Speakers

CEO Envigas

Lars Christian Bacher brings nearly three decades of experience in the global energy sector, including investing across the European energy industry. He started his career at Equinor, rising through a series of senior positions to Chief Financial Officer. Prior to this, he was executive Vice President, Development and Production International (DPI), for Statoil ASA, having spent over 25 years with the company. During his tenure as CEO of Morrow Batteries, a European lithium-ion battery manufacturer, he oversaw the company’s scale up, secured funding from Innovation Norway, and raised new equity to guide Morrow through an intensive phase of construction, research and development. He holds a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from the Norwegian School of Technology and a Master of Finance from the Norwegian School of Economics.

Dan Alecsandru Barbulescu is CO₂ Business Solutions Director EMEA at Carmeuse, where he is leading the development of new carbon-related businesses and major strategic investments and businesses. With more than 20 years of experience in the industrial sector, he has held a variety of leadership positions spanning operations, process optimization, technical management, business transformation, and strategy. Throughout his career at Carmeuse, Alecsandru has led international teams and delivered more than 100 projects across Europe, driving improvements in productivity, development, energy efficiency, and operational performance. He has also played a key role in defining industrial transformation strategies, negotiating strategic partnerships, and developing growth opportunities in support of the industrial transition. Alecsandru holds a degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Bucharest and an MBA from Louvain School of Management. He is passionate about turning sustainability challenges into business opportunities through innovation, partnership, and execution.

Founder & Director

Divisional Director tk accelis Trading (part of Thyssenkrupp)

Juha Erkkila is a metallurgist with a burning passion in sustainability - M.Sc. in Metallurgy and MBA in finance. Juha shows 17 years of experience in the steel industry on three continents, 10 years with carbon steel, 7 years in stainless. Juha Currently leads Outokumpu EvoCarbon which is on a mission to support Outokumpu to meet it’s 42 % CO2 emission reduction target by 2030 profitably.

Odd Arne Fossan leads the Development and Analysis team in Aluminium Metal Sustainability. He spends his time supporting senior management on prioritization of emissions abatement initiatives and providing business development support to the organization. His background is in physics, and he has been with Norsk Hydro for 25 years.

Marcella FRANCHI joined Haffner Energy in 2021 as the Head of Communications and Marketing, becoming a key player in the success of Haffner Energy’s IPO in February 2022. She was appointed SVP North America in May 2023 as the Company’s international focus expanded across the Atlantic by the newfound US urgency of finding viable solutions for the energy transition. After the creation of the US entity Haffner Energy, Inc. in May 2024 safely set up the company’s trajectory in North America, Marcella Franchi transitioned to Chief Commercial Officer – Head of SAF to oversee the Company’s growing market opportunities. Marcella FRANCHI began her career in financial engineering at Warren & Selbert (now Accufy, Inc.) in London, where she worked for 17 years. She left to try her hand at entrepreneurship, successfully founding and running companies in real estate and rentals in the UK and Portugal. Marcella FRANCHI is a London School of Economics graduate and earned a postgraduate qualification in Corporate Finance from the London Business School. She has lectured and consulted at universities in Hong Kong and in Lisbon. She sits on the board of the LBS Energy Club and acts as ambassador for Women in Green Hydrogen.

Global Alternative Fuels  Sales Director CPM

VP - Green Carbon Marketing and Origination

Bulut Kartal is the General Manager of Control Union (United States) Inc., leading inspection operations across U.S. ports. He brings over 20 years of combined maritime and inspection experience, having served as an officer and ship captain, and later as a surveyor, port manager, and technical manager. He specializes in bulk commodities, including the solid biofuel industry, with a strong focus on international standards, sustainable logistics, and inspection practices for both solid and liquid bulk cargoes.

Been working in the bioenergy sector since 2014, joining Hawkins Wright in 2017 where she writes and edits Hawkins Wright’s monthly Forest Energy Monitor report and co-authors the quarterly Outlook for Wood Pellets service. She is also a regular contributor to other multi-client and consultancy projects, covering all regions. She presents frequently at industry gatherings.
Rachael holds a biological sciences degree from the University of Leicester.

Managing Director at Mann Naturenergie. After completing vocational training as a freight forwarding and logistics specialist and spending several years working abroad in Switzerland and France, Markus Mann studied Business Administration at the German Foreign Trade and Transport Academy (DAV) in Bremen. This was during the time of the First Gulf War, which had a lasting impact on Markus Mann. Motivated by the conviction of “No war for oil,” he became interested in wind energy through visits to Denmark. Since then, both his professional and personal life have been almost entirely dedicated to renewable energy. Project development and engineering activities in Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Argentina, and Chile have accompanied Markus Mann since the 2000s.

