Mr. WATANABE TetsuyaPresident
Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)

Tetsuya Watanabe is the President of ERIA. Prior to joining ERIA, he was the Special Advisor to the Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI).

In his government career of over 30 years, he has held various key positions such as the Director General for the Trade Policy at METI and Chief Counsellor of the TPP Headquarters at the Cabinet Secretariat, where he led Japan's major trade policy initiatives and negotiations in the CPTPP, RCEP, and the WTO reforms. He was also the Vice President of RIETI, one of Japan's most prominent policy think tanks. He is currently a Visiting Professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo. His expertise covers trade and investment, supply chains, energy security, circular economy, digital innovation, startup ecosystem, and regional economic integration in Asia. He graduated from the University of Tokyo and Columbia University

Mr. Noah DEICHDeputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Carbon Management
Department of Energy (DOE)
United States of America

Mr. Noah Deich is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Carbon Management <https://www.energy.gov/fecm/office-carbon-management> in the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM). In this role, he oversees FECM's Carbon Management program, which focuses on minimizing the climate and environmental impacts of fossil energy through technology pathways including carbon capture, carbon dioxide (CO₂) removal, CO₂ conversion into products, reliable CO₂ storage, and hydrogen production with carbon management.
Mr. Deich joined FECM from Carbon180, which he co-founded to catalyze the development of a portfolio of carbon removal solutions. Prior to that, he was an economic and management consultant with Accenture and ICF international, where he gained experience in many fields including environmental market and carbon offset modeling and renewable and fossil energy power plants valuations. Mr. Deich received his MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and his BA from the University of Virginia.

Mr. MITSUOKA TsugioChairperson,
Carbon Recycling Fund Institute (CRF)
Chairman of the Board,
IHI Corporation

Apr 1980

Joined IHI Corporation

Jul 2003

General Manager, Aero-Engine Technology Department, Research & Engineering Division

Apr 2007

Division Director, Civil Aero-Engine Division

Apr 2010

Executive Officer, Vice President of Aero-Engine & Space Operations

Apr 2013

Managing Executive Officer & President of Aero-Engine & Space Operations

Apr 2014

Board Director, Managing Executive Officer, President of Aero-Engine & Space Operations

Apr 2016

President; Chief Operating Officer

Apr 2017

President; Chief Executive Officer

Jun 2020

Chairman of the Board; Chief Executive Officer

Apr 2021

Chairman of the Board

Panelists
Mr. Jean-Marc LEROYPresident
France gaz (former "French Gas Association (AFG)")

Jean-Marc Leroy has been elected President of AFG (French Gas Association) the 1st October 2021.

Previously he was Senior Executive Vice-President for External Relations at ENGIE till his retirement the 1st July 2021. Prior to that, Jean-Marc Leroy was Gas Chain Managing Director at ENGIE. Between January 2009 and July 2015, he was Chief Executive Officer of Storengy, the underground gas storage operator of ENGIE.

Jean-Marc started his career in 1980 at EDF-GDF Services. Between 1997 and 2004, he held several key positions at Gaz de France: President's Chief of Staff, Secretary of the Board, Deputy Vice President for Strategy, Vice President for External Relations and Internal Communication. Between 2005 and 2009 he was Executive Vice President for underground gas storage and LNG regasification terminals at Gaz de France and subsequently GDF SUEZ.

Between 2015 and 2020, he was President of Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). Previously, between 2008 and 2013, he held the position of the President of Gas Storage Europe (GSE), the storage column of GIE. He is still honorary President of GIE.

Jean-Marc Leroy was Chairman of the Supervisory Board of GRDF, the gas distribution company of Engie (2016 2021), member of the Executive Committee of the IGU (2018 2022), board member of the Global Gas Centre (2015 2021) and Vice-President of OME (Mediterranean Energy Office). He has also been board members of different companies in various countries: Canada, Thailand, China, Switzerland, …

He has been appointed in 2021 by the French Minister of Energy as a member of the CSE (Energy High Council).

