Speakers

Danielle is a CNRS Honorary Senior Researcher. As a CNRS research fellow, she developed her independent carrier successively at French joint-academia research labs in Lyon, Toulouse and Dijon. Her research interests focus on chemical catalysis for making chemicals/fuels through sustainable routes. She chaired the ICCDU 2011. And since has served on the International Scientific Committee. She has also served as a member of the Editorial board of the Journal of CO2 Utilization (JCOU, Elsevier), and on national and international R&I committees. Danielle was awarded a Doctorate in Physical Sciences from the University of Lyon, France (1970), and Doctor honoris causa from the University of Oulu, Finland (2017).

Professor Adélio Mendes (born 1964) received his PhD degree from the University of Porto in 1993. Currently is full professor at the Chemical Engineering Department of the Faculty of Engineering – University of Porto.

Coordinates a large research team with research interests mainly in photovoltaic cells (DSSC and PSC), photoelectrochemical cells, electroreduction of CO2, batteries (RFB and SIB), fuel cells and electrolysis, chemical membrane reactors, methane splitting, green methanol, adsorption-based separation processes and carbon molecular sieve membranes.

Professor Mendes authored or co-authored more than 470 articles in peer-reviewed international journals, filled more than 35 families of patents, and authored a textbook; he was the recipient of an Advanced Research Grant from the ERC on dye-sensitized solar cells for building integrated of ca. 2 M€, in 2013, led/leads several EU projects, namely from FET-Open, EIC-Pathfinder, and EIC-Transition programs; leads a large project on Green-Methanol of ca. 7 M€. 11 start-up companies co-owned by former or present researchers from his research team were created from his research activities.

Prof. Mendes’ awards include Air Products Faculty Excellence 2011 Award (USA), Solvay & Hovione Innovation Challenge 2011, Ramos Catarino Innovation Award 2011-2012, ACP Diogo Vasconcelos Applied Research Award 2011, Municipal Medal of Merit by the City of Porto Merit – Gold Degree in 2015, Coimbra University Prize of 2016, Scientific Excellence Award by FEUP, Technology Innovation Award 2017 by the University of Porto and The PSE Model-Based Innovation Prize 2019 (com Catarina G. Braz, Henrique A. Matos, Adélio Mendes, Jorge Rocha, Ricardo Alvim). He was the director and founder of the Competence Network in Polymers, and he was president and founder of the VG-CoLAB – Energy Storage. Presently, he is vice president of VG CoLAB and a member of the HyLab board. He is also a member of the CNCTI council.

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2472-3265

SCOPUS: Author ID 7102443929

Buxing Han, Professor at Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) for the Advancement of Science in Developing Countries; Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry. Director of Carbon Neutral Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, CAS; Director of Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Chemical Processes.

His research interests include physicochemical properties of green solvent systems and application of green solvents in green chemistry, especially on transformation of CO2, biomass, and organic wastes into valuable chemicals and fuels.He has published more than 1000 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, such as Science, Nat. Chem. Nat Catal., Nat. Commun., Sci. Adv., J. Am. Chem. Soc., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., Chem. Rev., Acc. Chem. Res. He has also published 80 patents, and has presented more than 300 plenary or invited lectures at different conferences. He received a number of awards, such as 2nd-Class Award of Chinese Government for Development of Natural Science, Outstanding Science and Technology Achievement Prize of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

He is the Chairman of Interdivisional Committee on Green Chemistry for Sustainable Development, International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), Chief Scientist of China Innovation Think Tank; Chairman of Green Chemistry Division, Chinese Chemical Society; President of Beijing Energy and Environment Society; He is an Editor-in-Chiefs of The Innovation, Green Energy and Environment, Carbon & Hydrogen; Associate Editors of Chinese Sci. Bulletin, Acta Physico-Chimica Sinica, Chemical Journal of Chinese Universities, and is serving more than 10 other peer-reviewed scientific journals as Editorial Board Member or Advisory Board Member.  