Global Head of Technical Sales – Gasification

Fiona is a bioenergy consultant and market analyst with more than fifteen years' experience in the renewable energy industry. She joined Hawkins Wright in 2013 and is now responsible for overseeing the company's bioenergy activities. She is the co-author of Hawkins Wright’s market-leading Outlook for Wood Pellets service and Editor of Forest Energy Monitor. Fiona regularly undertakes consultancy projects for clients in Asia, Europe and North America on topics including wood pellet and biomass markets, sustainability, and energy policy. She has a degree in Physics from the University of York and is an APMP qualified Project Manager.

Head of Biomass and Freight Trading

Business Developer

Håkon Nøstvik is VP Commercial & Business Development at Arbion Industries. Since joining Arbion in 2022, he has worked on scaling the biocarbon industry through new production facilities and long-term partnerships with leading metallurgical companies. Prior to Arbion, Håkon worked as a management consultant, advising industrial companies on strategy, business development and growth. He holds an MSc in Industrial Economics and Technology Management from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

Director, Technical & Engineering

Adan Prieto de la Camara, Director of Sustainability and Quality — Knauf GmbH Iberian Peninsula. A Mining and Petroleum Engineer specializing in Oil and Gas Drilling and Exploration, with a Master's degree in Environmental Management and Sustainability, an MBA, and additional training in mining engineering from Newcastle University. He has worked in diverse sectors ranging from research, electromechanical industry, oil and gas, laboratory management, the chemical industry, insulation, auditing, training, integrated management systems, etc. Currently, he is the Head of Sustainability and Quality for Spain and Portugal, where he has spearheaded key milestones such as ISO 50001 Energy Management certification, AENOR Circular Economy certification (the first in the sector to achieve it), and the creation of a patented machine for the circular economy. He works with the entire Knauf team on the development of a biomass power plant at the Knauf facility in Guixers (Lleida), one of the most ambitious industrial decarbonization projects in the Spanish mining and construction sectors, which leverages alternative energy sources to significantly reduce CO₂ emissions. Adan, a member of DIRSE and a regular speaker at sustainability and industry conferences, advocates for the idea that sustainability is not a theoretical concept, but an essential practice for ensuring a better and more prosperous future.

Vitalii Protasov is CEO and co-founder of GENA Solutions, a market intelligence provider for renewable and low-carbon fuels and chemicals. He has over 15 years of experience in the chemical and fuels industries, where he has held leadership roles in project management, marketing, strategy, and business development.

Steve started his career in the pharmaceutical industry at Sanofi followed by 2 years at Total in La Defense, Paris. Steve has been working at Arcelor Mittal since 2015 and has been responsible for sourcing liquid fuels for Arcelor Mittal's sites across Europe. Steve has recently moved towards decarbonised sources of alternate fuels such as biomass for the the use in greener steelmaking.

Director

Sales and Business Development

Jakob Way is the CEO of Nordic Bio-Graphite, a Swedish company developing fossil-free graphite from biochar. Built on more than a decade of research, the company is creating a sustainable European graphite supply for batteries, steelmaking, and other industrial applications. Supported by the European Commission and leading industrial partners, Nordic Bio-Graphite aims to reduce import dependence and strengthen critical raw material supply chains. Jakob has over a decade of experience commercializing research-based technology and bringing new technologies to market. He studied Industrial Engineering and Management and was recognized by MIT Technology Review as one of Europe’s Top 35 Innovators.

Business Owner

Jonathan leads all commercial matters relating to Nova Pangaea, including the scale up of its unique carbon negative biofuel production technology in the UK and the development of a pipeline of projects to grow the business globally. The technology uses woody biomass and agricultural residues to produce advanced cellulosic bioethanol for Sustainable Aviation Fuel, as well as biochar and carbon dioxide removal credits. Jonathan has extensive c-suite level leadership experience in the low carbon fuels and downstream energy industry and is dedicated to bringing solutions to market which drive the energy transition. Previously Jonathan was Vice President for Neste’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) business, and Vice President at BP where he led all global strategy and business development activities for Aviation fuels, and prior to that for road transportation fuels. Jonathan graduated in Economics from London University and completed an Executive MBA programme at Harvard Business School.