Speakers & Partners

Here you will find an overview of speakers,
with whom there have been good network contacts for many years.

Peter Altmaier

Former. Federal Minister for Economic Affairs & Energy
Federal Government of Germany (until 2021)

Peter Altmaier is at the forefront of German hydrogen policy. As Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy (2018 – 2021), he presented the National Hydrogen Strategy in 2020 and today accompanies the global H₂ ramp-up as a sought-after policy advisor and keynote speaker.

Jorgo Chatzimarkakis

CEO
Hydrogen Europe

As CEO of Hydrogen Europe, Jorgo Chatzimarkakis connects industry, research and politics in Brussels to create a competitive European hydrogen ecosystem.

Dr.-Ing. Klaus Dirk Herwig

As Managing Director of the consultancy Hydrogy GmbH, Aachen-based strategy professional Dr.-Ing. Klaus Dirk Herwig leads medium-sized suppliers into the H₂ market in a targeted manner and bundles his 30 years of practical experience into an entrepreneurial guide in the textbook “Hydrogen – Perspectives, Potentials and Solutions” (2023).

Dr.-Ing. h.c. Heribert Wiedenhues

Ex-board member
ThyssenKrupp AG

Dr.-Ing. h.c. Heribert Wiedenhues is considered a veteran of the German hydrogen industry: The former Thyssenkrupp Executive Board member now heads BrainFleet Management GmbH and uses his decades of sales and engineering experience to bring green H₂ technologies into application worldwide.

Silke Frank

Vice president
DWA / DWFV

More than 60 international hydrogen events bear Silke Frank’s signature: As founder of Hydrogen Moves GmbH and Vice President of the German Hydrogen Association since 2020, she brings together her global network of industry, politics and research to accelerate the H₂ market ramp-up in a practical way.

Andy Gradel

Production: H2 from biomass

Manager
BtX energy GmbH

Dr.-Ing. Andy Gradel is making biomass the hydrogen supplier of the future: As founder and CEO of BtX Energy GmbH and deputy director of the institute at Hof University of Applied Sciences, the award-winning engineer is currently scaling up his reforming process to the world’s largest biogas H₂ plant in Schleswig-Holstein

Stefanie Peters

Production: Electrolysers

Managing director
NEUMAN & ESSER Holding

As managing partner of NEUMAN & ESSER and member of the National Hydrogen Council, Stefanie Peters channels the compressor expertise of her traditional company directly into the development of a high-performance H₂ infrastructure.

Dr. Sopna Sury

Production: Electric

COO Hydrogen
RWE Generation SE

As COO Hydrogen on the Executive Board of RWE Generation SE, Dr Sopna Sury coordinates RWE’s group-wide hydrogen ramp-up and has been providing key impetus for the EU H₂ agenda as Chair of Hydrogen Europe since 2023.

Alexey Ustinov

Production: Electrolysers

CTO
Siemens Energy

As Senior Vice President Sustainable Energy Systems at Siemens Energy, Alexey Ustinov is driving the global gigawatt roll-out of PEM electrolyzers and has recently secured key orders for the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley and the 100 MW Hamburg Hub.

Sebastian Kummer

Transport

Univ.-Prof. of Transport Economics
Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU Vienna)

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Kummer is responsible for the Institute of Transport Economics and Logistics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and outlines in research and conference papers how green hydrogen, eFuels and smart supply chains can steer European freight transport towards climate neutrality

Hugo Duchemin

Use: Aviation

With two decades of airline management (Air France, South African Airways, Lufthansa) and another decade in global air freight logistics, Paris-based COMWORXX founder Hugo Duchemin is now orchestrating the development of green airport infrastructures and hydrogen-based sustainable aviation fuel solutions across three European aerospace clusters.

Tim Evison

Use

Senior Vice President
Messer Group

As Senior Vice President Clean Hydrogen of the Messer Group and co-initiator of the SympH₂ony joint venture, Tim Evison develops holistic hydrogen solutions for European fleet operators and at the same time sets industry standards for the decarbonisation of the industrial gases industry in the EIGA Regulatory Council.

