Mirela Atanasiu is the Head of Unit of Operations and Communication of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership since 2016 (which has taken over the predecessor Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, FCH JU), a Public-Private Partnership between European Commission and the European Industry (Hydrogen Europe) and Research Community (Hydrogen Europe Research). Until June 2024 and for over a year, she has also acted as interim-Executive Director, ensuring the kick-start of new JU activities and continuity of the partnership.

Previously, for more than 12 years she was a Senior Project Manager and Research Programme Officer in the Joint Undertaking and 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.

Jack 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.

Francesco Giacobone, a Mechanical Engineer, is Head of Innovation Strategy and Portfolio at Fincantieri.

He previously worked at Bain & Company as Senior Manager, at GE Power as Project Procurement and Logistic Manager, and at Robert Bosch GmbH as Intern Sales Engineer. He holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture from KTH – Royal Institute of Technology. His expertise spans engineering design, project management, and innovation strategy.

Eiji Ohira is Strategy Architect / Head of HydrogenBusiness Development of the Kawasaki Gas Turbine Europe, affiliate company ofthe Kawasaki Heavy Industries. In this capacity, he is responsible for developing,executing and coordinating KHI’s global hydrogen business.

 Before joining KHI, he was a general manager for NEDO’s research,development and demonstration project on fuel cells and hydrogen over a decade.

At NEDO, he developed and organized NEDO’s hydrogen R&Dprojects including liquefied hydrogen storage/transportation, MW scaleelectrolysis, cutting-edge fuel cell, hydrogenre-fueling, etc.

He represented Japan in international hydrogen forumssuch as the International Energy Agency's Technical Cooperation Program (IEAHydrogen TCP, Advanced Fuel Cells TCP) and the International Partnership forHydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE).

In addition, he has been presenting on Japan's hydrogenpolicy and technological development status through various media andconferences both in Japan and overseas.

Marco Molica Colella is a specialist in clean technologies and EU innovation ecosystems, with over 18 years of experience at the intersection of research, funding instruments, project finance and EU affairs.

Currently part of the Funding Team at Hydrogen Europe, he serves as R&D Manager overseeing the Clean Hydrogen Partnership. In this role, he coordinates the work of technical committees and acts as the main liaison for the industry members of the Joint Undertaking’s Governing Board.

His expertise spans the full innovation lifecycle—from innovation policy design to market deployment. Before joining Hydrogen Europe, Marco led innovation and R&D advisory at PNO Consultants (Italy.)

He holds a PhD in Engineering and executive-level masters in innovation, sustainability, and finance.

Roy Weening holds a Bachelor in Aeronautical Engineering and is the Subject Matter Expert for industrial decarbonization at Yokogawa.

He has a strong background in Digital Enterprises and throughout his career developed a great passion for optimized business value through a seamlessly interconnected and innovative ecosystem – bringing together people, processes, technology and data.

Yokogawa commits to the creation of a sustainable society and fosters a relationship where industry and society operate autonomously yet collaboratively.

Roy’s focus is on enabling the low-emission hydrogen economy, supporting companies with (early) strategic decision-making, and operational smart manufacturing & autonomous plant concepts.

Resulting in the potential for significant TCO reduction with respect to ‘classical’ approaches and ultimately scaling the industrial decarbonization sectors.