which low PCF options are an important lever to realise the decarbonisation goals of the various downstream customers BASF serves. With more than 30 years of experience and a master’s degree in engineering, the BASF veteran has held several management roles in Asia and Europe, successfully steering the performance of major product lines, including engineering plastics and styrenics. Read less

Oliver Hatfield, is VP Business Development for Argus Media in London. Oliver joined Argus in October 2018 following its acquisition of Integer Research, where he spent 15 years as head of the fertilizer market research team. Oliver has more than 20 years of experience in business analysis and consulting, and he was also one of the founders of Integer. Oliver has worked extensively on multi-client and bespoke fertilizer market analysis studies, covering market forecasts, strategy, due diligence, market entry and project feasibility. He has worked as an analyst on all the key fertilizer and related chemical markets: nitrogen, phosphates, potash, sulphur and sulphuric acid. Oliver is a graduate of economics and development economics from the University of Manchester in the UK. Read less

Louise joined the Europe New Energy Team in 2022 as a business development manager and enjoys speaking to customers about their evolving needs as the energy transition gathers pace. She has been with Woodside for eight years based in their London office and during this time has primarily worked as a geologist and exploration manager on projects on three continents: Africa, Europe and Latin America. Prior to working for Woodside she worked in exploration and development with Tullow Oil, Hunt Oil and Shell Exploration on various projects worldwide. Louise is currently studying part-time for a Master of Science in Renewable Energy Development with Heriot Watt university in Scotland. Read less

Floris has held a variety of technical, commercial, managerial and executive positions within Air Liquide in Europe, Asia and North America. His focus is on engineering and construction and large industry. Most recently, he has overseen tonnage business for the Benelux countries and northwest Europe. Floris has degrees from Delft University of Technology and London Business School. Read less

Tessa holds master’s degrees in biology and marine and lacustrine sciences. She has worked in the maritime sector for over 10 years and has vast experience in sustainability-driven projects such as the development of alternative maritime fuels and sustainable industrialisation. Tessa has a proven track record in business development and commercial and strategic port development. As a Belgian, Tessa’s global expertise stems from working and living abroad — Brazil and Norway — and her involvement in international initiatives including as Vice-President of the International Association of Ports and Harbors. At Yara Clean Ammonia, Tessa is responsible for port relationships and regulations and business development activities across the value chain, to foster clean ammonia as a fuel for shipping. Read less

Barry has 15+ years of renewables, oil and gas and sustainability consulting experience covering areas of corporate strategy, project management, commercial operations, sales, tendering, procurement and consulting. At ReNew, he heads up the European region, based out of London, and focuses on business development for ReNew’s portfolio of green hydrogen, ammonia and methanol projects as well as a portfolio of carbon projects, solar modules, asset management and O&M services. Barry has a BSc in geology from UKZN, South Africa, and an MBA from ZSB in New York. Read less

Fredrik joined Wärtsilä in 2007 while completing studies in Industrial Management and Engineering in Finland. After joining Wärtsilä he started working with customer delivery projects delivering dual-fuel engines and fuel gas supply system solutions for newbuild gas-fuelled vessel projects in Europe, Asia and North America. From 2017 he worked as Business Development Manager in the Wärtsilä Fuel Gas Supply System product business. Since transferring to Wärtsilä Engines R&D in 2021 Fredrik is now Project Manager in Sustainable Fuels and Decarbonisation, and is eagerly involved in the Wärtsilä Sustainable Fuels development programmes. Read less

Samie spent over seven years working as a process engineer in the oil and gas sector. At Lloyd’s Register, he is responsible for delivery of projects identifying safety problems that can arise during the adoption of new fuels and technologies, with a focus on ammonia and hydrogen. Samie has a master’s in chemical engineering from the University of Manchester. Read less