Erwin Reisner is the Professor of Energy and Sustainability in the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, where he also holds a Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies. He is also a Fellow of St. John’s College, Cambridge. He is an expert in renewable energy technologies and sustainable chemistry, in particular the sunlight-powered production of sustainable fuels and platform chemicals. His cross-disciplinary research into solar chemistry and circular chemical technologies focuses on the capture and utilisation of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide as well as the valorisation of plastics and biomass waste to produce green fuels and chemicals for a net zero future.

Erwin and his team have developed concepts and approaches for the direct integration of synthetic and biological catalysts with photovoltaic light absorbers to enable efficient and selective solar-driven chemical synthesis. The understanding and assembly of such semiconductor-molecule 'hybrid materials' and 'semi-artificial’ biohybrids has led to the construction of autonomous solar-powered prototype devices for solar fuel production. Their ‘solar fuels devices’ demonstrated artificial photosynthesis by converting carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide, formic acid, multi-carbon alcohols or acetic acid, while oxidising water to co-produce oxygen gas. Erwin’s team also established 'solar reforming’ as a practical approach to upcycle lignocellulosic biomass and plastic waste to platform chemicals and fuels. Their concepts and solar-powered prototype devices demonstrated the performance and economic advantages of oxidising solid waste streams instead of oxidising water, making the lab-to-market transition of solar chemistry a realistic long-term prospect. To accelerate the commercialisation of solar reforming, he and his colleagues have protected the underlying core IP and co-founded the start-up company ‘Protonera’. His team has also made contributions to show the potential of heterogeneous semiconductor photocatalysts for green organic synthesis and has reported solar hybrid technologies to demonstrate the benefits of integrated solar chemistry over conventional photovoltaic-electrolyser technologies.

Erwin’s laboratory on solar chemical technologies has been supported by several fellowships and grants such as an EPSRC Career Acceleration Fellowship on bio-inspired solar hydrogen production (2009-2015), the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Sustainable SynGas Chemistry (2012-2019), a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant on semi-artificial photosynthesis (2016-2023), an ERC/UKRI Advanced Grant on semi-biological domino catalysis (2023-2028) and a Royal Academy of Engineering Chair for tech-transfer of solar reforming (2024-2034). He has received several awards in recognition of his team's scientific achievements, such as the recently awarded Hughes Medal by the Royal Society (2023) and the Tilden Prize by the Royal Society of Chemistry (2024). He has previously acted as the director of the UK Solar Fuels Network, which coordinates the national activities in artificial photosynthesis (2017-2021) and is the principal investigator (academic lead) of the Cambridge Circular Plastics Centre (CirPlas), and co-director of the Centre for Doctoral Training in Integrated Functional Nano (nanoDTC) in Cambridge. Erwin is also a member of the international advisory boards of Angewandte Chemie and Chemical Science. 

Professor Mercedes Maroto-Valer (FRSE, FIChemE, FRSC, FRSA, FEI)

-  Champion and Director- UK Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC)

-  Director- EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Green Industrial Futures

-  Deputy Principal (Global Sustainability) and Director of the Research Centre for Carbon Solutions (RCCS) at Heriot-Watt University

Prof Mercedes Maroto-Valer (FRSE, FIChemE, FRSC, FRSA, FEI) is Champion and Director of the UK Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC) focused on accelerating the sustainable transition to net zero of industries. She has recently become Director of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Green Industrial Futures.

Prof Maroto-Valer is Deputy Principal (Global Sustainability) at Heriot-Watt University, leading the sustainability agenda, making a significant impact on achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across all the campus locations (UK, Dubai and Malaysia).  She is director of the Research Centre for Carbon Solutions (RCCS) at Heriot-Watt University, where she holds the Robert Buchan Chair in Sustainable Energy Engineering. She has held academic appointments at the University of Kentucky, Pennsylvania State University, and University of Nottingham. 

Her internationally recognised track record covers energy systems, CCUS, integration of hydrogen technologies and low carbon fuels. Her research portfolio includes a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Award. She has over 600 publications and has received numerous international prizes and awards.

Prof Maroto-Valer holds leading positions in professional societies/editorial boards, including the Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition (CEET) under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary-General. She also represents the UK at the global intergovernmental clean energy initiative Mission Innovation – Technical Advisory Group.  

