Mirela Atanasiu is the Executive Director ad interim of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, taking over from Bart Biebuyck whose mandate finished on 15.05.2023.

She is also the Head of Unit of Operations and Communication since 2016. Previously, for more than 12 years she was a Senior Project Manager and Research Programme Officer in the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) and the European Commission (Directorate Research and Innovation/Energy), following on a background experience as researcher in the Energy sector in Romania. She holds an M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering/Materials Science and an M.Sc. in Economics/Cybernetics and Economic Analysis

Brouwer’s research focuses upon high-temperature electrochemical dynamics and integrated renewable energy systems including fuel cells, electrolyzers, batteries, gas turbines, and solar and wind power.

Brouwer is recognized for research and development of the world’s first integrated hybrid solid oxide fuel cell gas turbine system, the world’s first renewable high temperature fuel cell system for tri-generation of hydrogen, heat, and power, the world’s first direct DC powering of data center servers with a fuel cell, and the U.S. first renewable power-to-gas hydrogen injection into the natural gas system and subsequent conversion to decarbonized electricity in a combined cycle power plant.

Brouwer received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1993. From 1993 to 1997, he served as a research assistant professor at the University of Utah and was a member of the technical staff at Reaction Engineering International.

He came to UC Irvine in 1997 as associate director of the National Fuel Cell Research Center (NFCRC), concurrently holding appointments as lecturer, assistant and then associate adjunct professor. He was named assistant professor in the summer of 2011 and became full professor in the summer of 2017.

Luigi Crema is the director of the Center for Sustainable Energy at Fondazione Bruno Kessler, in Trento. A physicist, he deals with issues connected with energy transition and the development of technology solutions for hydrogen and batteries, the two main pillars of the Center with about 60 between researchers, innovators, and technicians. He is involved in 2 IPCEI projects, on batteries in EuBatIn and on hydrogen technologies in Hy2Tech, with the ongoing realization of a technology infrastructure of industrial relevance in Rovereto, close by Trento, in theHydrogen Pole of the Province of Trento.

He is President of Hydrogen Europe Research giving support to the realization and implementation of the programme of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership as a member of the Governing Board together with European Commission and Hydrogen Europe industry.

He is the vice-president of the Italian Hydrogen Association, supporting the role of hydrogen at the national scale and through the engagement of national institutions.

Among other roles, he is a founder and a member of the National Academy of Engineering andTechnology and involved in the BEPA, the European Battery Partnership.

For over twenty years, he has been involved in innovation between research and the industrial sector, with experience on how to transform development areas into viable solutions and economic value. He supported the creation and growth of Start-up such as Green Energy Storage, where he is a member of the scientific committee,and Unitec. He was involved in more than 40 project initiatives on the energy sector and in more than 100 scientific papers.

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Kazuyuki IMAZATO is Director General of Representative Office in Europe of New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), since July 2021.

He’s currently responsible for strengthening relationship between Japan and Europe in the energy, industrial technology and environmental areas through promoting related R&D activities.

Especially in the hydrogen-related sector, he has currently been supporting several demonstration projects of Japanese companies in Germany and UK.

He also contributed to establish the latest Japanese national hydrogen strategy, which published inJune 2023, because NEDO has a close relationship with METI, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japanese government, as a national innovation agency.

Before entering NEDO, as anofficial of METI, he has long and diversified career in policy-making of science and technology and innovation, of manufacturing industry and of energy industry since 2003.

His academic background is molecular biology and public policy management. He has a bachelor and a master of science from Tokyo University (Japan) and a master in public policy management from CarnegieMellon University (USA).

Prof. Massardo is the coordinator of the Thermochemical Power Group (www.tpg.unige.it) since 1998.

In the group more than 35 researchers (permanent staff, post docs, and Ph.D.students) are active. He has been involved in about 40 EU research projects, and in many other international collaborations including the one with Department of Energy US through the CRADA agreement between DoE - NationalEnergy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and University of Genoa (IT).

Prof.Massardo is the owner of 7 patents and his research activity includes more than30 international invited and keynote lecturers, and 140 Journal papers. He is the recipients of 13 “international Awards”.

Dr. Maged Mahmoud is a sustainable energy lead expert and the Technical Director of theRegional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE). He has multidisciplinary expertise and solid accomplishments in the fields of sustainable energy transition in the Egyptian, Arab and African arenas.

Over the past 28 years, Dr Mahmoud played a key role in helping Arab countries from North Africa and the Middle East to develop sustainable energy and energy transition master plans and to identify technology options, formulate renewable energy (RE) strategies, and introduce implementation mechanisms for increased reliance on private sector through viable business models and instruments supporting both utility- and small-scale developers and recognizing positive socio-economic impacts.

Dr. Mahmoud has managed and contributed to over 70 projects, initiatives, and studies in collaboration with international organizations and IFIs, mobilizing several billions USD in wind and solar projects across the Arab region. Dr. Mahmoud was an official at the EgyptianNew and Renewable Energy Authority for around 15 years where he contributed significantly to setting the Egyptian renewable energy strategies, and in the design of the “best-fit” policies for implementation resulting in more than 3000MW installed new renewable capacities.

He deeply contributed to planning and contracting several hundreds megawatts of wind and solar energy projects amounting to around one billion USD. Further, he participated in developing the quality infrastructure for testing solar thermal and energy efficiency systems in Egypt and the region.

Dr. Maged Mahmoud is Egyptian with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Mechanical Power Engineering and holds the “Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research Award for Development and Innovations in Renewable Energy” since 2001.  

He is also a lecturer at the British University in Egypt (BUE). He is a certified trainer and author/co-author of over 50 specialized publications and articles. Dr.Mahmoud is an advisor and board member of several entities, networks, projects, and initiatives at national, regional, and international levels.