Chris Brace

Executive Director, IAAPS and Director and Principal Investigator, UK-HyRES

Professor Phil Taylor

Vice-Chancellor and President, University of Bath

Rob Oliver

Managing Director, IAAPS

Lucy Woodward

Lead Policy Analyst, Hydrogen Energy Association

Supporting constructive policy development in the hydrogen space, she leads the HEA’s Working Group activity and proactively supports members via engagement with relevant UK Government consultations.

Lucy holds a Master’s degree in Physics with Medical Physics from the University of Nottingham and has previous professional experience with the UKRI’s Science and Technology Facilities Council and nuclear energy AMR developer, newcleo.

Professor Eugine Bari

Chief Executive Officer, Ecomar

A graduate of Leeds University and Bayes Business School, Eugene Bari has founded a series of SME’s over a 35 year career. In commercial maritime, he has founded the Ecomar group comprising, Ecomar Propulsion Ltd, Ecomar Propulsion ApS (Denmark), Ecomar Systems Ltd, Ecomar Innovation and Terraform Research Ltd. Currently his focus is on decarbonisation in maritime and in particular the adoption of hydrogen in shipping.

His work with industry and academia is widespread and he regularly works with government and private agencies and other industry bodies. He was appointed an Associate Professor of Decarbonisation at the University of Exeter for his work in 2024. Eugene holds 15 patents and has his companies have won numerous awards and grants.

Chris Foxall

CEO & Co-Founder, Hyppo Hydrogen Solutions

Chris Foxall is CEO and Co-Founder of Hyppo Hydrogen Solutions, a clean energy company established to address the “chicken and egg” challenge in the hydrogen economy by deploying practical, proven hydrogen systems where they can replace fossil-fuel technologies.

Hyppo focuses on hydrogen-enabled microgrids, transport, remote power and wider clean energy infrastructure, helping accelerate adoption in sectors where decarbonisation is difficult but commercially important.

Chris brings more than 20 years’ global experience in building, leading and investing in businesses, including senior roles at JPMorgan, UBS, Bear Stearns and Crédit Agricole. Before founding Hyppo, he spent four years as an investor and Finance Director at Riversimple Movement, supporting the development of affordable zero-emission hydrogen vehicles.

Alongside his role at Hyppo, Chris is Chair of the Swansea Bay City Deal Economic Strategy Board and a Board Member of Gower College Swansea’s Business Advisory Board, contributing to regional innovation, skills and economic growth.

Simon Cozens

Head of H2 Architects & Integrators, Airbus Fuel Systems

TITLE: “The challenges and opportunities for hydrogen in aviation”.

Simon is an Aerospace Engineer with over 25 years experience developing fuel systems, landing gears and wings for Airbus aircraft.  He is Head of Hydrogen Fuel Systems Architects at Airbus in Filton, leading the UK hydrogen fuel systems activities and collaborating with UK and international partners to develop the skills and capabilities for hydrogen aircraft development.

Ben Burggraaf

Chief Executive Officer, Net Zero Industry Wales

Jon Roper

Business Development Manager, Air Products

One of the key challenges in H2 deployment revolves around enabling an ecosystem that is ready for H2 to be delivered today to users in hard-to-abate sectors. This presentation will share a practical perspective from Air Products on the challenges faced when developing and supplying hydrogen solutions in the UK market, with a particular focus on mobility applications and the growing role of liquid hydrogen in enabling scale.

Jon Roper is a Business Development Manager at Air Products with over eight years’ experience in the industrial gases sector, including five years focused on hydrogen applications. Having previously worked in roles that spanned Europe and the Middle East, he now works across the UK and Ireland to develop hydrogen solutions for transport and industry. He supports projects from early-stage concept through to deployment, with a focus on practical, real-world implementation by collaborating with a broad range of stakeholders.

Monty Foley-Williamson

Commercial Manager, Protium

My presentation on behalf of Protium will focus on our journey from a small 100kwh production facility through to our new Pioneer 2, 2.5MWH production plant, as well as taking on a 3rd operating facility and our involvement in the Hydrogen Allocation Round across three projects. I will also briefly touch upon markets we are focusing on and approach to ensuring our clients have the technology available to them to make green hydrogen simple.

Dr Jeffery De Vero

Principal Scientist, Ceres Power

Ceres positions itself as a clean energy company advancing hydrogen and broader clean energy solutions through its solid oxide platform, which enables both highly efficient power generation and green hydrogen production. The company combines deep technical expertise, a strong intellectual property foundation, and a partnership-led licensing model to support industrial scale-up, while reinforcing credibility through proven operational performance and durability data. This presentation highlights Ceres’ technology for fuel cells and the hydrogen economy and outlines a practical pathway to deployment through collaboration with manufacturing partners, fuel-flexible operation, and systems designed for robustness, scalability, and world-class efficiency at low cost at real-world conditions.