Short CV

Engineering Researcher at Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas, École Polytechnique, Palaiseau (FR.)

PhD in plasma physics in 2006 by École Polytechnique.

Published 113 articles in scientific journals (WoS).

Works in the area(s) of Plasma Fluids Physics, Applied Physics, Chemical Engineering, Physical Chemistry.

Research interests

CO2 recycling is one of the biggest challenges of our time. Surprisingly, the response that plasma could provide to this challenge raises very similar scientific questions to new polymer deposition processes, biomedical applications or even the study of aerosol evolution in planetary atmospheres!

Non-Thermal Plasma interaction with surfaces at medium and high pressure (from 1 mbar to atmospheric pressure and beyond) is crucial for numerous applications but poorly understood. The system consisting of a plasma and a target (whether dielectric, metal, liquid...) need to be studied as a whole. We are developing advanced diagnostics to study both the plasma phase interacting with surfaces and the target itself under direct exposure, with high time and spatial resolution.

Affiliation

Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas (UMR 7648), CNRS, Univ. Paris-Saclay,

Sorbonne Université, École Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France

Dr. Philip Jessop is the Head of the Chemistry Department and the Canada Research Chair of Green Chemistry at Queen’s University in Canada, honorary professor of the University of Jordan, adjunct professor at the Hashemite University in Jordan, and the Executive Research Director of Forward Water Technologies Inc. His research interests include green solvents, biomass conversion and CO2-responsive materials. Distinctions include the NSERC Polanyi Award (2008), Canadian Green Chemistry & Engineering Award (2012), the Eni Award (2013), NSERC Brockhouse Prize (2019), and Fellowships in the Royal Society of Canada, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the American Chemical Society. He served as the Chair of the Editorial Board for the journal Green Chemistry (2017-2022), has chaired three major international conferences including ICCDU IX, and helped create two spin-off companies and GreenCentre Canada, a centre for the commercialization of green chemistry technologies. His Tiktok video series “Jessop’s Which Is Greener?” has reached tens of thousands of viewers.

Emeritus Professor Sang-Eon Park of INHA Univ., had been the director of the Lab. of Nano-Green Catalysis and Nano Center. He has PhD (1981) from KAIST and experienced in Chon Engrg. Co. for 6 yrs with post-doc at Texas A. & M., worked as a principal investigator in KRICT for 16 years, and 4yrs as an outside director of S-Oil. Now, he is the Editor-in-Chief of Journal of CO₂ Utilization and also serves as Honorary Professors of several Universities and the editorial boards of several scientific journals, as an advisory member of several leading international conferences including ICCDU, a member of Korean Academy of Science & Technology and a Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry. He published more than 350 scientific articles and 80 patents applied, with 7 industrialized projects. His research on carbon dioxide utilization had focus on uses of CO2 as oxidants coined with Soft Oxidant, Promoter, and Enhancer. Recently, he was awarded the Aresta Award in 2023 during the 20th ICCDU at Bari.

Prof. Kawi did his BS, MS, PhD degrees and Postdoc at U. Texas, U. Illinois, U. Delaware, and U. California, respectively, before he joined National University of Singapore. His research focuses on integrating catalyst with membrane or plasma to tackle energy & environmental challenges. He has published > 500 papers (citations > 33,000 & h index = 95) and served as Conference Chair of ICCDU-2015, Editor & Associate Editor (3 journals), Guest Editor (10 journals), and Editorial Board (5 journals). He is World’s Highly Cited Researcher (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 by Clarivate). 

Affiliation: Professor, Research Centre for Artificial Photosynthesis, Osaka Metropolitan University

Address: 3-3-138 Sugimoto, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka 558-8585, JAPAN

Second affiliation: Professor, Graduate School of Science, Osaka Metropolitan University

Major Fields: Biocatalyst, Molecular catalyst, Hybrid catalyst

Research Subject:

- Development of photo/biocatalytic system for polymer precursor production from CO2

- Development of photo/biocatalytic system for polymer precursor production from ammonia and CO2

- Development of photo/biocatalytic system for hydrogen production from formate

Biography:

1997:    Doctor of Engineering at Department of Bioengineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology

