Sustainable transport - Biographies

John Baldwin - Managing Director, CNG Services Limited

Worked for British Gas (and successor companies from 1983-2003), including:

• BGE&P - Armada Project Commercial Manager
• Transco – Manager, Network Development
• Lattice Group/National Grid – MD, Lattice Energy Services

His company, CNG Services Limited (CSL) supports the development of new anaerobic digester projects including a range of utilisation options for the biogas:

• Clean-up of biogas to produce biomethane
• Compression of bio-methane for use as fuel in road vehicles
• Injection of bio-methane into low pressure gas distribution networks
• Support to introduction of biomethane fuelled vehicles

CSL describes the above as “Green Gas” initiatives.

John has an MA in Engineering Science from Oxford University, is a Chartered Engineer, and a Member of Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers.

John is a former President of the SBGI (Society of British Gas Industries), is Chairman of the Renewable Energy Association biogas group.

Ulrich Frieser, Head of E-Mobility Program, Vattenfall

38 years old
More than 10 years with the Vattenfall Group in different managerial positions in Sweden and Germany.
Since 1 1/2 years responsible for Vattenfall's E-Mobility activities operating in the Dutch, German and Swedish market.

Nick Goodall - Chief Executive Officer, Renewable Fuels Agency (RFA)

Nick Goodall is CEO of the Renewable Fuels Agency (RFA). He was previously Chief Executive of the Energy Networks Association (ENA). Concurrently, he was CEO at Renewables East to 2004. He was CEO of the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) for six years from 1997 and is an honorary life member. He is a Fellow of the Energy Institute.

Ash Gupta - Managing Partner, The Gupta Partnership

Ash Gupta is a respected Marketing man with a classical international business grounding in Ford, which he joined as a graduate trainee in 1969. During the next 10 years he made his mark helping establish the Ford of Europe Transportation office where innovative transport systems and vehicles were developed. He developed “Dial-A Ride”, Britain’s first demand-actuated public transport system, Ash went on to be part of the Small Car Product Planning team that developed the Ford Fiesta, the automotive industry’s fastest 0 - Million selling vehicle. He went on to European roles Co-ordinating the Pan-Europe launch for Fiesta, & controlling Advertising and Sales Promotion for Ford across EMEA. At the start of his career in Ford, he gained further post-grad qualifications in Urban Transportation Planning at the University of London.

He has managed his own Marketing agencies since 1981. Ash Gupta Advertising was the first Scottish agency to gain quality institutional investment. He went on to create Ash Gupta Communications Group & quickly won the reputation for effective & internationally award winning work for precious brands like Harris Tweed,Theakston’s Ales, Newcastle Brown Ale, which they launched in the USA, Linn Hi-Fi & Pringle.

Working with his wife over 30 years, they have now created a powerful niche Consultancy specialising in Sustainable & Disruptive technologies, The Gupta Partnership, based in Edinburgh, concentrating on international marketing for mults like Microsoft, Ford, ITT, Fender, Dialight plc, ADP & RSA, and specialsed micro gen companies like Energreen AS & Zeropex AS . TGP has a strong presence in the area of sustainable transport & disruptive clean-tech.

In 2002 they launched the world’s first production Electric City Car for Ford called Th!nk with a 3 year trial involving 20 Scottish Companies called Think@boutEdinburgh, a joint project with Ford, The Scottish Executive, The City of Edinburgh Council, and The Energy Savings Trust. They are still very heavily involved in the marketing of electric vehicles.

Specialties: In 2007 we were appointed as consultants in Sustainable Automotive Transport to the Scottish Government. We issued our first report the same year. In Nov. 2007 we were asked by the Government to work on the feasibility of building a center for design, engineering and prototyping of sustainable vehicles. TGP has become respected for award winning and effective creative work in technology, software, automotive, food, fashion, finance, wine, beer & whisky, leisure, travel and branded consumer durables.

Dr Win Rampen - Managing Director, Artemis Intelligent Power

Dr Win Rampen studied mechanical engineering at Ryerson Polytechnical University in Toronto and graduated in 1977. He came to the UK in 1978 for two years and found work with the Wave Energy group (Prof Salter) at the University of Edinburgh on hydraulic power transmissions. He lectured at Ryerson through the early 80s and completed a master's degree at the University of New Brunswick in Mechanical Engineering in 1986. In 1987 returned to Edinburgh to begin working in the field of Digital Displacement hydraulics, completing the first PhD in the subject in 1992. In 1994, with Stephen Salter, formed Artemis Intelligent Power, to commercialise the products of this work. He has been managing director of Artemis since its creation, overseeing its growth to 25 employees. He is also an honorary research fellow of the University of Edinburgh.

David Van Alstyne - Founder and CEO, Scottish Bioenergy

David Van Alstyne is the founder and CEO of Scottish Bioenergy, a company which has developed the use of algae based carbon dioxide re-cycling. He began his career in the 80's as a stockbroker in New York City then quickly moved to corporate finance spinning a technology out of the US Department of Defense and later authored 3 patents. He developed technologies in conjunction with the US Department of Energy's nuclear division, The University of California and Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.

He moved to Scotland 13 years ago from San Francisco to spin technologies out of Universities completing five transactions in the first 3 years. He ran a medical device company for 6 years before starting Scottish Bioenergy. Van Alstyne, with his daughter Laylah, has authored two additional patents relating to algae based biofuel and food production and is currently collaborating with three academic institutions to develop the technologies.

Scottish Bioenergy is focussed on the Scotch Whisky distilling market and has installed a bioreactor at Glenturret Distillery, home of The Famous Grouse. Van Alstyne has put together a consortium of distillers to further develop and deploy the systems throughout Scotland.