Dr. Jeffrey C. De Vero is a Principal Scientist for Analytical Strategy and Innovation at Ceres, where he leads external academic collaborations and drives innovation in solid oxide cell (SOC) technologies. With over 20 years of experience in energy materials and electrochemistry, he specialises in advanced materials characterisation and performance optimisation for fuel cells and green hydrogen systems. He is the technical and industrial lead for major collaborative programmes, including the UK HyRes project and the Royal Academy of Engineering Interface Project, working closely with leading universities to translate cutting-edge materials science into industrial impact. His work focuses on improving efficiency, durability, and scalability of energy technologies for fuel cell and hydrogen. Dr. De Vero is also an Associate Editor of Fuel Cells and an active contributor to the international research community.

Peter Fear

Origination & Partnerships Manager, Hynamics

A developer perspective on the challenges and opportunities of the UK hydrogen market and wider decarbonisation landscape, building on the learnings from our existing portfolio of operational assets in France. I will share why electrolytic hydrogen is a key part of EDF groups forward strategy and how we have taken the Hynamics business from decades of R&D experience into a commercial operation.

Building on 2 decades of experience in the energy sector, I work with Industrial and Commercial customers to identify, develop and deliver Low Carbon Hydrogen projects. Focusing on the sectors of Mobility, Industry and eFuels, I lead the activation of regional ecosystems to provide the right conditions and partnerships required to support the emergence of new hydrogen projects.

Laura Finney

Associate, Arup

Anna Lewis

Transformation Project Officer, Caerphilly Council

The presentation will cover the decarbonisation challenges faced by Local Authorities in Wales and the potential role and challenges in adoption of hydrogen. It will describe the challenges faced such as investment, skills gaps, public interest and how these can be overcome; The gap between What we know v What we need to know in relation to project development; and the support mechanisms that have enabled development so far as well as those required for further progression.

Anna Lewis is a highly experienced Decarbonisation Project Manager within Caerphilly County Borough Council, with a proven track record in the successful delivery of high-impact decarbonisation initiatives across the authority. She possesses extensive expertise in the development and implementation of externally funded projects, leading complex, large-scale programmes from initial concept through to full delivery. Her work is underpinned by a strong commitment to aligning projects with both strategic organisational objectives and the needs of local communities, ensuring effective and sustainable outcomes.

Dr Stephen Carr

Postdoctoral Researcher, University of South Wales

Stephen Carr is an expert in hydrogen energy systems, with a strong track record in design, installation and operation of demonstration scale systems as well as theoretical analysis of hydrogen energy systems.  He holds an MPhys degree in Physics and a PhD in energy systems modelling. He is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the University of South Wales, working at the USW’s Hydrogen Research and Demonstration Centre at Baglan Bay. He is currently seconded into Caerphilly County Borough Council through the GW-Shift project, investigating the role of council led hydrogen projects.

James Bowyer-Adams

Net Zero Project Manager, Wales & West Utilities

The presentation will be on our HyLine programme of H2 pipelines across the geographical business area with a focus on the recently completed feasibility work in the South West.

Jim Adams is a Net Zero Project Manager at Wales & West Utilities with extensive experience in gas infrastructure, capital project delivery, and energy transition initiatives. With a background spanning nearly two decades in the utilities sector, he combines strong technical expertise in high-pressure gas systems and pipeline networks with proven leadership in complex project management.

James specialises in developing innovative energy solutions, particularly in hydrogen infrastructure and net zero strategy, and currently leads major regional planning projects across the South West of England. He is actively involved in shaping the future of the energy sector through stakeholder engagement, policy input, and collaborative industry initiatives, including his role as Chair of the Hydrogen South West Infrastructure Working Group.

Henry James

Net Zero Portfolio Manager, Wales and West Utilities

Henry James is Wales & West Utilities’ Net Zero Portfolio Manager for Industrial Clusters. He is a Chartered Engineer and responsible for delivering the company’s contribution to industrial cluster initiatives such as the South Wales Industrial Cluster and North East Wales Industrial Decarbonisation Cluster, including the development of infrastructure through the HyLine programme.

Henry joined Wales & West Utilities as a Graduate Mechanical Engineer where he completed the Graduate Development Programme. He has since worked to deliver Capital Delivery projects before joining the Net Zero team in 2021. Henry has since played a key role in collaborating with industrial gas users to initiate projects which explore how the gas network of the future will decarbonise industry.

James McNaughton

Head of Commercial & Strategy, Hydrostar

James leads HydroStar’s commercial engagement and manages the strategic partnership activity, including origination and development of company stakeholders. James has over 30 years experience working in advanced engineering commercial positions across both industry and academia. Before working for HydroStar James helped to establish the Centre for Future Clean Mobility at the University of Exeter helping companies decarbonise the transport sector.

Richard Gueterbock

Director of Foodchains, Royal Agricultural Society of England

TITLE: “RASE Farm of the Future”

Richard has worked across the agri-food sector, in marketing, policy and business development roles. This has included supporting on-site digestion for farm and industrial sites, as part of supply-chain decarbonisation, working with technology suppliers as well as agri-food companies on modular bio-energy systems.

Richard co-edits a series of reports on decarbonisation of agriculture for the Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE), under the “Farm of the Future” initiative. The latest report is titled ‘Rethinking Farm Buildings’, see www.rase.org.uk/reports. He is also involved in rural bioenergy feedstock mobilisation and rural use of gas fuels, including deployment of hydrogen fuel on farms.

Dr Robert Sorrell

Chief Executive Officer, Royce Hydrogen Accelerator