Christian studied chemical engineering and did his PhD on DME synthesis from gasified biomass at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Following completion of his PhD, Christian worked in Australia for six years in the fields of wastewater cleaning and nitric acid/ammonium nitrate. He returned to Germany and started working for thyssenkrupp in 2014 as a research engineer. A year later, he was promoted, heading the Technology, Innovation and Sustainability Fertilizer group. Through restructuring the group, Christian is now responsible for several technologies including green and blue ammonia developments. Read less

Andre founded Amon Maritime in 2019 with a vision to lead the green shift in shipping, pioneering the use of ammonia fuel for ships. He has since co-founded Viridis Bulk Carriers, Azane Fuel Solutions and Ula Ship Management, all in the pursuit of putting ammonia-fuelled ships and related infrastructure on the water. He has 10 years’ experience working for leading shipowners, mainly with large newbuilding projects, fleet management and project development. [ Read less

Bjarne joined Deutsche Bahn in 2014, and during this time focused mainly on business development activities in rail freight and European rail infrastructure development. Since 2021, Bjarne has been project leader for the development of rail-based hydrogen logistics and carbon capture logistics at DB Cargo BTT GmbH, Deutsche Bahn's dangerous goods specialist. In this role, he is responsible for the conceptual and technical delivery of logistics solutions as well as customer development in its new business area for DB Cargo. Bjarne holds an MBA from the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Germany. Read less

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Philippe has led the company since 2001. In 2004, Agropolychim was one of the first fertilizer companies to implement industrial-scale N20 abatement technologies in production of nitric acid — a move that reduced the firm’s carbon emissions by 450,000 t/yr. Since 2018, the company has generated most of its process steam by burning up to 50,000 t/yr of straw. With an ammonia terminal launched at around the same time, Agropolychim has insulated itself from 97pc of the gas shocks that have hit Europe since 2021. In June this year, Agropolychim imported the first full seaborne cargo of blue ammonia. This was used to produce reduced-carbon ammonium nitrate, which was sold at no mark-up to farmers who have been delivering straw to Agropolychim in recent years, as well as to farmers who embrace regenerative agriculture. Read less

Georges is an energy transition regional leader with more than 20 years of experience in power generation and turbomachinery from manufacturing, installation and commissioning to operations and maintenance. At GE Vernova, he leads the decarbonisation solutions department and strategic partnerships in Europe. He has held multiple leadership roles involved with nuclear and thermal power across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA in strategic management from Aston University in the UK. Read less

Carl-Antoine has been involved in the family ship owning business since 2009, starting with an internship at Exmar Offshore Houston and chartering manager at CMB. He further developed his experience in shipping as Sale and Purchase Broker, with Victoria Shipbrokers GmbH & Co. KG in Hamburg. He rejoined as Business Development Manager for the Infrastructure department at EXMAR NV in 2017. In 2022 he joined the Shipping team as Deputy Director. He holds various director positions in Exmar Group companies including Ship Management. Read less

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. Read less

Håkon has more than 15 years of experience in the energy sector. He spent 10 years at Europe’s leading renewable energy producer, Statkraft, where he held a number of management positions in finance, business development and project development, and established the company’s operations in Italy. His previous experience also includes four years as a management consultant at Norwegian certification provider DNV and two years at a renewables start-up. He holds an MSc degree in industrial economics and technology management from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Read less

Keshni Sritharan is a Senior Associate in OCI’s Corporate Business Development and Investments Team, primarily responsible for executing on OCI’s Hydrogen and decarbonization initiatives globally. Keshni has been with the company for 3 years and previously held positions in investor relations and nitrogen commercial. Prior to joining OCI, Keshni was with CRU for several years as a senior analyst covering nitrogen and natural gas analysis. Read less

Caroline has responsibility for the company’s renewable hydrogen business in Europe and Africa. Over the course of her career, she has held sales and marketing positions in all sectors of the industrial gas business. With hydrogen’s burgeoning growth potential as an energy source, she transitioned from being Marketing Manager for Europe and Africa to her present role. Read less