1998:    Researcher, Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology

1999:    Researcher, National Aerospace Laboratory (JAXA)

2001:    Associate professor, Department of Applied Chemistry, Oita University

2011:    Researcher, Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology researcher of Japan Science and Technology Agency (~2016)

2013:    Professor, The Advanced Research Institute for Natural Science and Technology, Osaka City University

2015:    Director of Research Centre for Artificial Photosynthesis, Osaka City University

2020:    Professor, Research Centre for Artificial Photosynthesis, Osaka City University

2022:    Professor, Research Centre for Artificial Photosynthesis, Osaka Metropolitan University

2022:    Director of Research Centre for Artificial Photosynthesis, Osaka Metropolitan University

2019:    International Scientific Committee of ICCDU

2023:    Associate Editor of New Journal of Chemistry (Royal Society of Chemistry)

Awarded Prizes (selected):

2007:    Prize for Young Scientists of Catalysis Society of Japan

2018:    Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry (UK)

Publications: 294 papers, 91 review papers

Luis Miguel Madeira graduated in Chemical Engineering (1993) and received his PhD (1998) from the Technical University of Lisbon (IST, Portugal) in Chemical Engineering - Heterogeneous Catalysis. He joined the Faculty of Engineering – University of Porto (FEUP) in 1999 where is presently Full Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. He is the Scientific Coordinator of the research unit LEPABE, with over 250 researchers. L.M. Madeira is member of the Working Party on Chemical Reaction Engineering (WPCRE) from the European Federation of Chemical Engineering (EFCE).

His main research interests include multifunctional reactors (sorptive-based, membrane-based, etc.) for CO2 capture and valorisation (e.g. CO2 methanation), H2 production and purification technologies (e.g. reforming, water-gas shift), and the use of Advanced Oxidation Processes for the treatment of gases and water/wastewater. L.M. Madeira authored/co-authored ca. 230 articles in peer-reviewed internationals journals, and co-authored 280 communications in conferences. He has participated  in ca. 40 research projects, either as a coordinator or as a member of the team, including national and EU funding projects. He was/is the advisor/co-advisor of 17 postdoc level researchers, 30 PhD students (24 theses already completed, 5 of them in companies) and ca. 60 dissertations of master students.

Jean Marcel R. Gallo is a Research Scientist at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), where he works on catalyst development for CO₂ conversion into synthetic fuels as part of a strategic collaboration with Aramco. His research focuses on heterogeneous catalysis, CO₂ utilization, and sustainable chemical processes, with a strong emphasis on integrating academic innovation with industrial application.

Before joining KAUST in 2022, he was a Professor of Chemistry at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar, Brazil), and held visiting professorship positions at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany) and the University of Eastern Piedmont (Italy). As part of his training, Dr. Gallo was a research associate at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (USA) and obtained his Ph.D. in Chemistry through a joint program between the University of Eastern Piedmont (Italy) and the University of Campinas (Brazil).

Dr. Gallo’s research contributions span catalytic technologies for CO₂ hydrogenation (including methanol synthesis and the Fischer–Tropsch process), biomass valorization, and low-carbon chemical production. He has authored 57 scientific papers, holds 5 patents, and his work has received over 4,600 citations. His scientific achievements have been recognized by distinctions such as inclusion in the ACS Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research Class of Influential Researchers, the Experienced Researcher fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and the Researcher in Catalysis award from the Brazilian Catalysis Society. Furthermore, Dr. Gallo served on the Early Career Editorial Board of ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering and was a guest editor for Catalysis Today and Molecular Catalysis.

José Antonio Abarca obtained his Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cantabria in 2022. Since then, he has been a PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering, Process and Energy at the University of Cantabria.
His research career focuses on the development of electrochemical and photoelectrochemical systems for the conversion of CO₂ into higher value-added products, with a particular specialization in the conversion to formate/formic acid. Throughout his career, he has participated in various research projects ranging from the development of electrodes for CO₂ conversion to the design of demonstrators at an industrial pilot plant scale.

