N.B. Participants need to bring an identity document as well as the QR code that will be sent by the Bavarian Representation shortly before the event.
Sustainable and low-carbon electricity generation, for example through renewable energies, makes a significant contribution to achieving the ambitious European climate target of carbon neutrality by 2050. However, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy are subject to weather-dependent fluctuations in intensity and availability. Gas-fired power plants are therefore considered the ideal partner for renewables because they are a robust, mature and cost-efficient technology that can balance out this fluctuating power generation from wind and sun in a stable and flexible manner. However, this technology is associated with significant CO2 emissions.
Against this backdrop, hydrogen offers the unique opportunity to generate electricity reliably and independently of weather or seasonal conditions and fossil fuels. Through electrolysis, surplus renewable energy can be stored in the form of hydrogen to be used later as fuel in gas-fired power plants when needed (power-to-X-to-power). This flexibility enables continuous power generation, even when primary renewable resources are not available. In this way, hydrogen makes Europe less dependent on fossil fuels and thus reduces risks to the security of energy supply.
As a frontrunner in Europe, the German government has recently published its power plant strategy, targeting the construction and operation of approximately 24 gigawatts (GW) of hydrogen power plants alongside fossil gas units intended for future conversion to hydrogen. Other European countries may follow this approach.
With the HYFLEXPOWER project, a European consortium coordinated by Siemens Energy created the technological prerequisites for hydrogen reconversion and demonstrated the power-to-X-to-power concept by successfully operating the world’s first gas turbine with 100% green hydrogen.
Based on the project results, the HYFLEXPOWER consortium would like to initiate a discussion on the role that hydrogen reconversion could play in the European energy system in the future taking into consideration the European electricity market design, capacity mechanisms, the German power plant strategy and the recently formulated targets for the year 2040. We will also discuss what needs and challenges (still) exist and what framework conditions are required to ensure security of supply in line with European climate targets.
The event will be facilitated by Olaf Bernstrauch (Siemens Energy)
10:00 | Registration & Welcome coffee
10:30 | Welcome | Michael Hinterdobler, Director of the Representation of the Free State of Bavaria to the European Union
10:40 | Agenda & HYFLEXPOWER overview | Ertan Yilmaz (Siemens Energy / HYFLEXPOWER coordinator)
10:50 | HYFLEXPOWER project achievements, including techno-economic assessment |Sami Garmadi (ENGIE), Benjamin Witzel (Siemens Energy), Harry Trump (CENTRAX), Farid Ferroudj (Siemens Energy), Ian Amos (Siemens Energy), Nikos Skordoulias (National Technical University of Athens)
12:10 | HYFLEXPOWER: next steps | Ertan Yilmaz (Siemens Energy), Sami Garmadi (ENGIE) – supported by Balazs Kern (ARTTIC Innovation)
12:30 | Buffet lunch
13:40 | Path to Net Zero: Hydrogen’s Role in Power Generation | Jorgo Chatzimarkakis (CEO, Hydrogen Europe)
14:10 | The potential of hydrogen for decarbonising EU industry| Marion Deridder Blondel (Chief Development & Strategy Officer, ENGIE)
14:30 | Roundtable: Barriers and drivers for the ramp up of Power-to-X in the EU | Moderated by Ralf Wezel (EUTurbines) | Panelists: Jens Geier (European Parliament), Katarzyna Anna Gryc (DG Energy – European Commission), Verena Klapdor (Siemens Energy), Franck Le Baron (ENGIE)
16:00 | Wrap-up & key take aways
16:15 | End of workshop
Ian Amos, BSc, CEng IMechE, studied mechanical engineering at the University of Birmingham . He has over 40 years of experience in the small gas turbine business since starting work at Siemens Energy in Lincoln, UK in 1982. His career began in Advanced Engineering working on core engine design, principally in the fields of performance, aerothermal and air systems. Since 2004 Ian has been working in a business development/portfolio strategy role with responsibility to ensure that the product portfolio remains competitive and is kept up to date to tackle the challenges of a changing market place.
Olaf Bernstrauch (Dipl. Ing) is the Principal Key Expert for Innovation Management at Siemens Energy. He has been working for Siemens AG / Siemens Energy AG for more than 30 years in various functions: Power Plant Engineer, Product Portfolio Manager for nuclear turbosets, Corporate Strategy Consultant and finally Innovation Manager. In the latter function, he coordinates public funding activities for Siemens Energy along the entire value chain (from shaping of calls to project audits). A particular focus is on European and German funding opportunities. He also represents Siemens Energy in EUTurbines (chairman of the Working Group Research), ETN – Energy & Turbomachinery Network (member of the ETN Project Board), and is chairman of the ETIP SNET WG 3 “Flexible Generation”. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering / Nuclear Engineering from the University of Applied Sciences in Aachen (Germany).