As sector lead of green fuels at Danish climate technology firm Topsoe, Rob drives market development for the firm’s Power-to-X technology, which converts renewable energy to green fuels and chemicals. Before joining Topsoe this year, Rob was a technology opportunities expert at green finance start-up company Saga Pure. Rob in the past also worked at Yara International in several ammonia production management roles and as vice-president of technology scouting, decarbonisation and clean ammonia shipping fuel. He is the vice-president past president of the Ammonia Energy Association, director of clean ammonia innovation at the Institute of Sustainable Process Technology, and a board member at Norwegian clean ammonia and CO2 storage project developer Horisont Energi. Rob holds an MSc and PhD from Delft University of Technology. Read less

Jim has more than 25 years of experience in technology and business development, focused on solution design for supply chain and government markets. His deep technical expertise and strong interpersonal skills have made him an effective business leader and trusted partner for clients in need of product authentication and security. At Authentix, Jim is responsible for aligning advanced technologies and managing cross-functional teams to deliver world-leading authentication solutions, while also interfacing with customers to define, deliver and support solutions that meet current and emerging needs. Jim helps customers make informed, rational decisions for complex issues in product security and tax recovery. Read less

Erika Taugher has worked in the energy industry for 15 years, focusing on business development, trading, structuring, and origination. Her experience includes work at top-tier investment banks in London, New York and Houston, where she currently resides. Her trading experience includes natural gas financial derivatives and options, power, renewables, and physical crude oil. Erika is currently focused on developing Pattern Energy’s green fuels business. She is working on several projects in North America that will produce both green hydrogen and liquefied green ammonia for domestic and international use. Awarded a full Division 1 athletic scholarship, Erika earned her BS in Mechanical Engineering, and MS in Business from New Jersey Institute of Technology. Erika grew up in Canada, however due to her ancestry she was chosen to play for the Portuguese national soccer team in 2006 and 2007. She was inducted into her Alma Mater’s Hall of Fame in October 2021. In 2022, Kayo named Erika to its “Top 22 in ’22 Women in Renewable Energy Finance and Development” list. Read less

Ana is responsible for promoting Spanish utility Iberdrola’s green hydrogen projects, and creates long-term alliances with global corporations. She has more than 10 years of experience in sales and supporting business development across the world. Ana studied economics at King Juan Carlos University in Madrid. She has an MBA from the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade and a master’s in energy business from the Spanish Energy Club. Read less

Wouter is a commercial engineer in business informatics by background with a master’s degree in financial management from Vlerick Management School, Belgium. Wouter joined Hinicio, a strategic consultancy specialising in hydrogen, 10 years ago as Europe Director and assisted European Commission, national and regional policy makers as well as blue chip companies and technology start-ups in the hydrogen space. Before joining Hinicio, he worked in the Middle East for three years and in China for one year. Since 2014, he has co-ordinated the multi-stakeholder CertifHy project, an initiative financed by the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking and considered worldwide as the leading hydrogen certification system. He is a CEN JTC6 liaison, contributing to the European CEN Standard on renewable energy guarantees of origin, and acted as board member and chair of the Renewable Gas Scheme Group within the Association of Issuing Bodies during 2020-22. Wouter is spokesperson for Industry of Hydrogen Europe. He speaks fluent English, Dutch and French, and has knowledge of Spanish and German. Read less

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Graham focuses on decarbonisation, hydrogen and derivatives, and power market design. He spent nine years as Chief Economist for RWE, Germany’s largest power generator, and before this was Director of European Energy Services for Global Insight, now S&P. His responsibilities have included projects for the European Commission, governments and regulators, and acting as an expert witness in natural gas arbitration cases. During a stint at Deloitte, he specialised in energy liberalisation. He began his career with ExxonMobil, working in supply and refining. Graham has a physics degree from Oxford University, an MSc in systems engineering from the University of London and an MBA. He is a regular speaker and moderator at international conferences. Read less

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