Prof. Chunshan Song is the Dean of Science and Wei Lun Professor of Chemistry at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is a Fellow of American Chemical Society, Royal Society of Chemistry, and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Fuel Science and Chemical Engineering and former Director of EMS Energy Institute at the Pennsylvania State University, USA. With BSc in Chemical Engineering from Dalian University of Technology and Ph.D. in Applied Chemistry from Osaka University, his research focuses on chemistry and catalysis of energy and fuels including CO2capture and utilization, hydrocarbon conversion and fuel processing. He has received many awards such as George A. Olah Award and Henry H. Storch Award from American Chemical Society, Distinguished Fulbright Scholar Award from US-UK, Chang Jiang Scholar Award from China, Outstanding Achievement Award from the Chinese American Chemical Society, Distinguished Fellow of International Association for Carbon Capture and most recently the 2025 Pioneer in Energy Research Award from the Energy and Fuels journal of American Chemical Society.

Jae W. Lee is a KAIST ICT Chair Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Eng. at KAIST. He is serving as the Director of both National ERC Center and Lotte Chemical-KAIST Carbon Neutrality Research Center. Prior to joining KAIST, he worked as a Full Professor in Chem. Eng. Department at the City College of New York (2001-2012). He is an AIChE fellow and a member of Korean NAE.

B.S./M.S. Chemical Eng., Seoul National University (1990/1992); Ph.D. Chemical Eng., Carnegie Mellon University (2000). Alexander von Humboldt Fellow (2000-2001, Aachen Technical University).

His main research interests are CO2 conversion to chemicals and valuable carbon materials, low-carbon H2 production via process intensification, and energy systems with about 265 journal publications, 51 patents registered (3 technologies transferred) and 49 patents pending. 

Dr. Nissrine El Hassan is an Associate Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the Lebanese American University (LAU) in Byblos, Lebanon. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemical Process Engineering in 2008 from University Pierre and Marie Curie, Paris 6 (now part of Sorbonne University), France.

Dr. El Hassan’s research focuses on hydrogen and syngas production from biomass and natural gas. Her work includes carbon dioxide methane reforming (both classical and chemical looping), carbon dioxide hydrogenation, and partial oxidation of methane. She combines experimental development of catalysts with structured nano-porosity and the simulation and design of reactors and processes. She has co-authored over 35 peer-reviewed journal articles in these areas.

She has participated in several European research and education projects, including ERANET-MED and Erasmus+. As part of her research collaborations, she contributed to the development of materials such as mesoporous alumina and silica for methane dry reforming (by carbon dioxide) and combined steam/dry reforming. Her work has earned multiple awards.

Dr. El Hassan also played a key role in establishing state-of-the-art research laboratories for catalyst synthesis, characterization, and performance testing. Additionally, she co-founded Chemical Engineering academic programs in Lebanon.             

Chang-jun Liu is a Chang Jiang Distinguished Professor, a recipient of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. His research interests
include CO2 utilization, plasma chemistry, preparation of catalysts and nano-materials via plasmas and 3D printing. He initiated the studies of the metal promoted In2O3 catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation. He served as
the 2010 Program Chair of the Fuel Chemistry Division of the American Chemical Society and the Chairman of 10th International Conference on CO2 Utilization (2009) and member of the advisory board of Energy &
Environmental Science. He is in the editorial board of Applied Catalysis B, Chinese Journal of Catalysis, Frontiers of Chemical Science and Engineering and Journal of Fuel Chemistry and Technology. He is in the
advisory board of Journal of Energy Chemistry, Journal of CO2 Utilization and Greenhouse Gases: Science & Technology. He has been in the list of Highly Cited Chinese Authors (Chemical Engineering) by Elsevier since 2014.

Shiju Raveendran leads the Catalysis Engineering Group at the University of Amsterdam. He obtained his Ph.D. in catalysis from the National Chemical Laboratory in Pune, India, and later received a prestigious Royal Society (UK) postdoctoral fellowship. Following postdoctoral research in both the UK and the USA, he joined the University of Amsterdam as a faculty member in 2009. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Elsevier journal Sustainable Chemistry for Climate Action, and is also an editorial board member of FlatChem and EnergyChem. Among his honors, he has received the Amsterdam Science Park Ideas Prize and the J. N. Mukherjee Memorial Award from the Indian Chemical Society for his societally relevant research in Chemical Engineering and Green Chemistry. His research focuses on the development of sustainable technologies by combining reaction engineering, chemistry and materials science.

