Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, Renewables - Biographies

Dr Kerry-Ann Adamson – Manager, Fuel Cell Today and FCT Consulting

Kerry-Ann has over ten years experience in the fuel cell industry and specialises in transport and distributed generation applications for fuel cells. She has worked with both the private and public sector on a variety of fuel cell projects and is heavily involved with consulting activity, producing bespoke analytical reports, liaising with corporate clients, giving high profile presentations, and developing business-to-business activities.

Prior to Fuel Cell Today she was at the Technical University of Berlin, on a Marie Curie Research Fellowship. She gained a PhD from Imperial College of Science and Technology, London on the socio-economics of fuel cell technology in the transport sector.

Dr. Daniel Aklil-D’Halluin (HND, BSc, MEng, PhD, MIET)

Dr. Aklil is Managing Director of the Pure Energy® Centre, Past Chairman of the Institute of Engineering and Technology North Network and Director of the Scottish Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association. Daniel is also a Board Member of the Mexican Hydrogen Association, a Board Member of Fuel Cell Europe, Board Member of Nordsesil and to the North Alliance Hydrogen Association.

Dr. Aklil is a frequent speaker at Energy and Hydrogen conferences and the author/ co-author of over 30 publications. He is trilingual French, English and Arabic and a Non-Executive Director to several companies.

Dr Rupert Gammon, Director, Bryte Energy

Rupert is a director of Bryte Energy, which is a consultancy that designs, implements and operates integrated hydrogen and renewable energy systems as well as carrying out market analysis and strategic studies for low-carbon energy technologies. Rupert is Chair of the British Midlands Hydrogen Forum, a director of the UK Hydrogen Association and participates in expert panels for Tasks 18 & 24 of the International Energy Agency’s Hydrogen implementation Agreement. He serves on the London Hydrogen Partnership’s Infrastructure & Renewables working group and is also a Visiting Researcher at the Centre for Renewables Energy Systems Technology at Loughborough University.

Rupert co-founded Bryte Energy in 2005 with two colleagues with whom he had worked during their PhD studies at the Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology (CREST) at Loughborough University, where he had formerly gained an MSc in Renewable Energy Systems Technology. The team had worked on the groundbreaking Hydrogen and Renewables Integration (HARI) project, which was conceived by Rupert and was the first of its kind in the UK. He had previously worked as a freelance consultant, partly in the field of sustainable energy, but more predominantly in the oil, gas and mineral exploration industries. Before that, Rupert worked for an architectural consultancy, having gained his first degree in 3D Industrial Design (Eng) at Leeds Polytechnic.

Karen Hall, Administrative Manager, United Kingdom Hydrogen Association.

Karen Hall is the Administrative Manager for the United Kingdom Hydrogen Association. She facilitates the coordination of association activities among industry, government, academia, and standards development organizations.

Since 1997, Mrs. Hall has organized hydrogen workshops for the United Kingdom Hydrogen Association, the US National Hydrogen Association, the European Natural Gas Vehicle Association, and other clients. These workshops develop consensus among the stakeholders on technical and policy issues pertinent to the commercial deployment of hydrogen energy systems. They also serve to create dialog between hydrogen industry, organizations involved in the development of policies and standards, and other stakeholders for the purpose of achieving common objectives.

Mrs. Hall participates in the development of national and international standards for hydrogen energy technologies. She is familiar with the stakeholders and the processes used by the various codes and standards development organization to create consensus standards. Mrs. Hall is the Chair of BSI PVE/3/8, the UK technical subcommittee on hydrogen technologies standards.

Mrs. Hall received a Master of Science degree in Environmental Science from the Johns Hopkins University (USA). She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Welding Engineering from the Ohio State University (USA).