Jorgo Chatzimarkakis has been working at Hydrogen Europe since 2016. He currently holds the position of CEO of the association. He previously covered roles in the planning department of the Foreign Office of Germany, at Infineon Technologies and was Member of the European Parliament (2004-2014) inter alia in the ITRE Committee (Industry, Technology, Research and Energy) where he could contribute to lay the cornerstone for the first and the second Joint Undertaking on hydrogen and fuel cells. He was awarded Hydrogen Person of the Year at the World Hydrogen Awards 2022, “as a major player promoting hydrogen in Europe and world-wide, accelerating collaboration and industry development”. Jorgo was born in Duisburg, Germany. He holds German and Greek nationality, and a degree in political science from the University of Bonn.
Marion Deridder Blondel is Chief Strategy and Development Officer for ENGIE Energy Solutions since February 1st, 2023. She reports to Frank Lacroix, Executive Vice-President in charge of Energy Solutions activities. HEC graduate, Marion DERIDDER BLONDEL has nearly 20 years of career in the industry in marketing positions. She started within the Vallourec Group, then worked for 10 years in product development and relationship marketing & communication within the Atlantic Group. She took over the France Marketing Department of GROHE in 2014 then she became Marketing, Research & Development, Innovation and Communication Director of the Cofel Group (Epeda, Merinos & Bultex). Marion DERIDDER BLONDEL joined ENGIE in 2018 as Marketing and Commercial Communication Director of the Grand Public Department (DGP), and she was appointed Vice-President Marketing Global BtoC Supply in 2021.
Farid Ferroudj (Dipl-Ing.) holds a diploma in Industrial Engineering Processes from the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Toulouse (INSA). With over 20 years of experience in the energy sector, he is currently Account Manager of Gas Services Western Europe Region in Siemens Energy since April 2023. He is responsible of a portfolio of major customers such as ENGIE using rotating equipment for their industrial application (gas turbines, steam turbines, generators, compressors) regarding service and maintenance, modernizations and upgrades, brownfield transformation and energy transition. He is a member of the HYFLEXPOWER project steering committee, supporting ENGIE with site permitting, local implementation, and interfacing with other partners. He is also responsible for green hydrogen production, site and technical readiness, making him a key player in the development of the HYFLEXPOWER technology.
Sami Garmadi (Dipl-Ing.) holds a diploma in Energy engineering from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure en Génie des Technologies Industrielles (France). During the last four years, he has been working at ENGIE as project leader focusing on driving innovative projects in renewable energy, with a keen interest in leveraging hydrogen technology for sustainable development. Currently, Sami is serving at ENGIE’s subsidiary Grandes Infrastructures et Mobilités which is specialized in energy production, utilities and services on large scale industrial sites. On the HYFLEXPOWER project, he acts as the operational interface from ENGIE on the day-to-day on-site work which makes him central in the development and maintenance of the HYFLEXPOWER technology.
Jens Geier has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2009. He is head of the SPD-members of the European Parliament, member of the ITRE committee and substitute member of the Budget committee. Before that, he gathered experience in real estate projects for the public sector with innova AG and Deloitte. Further, he was a project manager and spokesperson at Projekt Ruhr GmbH and worked for the bureau of the SPD and the bureau of the regional SPD-branch for North Rhine-Westphalia. After finishing his studies in history, literature and political science at the Ruhr-University Bochum, he acted as a policy advisor for budgetary affairs and research and technology policy for an SPD-Member of the European Parliament. Jens Geier is an active member of IG Metall, the Workers’ Welfare Association (AWO) and the Association for work with children and teenagers in socially deprived areas (VKJ). He was born in Frankfurt (Main) and grew up in Essen.
Michael Hinterdobler is Director of the Bavarian Representation in Brussels since August 2023. He had already held this position from January 2014 to April 2016. From 2016 to 2023 he directed the Department for European Policy and International Relations at the Bavarian State Chancellery in Munich. From 2005 to 2013 he was Director for International Relations with a focus on the Alpine region, South-East Europe and North America. Previously, he headed the Representation of the Free State of Bavaria in Quebec, based in Montreal, for four years. He began his service for the Free State in the Bavarian State Ministry of Finance in 1997, after studying law and linguistics in Munich, with phases in Aix-en-Provence and Oxford.
Ms Katarzyna Gryc works as the Policy Officer in DG Energy, in the unit Digitalisation, Competitiveness, Research and Innovation, where her main areas of work concern renewable and low carbon hydrogen and other clean energy technologies. She previously worked in the transport field in the EC on the alternative fuels including hydrogen and electromobility and on the Connecting Europe Facility. She holds a Master’s degree from Sciences Po Paris in Finance and Strategy and currently also attends a post graduate course in the offshore renewable energies at the Gdansk University of Technology.