Panelists
Dr. Paolo FRANKLHead of the Renewable Energy Division
International Energy Agency (IEA)

Paolo Frankl is Head of the Renewable Energy Division at the International Energy Agency (IEA). Dr. Frankl leads the IEA's work on renewables, providing analysis and advice on policies, markets and technologies to 31 Member countries and 17 Association and Accession countries.
A physicist by training, Dr. Frankl holds a Ph.D in energy and environmental technologies from the University of Rome 1 "La Sapienza" and has been post-doc Marie Curie research fellow at INSEAD business school in Fontainebleau, France. Dr. Frankl has 30 years of experience working on renewable energy systems and markets, life cycle assessment and eco-labeling.

Panelists
Dr. HAYASAKA KazuakiGeneral Manager
Sustainable Technology Center
Central Technical Research Laboratory
ENEOS Corporation

EDUCATION

Master in Material Chemistry, Tohoku University, 1996
Doctor in Bioscience and Engineering, Katholieke Universteit Leuven, 2008

CAREER

April 2023 - Present

General Manager, Sustainable Technology Center, Central Technical Research Laboratory

July 2021

General Manager, Fuels & Chemical Research Center, Central Technical Research Laboratory

April 2020

Deputy General Manager, Technology Strategy Office, Central Technical Research Laboratory

April 2017

Group Manager, Technology Strategy Planning Group, Technology Strategy Office, Central Technical Research Laboratory, ENEOS Corporation

April 2015

Group Manager, Process and Catalysts R&D Group, Fuel Research Center, Central Technical Research Laboratory, JX Nippon Oil Corporation (*)

April 1996

Joined Mitsubishi Oil Corporation (*)

(*) current ENEOS Corporation.

Panelists
Ms. Meg GENTLEExecutive Director
Highly Innovative Fuels (HIF) Global

Meg Gentle is an energy expert and experienced executive from Houston, Texas. As an Executive Director of HIF Global, she is developing multi-billion dollar projects that will recycle CO₂ from the atmosphere and combine it with green hydrogen to produce carbon-neutral eFuels for the transportation sector, enabling the decarbonization of existing cars, trucks, ships, airplanes. Prior to HIF, Meg spent her career developing large scale energy infrastructure projects which pioneered the emergence of the United States as the largest supplier of natural gas to the international market and paved the way for U.S. leadership delivering cleaner energy in the fight against climate change. Meg has served in numerous senior management positions of publicly traded companies, including President and CEO of Tellurian Inc, CFO, EVP Marketing, and SVP Strategic Planning and Finance of Cheniere Energy Inc, and Manager of Strategic Planning for Anadarko Petroleum Corporation. She has served on the board of directors of Cheniere Energy Partners and Tellurian and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Ovintiv, a leading North American energy producer, and HIF Global, an innovative decarbonization company. Meg is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Council, a think tank devoted to shaping policy choices and strategies to create a more free, secure, and prosperous world; and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, an organization dedicated to helping citizens better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries. An active philanthropist in her community, Meg serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Visitors of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the Governing Board of Casa de Esperanza – the "House of Hope" for children in crisis in Houston, and the White House Historical Association in Washington, D.C. She has a B.A. in international affairs and economics from James Madison University and an MBA from Rice University.

Panelists
Mr. HAMADA KenichiPrincipal of Arthur D. Little, Japan

Kenichi is a Principal based in Arthur D Little (ADL) Tokyo office, also core member of Automotive and Manufacturing Practice in ADL. Over 15 years of consulting career. Former engineer of Fuel Cell Vehicles for TOYOTA Motor. Kenichi specializes in reform and strategy projects related to advanced technology and R&D field in the automotive and manufacturing industries. Recently, he led CASE-related software defined vehicle (SDV) technology strategy and organization reform, as well as business and technology strategies for Carbon neutralization (CN) of automotive, construction and agricultural machinery.

In 2020, Kenichi led study technology, trends and future potential of CN Fuel　with 16 leading Japanese companies and compiled a book.