Dr. Ing. Jens Reichel

Use: Steel

Dr.-Ing. Jens Reichel is at the forefront of the German hydrogen offensive in the steel sector. As Head of Sustainable Production & Steel Energy Services at thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG and member of the Executive Board of the VDI Society for Production and Logistics, he is resolutely driving forward the decarbonization of steel production with green hydrogen

Hans Weise

Use: Steel

DESY

Dr. Hans Weise heads the superconducting accelerator of the European XFEL at the DESY research center and is now contributing his cryogenics expertise to projects on highly efficient H₂ liquefaction and storage.

Volker Wissing

Transport

Federal Minister for Digital and Transport
Federal Government of Germany

As Federal Minister for Digital and Transport (2021 – 6 May 2025), Volker Wissing took the national hydrogen strategy to the streets with initiatives such as HyLand and the H₂ Innovation Centres; since then, he has been supporting Europe-wide mobility projects as an independent strategist.

Dr. Dirk Bessau

Market ramp-up

Research Assistant
Forschungszentrum Jülich

Dr. Dirk Bessau is responsible for the “Energy & Climate” business area at Project Management Jülich and manages billions of euros from programs such as HyLand and IPCEI Hydrogen to ensure that research quickly turns into market-ready hydrogen solutions for industry and mobility.

Thomas Fuhrmann

Market ramp-up

Country Representative
TÜV Rheinland Taiwan

As head of TÜV Rheinland’s Global Hydrogen Competence Center, Thomas Fuhrmann combines the expertise of over 50 specialists and offers companies worldwide testing, safety and certification services along the entire H₂ value chain.

Amit Gag

Market ramp-up

Professor
IIM Ahmedabad

India bases its hydrogen roadmap on the analyses of Prof. Amit Garg: The energy and climate researcher at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, five-time lead author of the IPCC and co-chair of the IPCC Emission Factor Database, models net-zero scenarios and cost trajectories for green H₂.

Dirk Hornschuh

Market ramp-up

As the founder of Hornschuh Consulting, Dirk Hornschuh has been optimising the sale of complex technical systems since 1998 – know-how that he now transfers specifically to manufacturers of electrolysis and H₂ systems

Florian Nigbur

Market ramp-up

Senior Project Manager Infrastructure Management

Dr. Florian Nigbur combines basic research and practice: The former ammonia-to-H₂ researcher at the University of Duisburg-Essen now advises municipalities and industry on risk analysis, planning and implementation of modern hydrogen infrastructures at TÜV Rheinland Consulting.

Wolfgang Spelthahn

Market ramp-up

District Administrator / Politician
District of Düren

District Administrator Wolfgang Spelthahn is transforming the former lignite district of Düren into a hydrogen model region: With an offensive towards 180 H₂ buses, the largest regional hydrogen trade fair and the goal of “climate-neutral by 2035”, he is making hydrogen tangible in everyday life.

Dr.-Ing. Stefan Sterlepper

Market ramp-up

As a senior engineer at the RWTH Chair of Thermodynamics of Mobile Energy Conversion Systems and a member of the steering committee of the future cluster “SupplHyInno Rhineland”, Dr-Ing. Stefan Sterlepper Research, industry and start-ups along the entire H₂ life cycle

Beate Würz

Market ramp-up

Dr. Beate Wörz coordinates the hydrogen research network at Project Management Jülich and connects research, industry and politics so that new H₂ ideas dock precisely onto federal funding programmes.

Dr. Bettina Hübschen

Market ramp-up

Managing director
Hydrogen Argentur Saarland

Dr. Bettina Hübschen is in the front row of the Saarland hydrogen movement. As Managing Director of the Saarland Hydrogen Agency GmbH and patron of the WEEK OF HYDROGEN 2025, she is driving the energy transition forward with clear focus and commitment.

Ambassador Kumar

Market ramp-up

Ambassador

Ambassador Kumar Tuhin positions India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission on the European stage: At the World Hydrogen Summit 2025 in Rotterdam, he spoke in the India Pavilion and promoted new partnerships with Germany and the Netherlands to accelerate H₂ value creation across borders.

Rajat Seksaria

Market ramp-up

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