Dr. Eva Verena Klapdor is Senior Vice President of Gas Services Region Europe & Africa in Siemens Energy since October 2022. She is responsible of all installed gas turbines, steam turbines and generators in Europe and Africa from Siemens Energy regarding service and maintenance, modernizations and upgrades and brownfield transformation. She holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the Technical University of Darmstadt. Since 2011, she has held various positions at Siemens Energy, including performance engineering, combustion technology and gas turbine portfolio management, gas turbine technology development and service operations. Her passion is on driving new innovations into the market that support the energy transition, like H2 combustion in gas turbines or the flexibilization of power plant assets.
Franck Le Baron is currently Group Hydrogen Deputy VP of ENGIE (since July 2021), after 3 years as Senior Business Development Manager of the Hydrogen Business Unit. He had previously worked in various positions in International Project Management or Business Development, first in the Oil & Gas Construction Industry (ETPM, ENTREPOSE) and thereafter in the Environment Industry (DEGREMONT, SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT), and Gas and LNG Industry (ELENGY). He has been based in France, the Netherlands, Azerbaijan, Morocco, the UAE and Qatar. Franck is also the Leader of the transversal ENGIE Hydrogen Community of Practice. Graduated as Civil / Mechanical Engineer, he entered the Group in 1990. Franck has been Foreign Trade Advisor of France (Conseiller du Commerce Extérieur de la France) since 2008, particularly active in the Climate, Hydrogen and Maritime & Ports working groups.
Nikolaos Skordoulias (Dipl-Ing.) holds a diploma in Chemical Engineering and a Master’s in Energy Production and Management from the National Technical University of Athens. Currently, he is a Research Engineer and Ph.D. candidate at the Laboratory of Thermal Processes, School of Mechanical Engineering, NTUA, under the supervision of Prof Sotirios Karellas. His research focuses on renewable hydrogen production and its integration into energy systems. With 2.5 years of experience as R&D Engineer at a Greek energy utility company, he spearheaded projects in wind energy, energy efficiency, and renewable hydrogen production. His research interests include process modeling, techno-economic analysis, environmental assessment, dynamic simulation, and multi-objective optimization of renewable hydrogen production across various sectors. Moreover, he manages four Horizon Europe-funded projects, focusing on Power-to-X technologies.
Harry W G Trump (BSc. Hons. C.Eng. MIET) is Director of Business Development for Centrax Gas Turbines. Has worked for Centrax since 1980 in many roles including Electrical and Controls Engineer, Engineering Manager, General Manager with responsibility for Engineering, Project Management, Installation and Commissioning. Held responsibility for package design of gas turbines ranging from 3 to 60MW including: Siemens A-05, SGT 300, SGT 400 and Rolls-Royce Trent. Harry has led the Centrax team throughout the Hyflexpower project.
Ralf Wezel is Secretary General of EUTurbines, the European association representing the gas and steam turbine industry with offices in Brussels and Frankfurt.
When taking over this task in 2014, he was at the same time appointed Secretary General of EUGINE, the sister association of EUTurbines, representing the interests of the European engine power plants industry. Ralf Wezel started his career working for VDMA, the German engineering industry association. In 2001 he moved to Brussels, where he headed the offices of different European industry associations in the engineering sector, including the European construction equipment association CECE and the European agricultural machinery association CEMA. Ralf Wezel graduated as an economist at the University of Saarbrucken in Germany.
Dr. Benjamin Witzel holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in the field of the application of advanced diagnostics at gas turbine combustion systems. Working for Siemens since 2013, Benjamin was the technical lead for the development of different combustion systems including the latest system for the new SGTX-9000HL frame as well as a new combustion technology for 100% H2 combustion. In this role, Benjamin is also leading work package 2 – Hydrogen Combustion Technology within the HYFLEXPOWER project. In Oct. 2022, Benjamin was appointed as the Head of Fuel Flexibility, Hydrogen, and Carbon Capture within the Siemens Energy New Technologies department. Since May 2022, Benjamin is also the Chairman of the German joint research network AG Turbo.
Dr. Ertan Yilmaz is Portfolio Manager Hydrogen & Green Fuels, Siemens Energy. Ertan has over 20 years combined experience in gas turbines and energy technologies at Siemens Energy and prior organizations. He has authored numerous peer reviewed publications and holds 18 patents. His current priorities focus on decarbonization and energy transition, leading global multi-disciplinary and cross-business initiatives to deliver hydrogen and green fuel products and solutions for power generation. He is the project coordinator of the HYFLEXPOWER project, the power-to-hydrogen-to-power pilot demonstrator. Ertan holds a Dipl.-Ing. degree from RWTH Aachen and a Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, both in Mechanical Engineering.