Professor John Irvine, University of St Andrews

John Irvine is Professor of Chemistry at the University of St Andrews and currently holds an EPSRC Senior Fellowship. His first degree is in Chemical Physics from Edinburgh University and he obtained a DPhil from the University of Ulster in Photoelectrochemistry. He performed his postdoctoral studies working with Anthony West in Aberdeen and was subsequently appointed to a BP/RSE fellowship, lectureship and senior lectureship at Aberdeen University. In 1994 he was visiting Professor at Northwestern University and then moved to the University of St Andrews as Reader and then Professor of Inorganic Chemistry. His research interests are in solid state ionics, new materials, ceramic processing, electrochemistry, fuel cell technology, hydrogen, photoelectrochemistry, electrochemical conversion and heterogeneous catalysis.

He heads a large team of 30 researchers and his main programmes of activity relate to

• understanding oxide ion conductivity
• finding new electronic conductors for fuel cells
• developing fuel flexible SOFC anodes
• understanding ion conductivity in oxides
• high performance fuel cell electrolytes
• direct carbon fuel cells
• durability and resistance in high temperature fuel cells
• production of hydrogen through electrolysis
• electrochemical production of ammonia and hydrocarbons through solid state electrolysis
• solid solution formation and phase equilibria studies
• new materials search
• ceramics processing

Filomena La Porta, Lead technologist – Energy Generation and Supply, Technology Strategy Board

Filomena joined the Technology Strategy Board in August 2007 as Lead Technologist for the Energy Generation and Supply area. She is mainly responsible for developing and implementing strategies and priorities in the energy generation and supply area within the Technology Strategy Board broader approach, by working closely with business, Government Departments and other funding organisations. Filomena has a Laurea in Physics from Pisa University and a PhD at Loughborough University, both gained by developing various experimental techniques for understanding materials properties. Before joining the Technology Strategy Board, Filomena worked for over five years at the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council in several roles, including Senior Sector Manager for the Power Sector and as Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Manager. In these roles, she worked closely with several organisations such as the Carbon Trust and the UK Climate Impact Programme. She also spent three months on secondment to the UK Trade and Investment.

Filomena has also worked for Corus, as researcher developing optical inspection techniques and as project manager for R&D capital investment.

Derek Mitchell, Project Manager, The Hydrogen Office

Derek Mitchell is project managing the development of the Hydrogen Office project in Methil (Fife), a cutting edge project to demonstrate the role that renewables and hydrogen can play in reducing the future impact of energy security of supply concerns and climate change.

Having been involved from the outset in securing the funding, building the project partnerships, and developing the novel energy system, Derek is now increasingly looking forward to the future. In particular the role this internationally significant project can play in: supporting the accelerated development of this fast emerging industry in Scotland; raising the profile of Scottish capabilities in this sector; and encouraging the development of a hydrogen and fuel cell technology cluster.

Professor Dermot J Roddy, Newcastle University

Dermot Roddy joined Newcastle University as Science City Professor of Energy in 2008 after a period of some 20 years in the energy industry and petrochemical sectors. He is also Director of the Sir Joseph Swan Institute for Energy Research, which integrates energy research across Newcastle University and links with a powerful external industrial base in the energy sector. Outside of the university he is Chairman of North East Biofuels, Finance Director of the UK Hydrogen Association and Vice President of the Northern England Electricity Supply Companies Association. Prior to coming to Newcastle University he was Chief Executive of Renew Tees Valley Ltd – a company which he set up in 2003 to create a viable and vibrant economy in the Tees Valley based on renewable energy and recycling – where he was instrumental in a wide range of major renewable energy and low-carbon projects relating to biomass, biofuels, hydrogen, carbon capture & storage, wind and advanced waste processing technologies. From 1998 to 2002 he ran the crude oil refinery on Teesside as site director for a $5 bn-turnover facility before moving to the Netherlands to work on Petroplus’ international growth plans. Dermot’s experience in the petrochemical industry began in 1985, involving a variety of UK and international roles in operations, engineering and technology with ICI and others. Prior to that he developed leading-edge technology at Queen’s University, Belfast, for optimisation and control in aerospace applications.