DSPOT – The Future is Green Hydrogen: Perspectives from Germany, Brazil and the USA

Karsten Pinkwart is a Professor of Electrochemical Energy Storage and Converters and Vice Dean of Faculty for Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences (HKA) and Deputy Product Area Director for Applied Electrochemistry at the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT) in Pfinztal. In 1999, he wrote his doctoral thesis on lithium-ion batteries at Witten/Herdecke University. From 1996 to 2002, he was a researcher and project manager at the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology, where he led a variety of national and international research, consulting and industry-related projects. He assumed the title of Deputy Director of Applied Electrochemistry in 2003. Work in this field includes a broad spectrum of research and development activities in the fields of electrochemical energy storage and conversion, electrochemical sensor technology and analytics as well as electrochemical synthesis. The notable focuses of his research are electrocatalysis, storage, application and safety technology for specific applications of hydrogen. Since July 2019, he has also been a member of the German government's National Hydrogen Council, and since December 2021, he has been on the advisory board for the hydrogen roadmap of the state of Baden-Württemberg.

Sebastian Fendt, chair of Energy Systems at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), is a Dr.-Ing. in Mechanical Engineering and Dipl.-Ing. in Chemical Engineering at the same University. He is the coordinator of the network “TUM.Hydrogen and Power-to-X” within the Munich Institute of Integrated Materials, Energy and Process Engineering (MEP) and head of the research group “Biomass and Renewable Fuels” since 2015. He is an experienced researcher, lecturer and speaker on hydrogen, Power-to-X and renewable fuels, reviewer for numerous scientific journals, and coordinated national and international research projects, such as the International Future Lab on Hydrogen “REDEFINE H2E” of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Tanya Peacock leads California government affairs and policy for Bloom Energy. Tanya is responsible for state and local legislative analysis, local and regional engagement, and climate, electricity, and renewable gas policy development, with a focus on hydrogen. In previous roles at the Southern California Gas Company and Sempra Energy, Tanya led renewable gas policy development, managed Cap and Trade policy and implementation, led the rate design group, managed participation in interstate pipeline rate cases at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and developed energy efficiency programs. Ms. Peacock is on the Boards of the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters, the California Hydrogen Business Council (Board Secretary and Co-Chair of Advocacy Committee), and the American Biogas Council. Ms. Peacock holds a B.A. from Mills College and a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Cornell University.

José Luís Gonçalves de Almeida studied Chemical Engineering (UFRJ - 1979), followed by a Master in the same field (Coppe UFRJ - 1983) and a PhD in Catalysis (Université Claude Bernard, Lyon, France, 1995). He took part in the Advanced Business Management Program at the Instituto Internacional San Telmo (Spain, 2007) and has an specialization in Data Sciences and Big Data (UFBA - 2020). He was responsible for the research area "Cepsa Química" (Spain) for eight years and General Director of DETEN Química SA for 12 years. He currently works at SENAI Cimatec as an Executive Manager and is responsible for the areas of Petrochemical Refining, Energy Efficiency, Pulp and Paper, Environment, Safety, Food and Laboratories.

Kristina Kramer has been working with topics related to Climate Change and Energy Transition at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in Brazil since 2016. She is currently the Head of the Secretariat of the German-Brazilian Energy Partnership. The German-Brazilian Energy Partnership provides a forum for high-level political dialogue and brings together representatives from different sectors in support of the energy transition towards a wider use of renewable energies and energy efficiency. Before, she worked in the energy sector at the German-Chilean Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Santiago de Chile and as a consultant in Berlin. She holds an undergraduate and postgraduate degree in European and Latin American studies with a focus on political sciences and economics from the University of Passau and the Free University of Berlin.

Marcio Weichert studied Social Communication (Journalism) at the Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF) in Niterói (Brazil). He worked as a journalist for newspapers and magazines. For seven years, he lived in Germany and worked as an editor for the international broadcaster Deutsche Welle. After coming back to Brazil, he attended a specialization course in the field of Strategic Management at the Cândido Mendes University (UCAM) and joined the DAAD – German Academic Exchange Service as Marketing Officer. In 2011, Weichert attended the Transfer Leadership Training at the University of Münster (WWU). Since May 2012, he has been the Programme Manager of the German Centre for Research and Innovation São Paulo (DWIH São Paulo). Photo Copyright: Felipe Mairowski