Education: Keio University, B.A. (Environmental Information)

Panelists
Dr. MORIMOTO ShinichirouEnvironmental and Social Impact Assessment Team Leader
Global Zero Emission Research Center
The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)

Dr. Shinichirou MORIMOTO is a team leader at the Global Zero Emission Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). This research center conducts various research and development activities to reduce carbon emissions, and Dr. Morimoto's team develops methods and tools to evaluate these carbon reducing technologies. Since joining AIST in 2006, Dr. Morimoto has been evaluating the CO₂ reductions and economic feasibility of various technologies related to circular economy, CCUS (Carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration) and CDR (Carbon dioxide removal).
In recent years, he has been leading one of the NEDO Moonshot projects on CDR and is also the co-leader of the LCA/TEA technical track of the CDR mission in Mission Innovation.
Morimoto holds a PhD from Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University.

Panelists
Mr. Johann CLEREVice President, Commercial strategy & Marketing
LanzaTech

Johann Clere joined LanzaTech in March 2022 as Business Development Director and was recently promoted as Vice President, Commercial Strategy & Marketing.

Chicago-based LanzaTech is an innovative Carbon Capture and Transformation ("CCT") company that transforms waste carbon into materials such as sustainable fuels, fabrics, packaging, and other products that people use in their daily lives. LanzaTech was named as one of the 100 Most Influential Companies of 2023 by the TIME magazine.

Johann Clere brings more than 20 years experiences in business development, strategy and market creating innovation at the global scale.

Before joining LanzaTech Johann Clere had multiple key international roles at Veolia, a global industry leader designing and providing solutions that are both useful and practical for water, waste and energy management. At Veolia Johann Clere holds leadership positions such as global business development director at Veolia Water Technologies as well as group open innovation director and global head of carbon capture for the whole company.

Johann Clere holds an Engineering Master Degree from INSA Lyon, France and received executive education at Harvard Business School on Shared Value Creation.

Panelists
Mr. NAKAMA YukiProject Head, Senior Manager,
Green Chemistry Project Advanced Technology Institute R&D Center
SEKISUI Chemical Co., Ltd.

Yuki Nakama is project head of CO₂-to-CO technology development and demonstration in R&D center at Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.
His team currently engages to develop CO₂ conversion technology with improvement of oxygen carrier material and chemical looping reaction process.
Previously, he worked as chemical process engineer at chemical factory, especially for chlor & alkali plant.
His interests include reactor design and chemical process optimization and scale up by chemical engineering method.

Education

Master of life sciences, graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University

Panelists
Dr. Wim Van Der STRICHTCTO Technology Strategy (Decarbonization)
ArcelorMittal

After graduating in civil engineering from the University of Gent (1989–1994), Wim continued as researcher in the INTEC laboratory of University Gent to obtain a PhD on the subject of 'III-V nitrides for blue light emitting diodes and laser diodes.' After working one year as process engineer at Alcatel Microelectronics, he joined N.V. Sidmar as Operations Research specialist (Systems and Models section), currently ArcelorMittal. Between 2007 and 2009, he was part of the Controlling Department of the ArcelorMittal Gent plant and moved to ArcelorMittal FCE in Luxembourg to be in charge of the Management Information Services team. In 2013 he joined the AM Europe Innovation team to manage the financial coordination and funding of projects of the ArcelorMittal group within AM Europe Innovation. Today he is responsible for the coordination of the ArcelorMittal climate action initiatives globally　and is directly involved innovative pilot and demonstration projects.

Panelists
Mr. Marcos Cano BERTIZSenior Researcher on ArcelorMittal Global R&D

Marcos started his educational career on Mining Engineering from the University of Oviedo (2010-2015) and continued as researcher in the engineering projects department of the University focused on the modelling of long-distance transport pipelines for mine fluids. His education was reinforced doing the Master of Mining Engineering as well as a Quality and Environment Management Master.
In parallel, Marcos started his professional career as project consultant at Innvel Consulting company, providing support to ArcelorMittal on the recovery and reusage of the different steelmaking byproducts where internal and external projects were done to maximize the efficiency of the process.
In 2020, Marcos joined ArcelorMittal Global R&D, as researcher, for the development of gas separation and utilization technologies capable to generate benefits for the steelmaking industry.

Panelists
Mr. Paul KENNEDYVice President
International Business Development
Carbon Engineering Ltd.