Beatriz Trindade Barrocas is a Researcher at Centro de Recursos Naturais e Ambiente (CERENA), Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa (IST-UL).  She holds a degree in Technological Chemistry (2011), a Master’s in Chemistry (2014), and a PhD in Chemistry (June 2020), all from Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa (FCUL).Her PhD focused on the development of new nanomaterials for photo(electro)catalytic applications, mainly for the removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), dyes and other organic pollutants. She spent part of her PhD at the University of Warsaw (Poland), where she worked on the development of thin films for the photoelectrocatalytic degradation of PPCPs.

Before joining CERENA in 2022, she was a researcher at the Institute of Environmental Technology (IET), VSB-Technical University of Ostrava (Czech Republic), where she began working on CO2 reduction and water splitting using heterogeneous photocatalysis.

At CERENA, her research has focused on the synthesis and characterization of crystalline semiconductors and their application in environmental remediation. This includes photodegradation of PPCPs, dyes and other organic pollutants; photocatalytic CO2 reduction; photocatalytic decomposition of methanol and formic acid; and H2 generation.

Her current research interests include the removal of environmental pollutants from air and water using heterogeneous photocatalytic methods; the transformation of CO2 into value-added chemicals through catalytic and photocatalytic processes using highly active materials; solar-driven photocatalytic systems for wastewater treatment and H2 production; and the development of new hybrid materials as UV shields for sustainable applications.

Juan R. González-Velasco is currently an emeritus professor at University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). Ph.D. in Industrial Chemistry (1979). He has been a full professor of chemical engineering at the Faculty of Science and Technology (FCT, UPV/EHU) since 1988. He was Vice-Rector of Research at the UPV/EHU from 1991 to 1996 and Dean of the FCT from 2000 to 2006.  He founded the TQSA group (Chemical Technologies for Environmental Sustainability; http://tqsa.es), where he has published around 350 research papers and supervised more than 30 PhD. theses on topics related to environmental catalysis, clean energy production, and waste recycling and valorization. He has received numerous awards, including the Award for Chemical Excellence from the General Council of Chemical Associations of Spain (2020) and the Senior Award for an Outstanding Career in Catalysis from the Ibero-American Federation of Catalysis Societies (FISOCAT 2020). He served as Secretary of the International Association of Catalysis Societies (IACS, 1996-2000), Dean of the Chemists and Chemical Engineers Association of the Basque Country (2002-06), President of the Spanish Catalysis Society (2006-13), and Spanish representative in the Council of the European Federation of Catalysis Societies (EFCATS, 2007-18). He was the president of the organizing committee for the 2024 International Iberoamerican Congress on Catalysis in Bilbao, Spain.

Andrew Bocarsly received his Ph.D. in chemistry from M.I.T. in 1980. He is a full professor in the Princeton University, Chemistry Department, where he has served for forty four years. Professor Bocarsly has published over 250 papers and patents. Research in his laboratory is focused on electrochemistry, photochemistry and materials chemistry related to the conversion of carbon dioxide to fuels and feedstocks.

Professor Bocarsly serves as a consultant to various alternate energy companies. He co-founded Liquid Light Inc. He currently sits on the editorial advisory board of the Journal of CO2 Utilization, and the International Science Committee of the International Conference on Carbon Dioxide Utilization (ICCDU).

Dr. Adel A. Ismail is a Research Scientist of Nanotechnology Applications Program at Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, KISR. He received his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from Ain Shams University in 2001, Egypt. Ismail carried out postdoctoral research at University of Florida , USA (2003), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science & Technology, Sendai, Japan (2005-2007), and Institute of Technical Chemistry of the Leibniz University Hannover (2008-2010). His research interests includesol-gel chemistry, optical sensor, design development porous photocatalysts and advanced environmental materials synthesis, as well as the design and morphological control of nanomaterials. He has published more than 260 international scientific papers and his publications have been cited more than 13400 times with h-Index: 72. 