Paul Kennedy is VP of International Business Development at climate solutions company Carbon Engineering Ltd. (CE). CE is focused on the global deployment of Direct Air Capture technology that captures carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere at large scale, so it can be stored deep underground or turned into clean transportation fuels. Paul leads international Business Development efforts for CE in a number of emerging markets. He brings 30 years of systems engineering, business development, and general management experience to CE and has worked around the world building relationships with governments, resource industry, and scientific stakeholders to deploy operational technology solutions to global-scale challenges. Prior to joining CE Paul held senior leadership roles in Earth Observation, product strategy, and resource industry solutions at MDA, a leading Canadian technology company.

Panelists
Mr. NAKATATE TomohiroTeam Leader of Business Development Group
Algal Bio Co., Ltd.

After graduating with a master's degree from the University of Tokyo, he joined Oisix Inc. (current Oisix ra daichi Inc.), a food EC venture company, and worked as a project manager, integrated marketing manager, and brand manager. Later, he became independent as a freelancer, working on business development and branding for companies in various industries. With a desire to leave a better environment for the next generation, he joined Algal Bio Co., Ltd. in 2023 and currently leads business development in the environmental sector. He is also the co-project manager of the NEDO Project（R&D of CO₂ Fixation by Microalgae and High-Value Ingredients Production）at the R&D and Demonstration Base in Osaki-Kamijima.

Panelists
Mr. Frank MORTONDirector, Technology Development, South Company Service,
National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC)

Frank Morton currently serves as Director, Technology Development for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Carbon Capture Center, after more than 40 years of experience as a chemical engineer in both industrial and research roles. He is currently responsible for bringing university, government, research and industrial organizations to the center for collaborative technology development. This role includes identifying technology developers and coordinating agreement among the developer, the U.S. Department of Energy and National Carbon Capture Center industrial partners on contracts, funding and test plans.
Morton has evaluated projects with more than 100 organizations involved in carbon capture research and development and has established collaborative testing agreements with more than 60 organizations from eight countries. The international collaboration includes establishment of test facilities, execution of test programs and technology scale-up. Morton has extensive international experience in carbon capture technology development in Japan, China, India, UAE, Oman, Australia, South Korea, UK, Norway, Mexico and Canada.

Panelists
Dr. Erik MUELEMANChief Technical Officer
ION Clean Energy

Erik Meuleman received his Master of Science and PhD degrees in Chemical Engineering with a focus on membrane technology from the University of Twente in Enschede, Netherlands. Dr. Meuleman has extensive course training in technical gas separation technologies, R&D and business management, health and safety procedures, and he is multilingual in English, Dutch, and German.

Dr. Meuleman became the Chief Technology Officer of ION Engineering in January 2016. At ION, Erik has provided overall technical direction for ION's solvent-based CO₂ capture systems in support of its commercialization path. He has overseen CO₂ capture campaigns on coal, lignite, natural gas (thermal boiler and CCGT), and residue fluid catalytic cracker gas, at NCCC, TCM, and/or at ION's own pilot.

Erik has over 30 years of experience in gas separation technologies with an emphasis on CO₂ capture in the last 20 years. Before joining ION, Erik developed membranes for organic separations including supercritical CO₂ for the dry-cleaning industry at TNO in the Netherlands. His focus shifted specifically to CO₂ capture technologies from source gases such as natural gas, synthesis gas, and flue gas. He led multiple EU-based multi-party multidisciplinary R&D development projects in those fields including novel CO₂ capture technologies directly related to optimal H2 production.

In 2008, Erik continued at CSIRO Energy in Australia, where he led numerous projects and was responsible for project leadership and business development integrating academic, institute, company, and government interests related to decarbonizing Australia's power generation.

Panelists
Dr. YOSHIDA JunichiDirector, Environment Department
New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO)

Dr. Junichi "Jun" Yoshida oversees NEDO's research, development and demonstration projects in CCUS area, including the Carbon Recycling RD&D Base project at Osaki Kamijima, as the Director of Carbon Recycling and CCUS Team. Since 2005, he has been engaged in management and support of the government-funded research and development projects in various technology areas including biotechnology, recycling of critical materials and artificial intelligence, at NEDO and the Cabinet Office of Japan. From 2014 to 2018, he was based in the USA as the Deputy Representative of NEDO's Washington DC Office.
Dr. Yoshida earned a Ph.D. in biology from Kumamoto University and a master's degree from Kyushu University.