Xinwen Guo is a Professor at Dalian University of Technology. He received Ph.D. degree from Dalian University of Technology (DUT) in 1994. Then, he joined DUT as a lecturer. He was promoted to full professor in 2001. From 2001 to 2002, he was a visiting scholar at Penn State University. His research focuses on zeolite synthesis, MOF synthesis, shape-selective catalysis, selective oxidation, and the catalytic conversion of CO2. He has published more than 600 papers on peer-reviewed journals, with 20000 citations and H-index of 74. He is the member of the International Advisory Board of Chin J of Catal. and the Specialty Chief Editor of Frontiers in Chemical Engineering (Catalytic Engineering).

Xin Tu is a Professor and Chair of Plasma Catalysis in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics at the University of Liverpool. His research primarily focuses on plasma chemistry and plasma catalysis for environmental clean-up and the sustainable production of fuels and chemicals. He has published over 240 peer-reviewed papers in leading international journals, including Nat. Rev. Mater., Chem, Nat. Commun., J. Am. Chem. Soc., JACS Au, Angew. Chem. and Adv. Mater. He has delivered more than 110 invited talks at major national and international conferences and has chaired and co-chaired seven international conferences and workshops. Prof. Tu has received several prestigious awards, including the 2024 William Crookes Prize, co-sponsored by the European Physical Society and Institute of Physics. He served as the lead editor of the book “Plasma Catalysis: Fundamentals and Applications” (Springer Nature, 2019) and co-led the 2020 Plasma Catalysis Roadmap (J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.). Additionally, he is an active member of international scientific committees and advisory boards for over ten international conferences.

Summary

When returning to academia in 2008, with a background in both CO2 capture and Fischer-Tropsch technology, it was a logical step to start working on closing the carbon cycle.

Next to biomass related activities, the first Direct Air Capture experiments with solid sorbents were done in 2009. Since then various activities were undertaken to improve the technology.

Where are we now, after 10-15 years of research?

In this presentation I will present our progessive insights on sorbent- and contactor development, our activities around the realisation of two DAC pilots (one using fixed bed technology and one with a sorbent circulation), and a spin-off company that adopted the technology. In this presentation these developments will be discussed, including results from the pilots, lessons learned, problems encountered & solutions found and our current activities addressing remaining challenges. Finally, the role of CO2 air capture towards a net-zero society will be discussed.

Short CV

Wim Brilman is full professor Sustainable Process Technology in the Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty Science & Technology at the University of Twente (the Netherlands).

His research focusses on process, contactor and material development for CO2 Capture and Conversion. The research has a special emphasis on Direct Air Capture with subsequent conversion into methanol, and beyond. Carbon circularity in biorefinery concepts is another field of interest. The DAC pilots developed are now demonstrated in greenhouses and microalgae cultivation, and further developed. Also for CO2 to Methanol field pilots are in preparation. 

Wim Brilman studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Twente (UT). He obtained his doctorate in 1998 on the topic of Mass Transfer with Chemical Reactions in multiphase systems. From 2002-2007 he worked for Sasol Ltd. on Fischer-Tropsch slurry technology for synfuels. End 2007 he returned to the University of Twente to help establish the Sustainable Process Technology group, where he is now since 2020 full Professor. Wim Brilman supervised 20 PhD students, 5 PDEng and over 100 graduate students.

Ji-Woong Lee was born in South Korea and received his B.S. and M.S. in Chemistry from Sungkyunkwan University. He earned his PhD in 2013 from the Max-Planck-Institut fűr Kohlenforschung, followed by postdoctoral research stays at the Weizmann Institute and UC Berkeley.
In 2016, he joined the University of Copenhagen, where he is currently an associate professor at the Department of Chemistry. His research focuses on organic synthesis, catalysis, and sustainable technologies, including CO2 functionalization, direct air capture, and plastic recycling.

Assoc. Prof. Grzegorz Lisak

Resource Recovery Programme, Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Waste-to-Energy Research Facility, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Dr. Lisak joined NTU Singapore in 2016 as assistant professor and was tenured in 2022 to associate professor. Since 2017, he is a director of Residues and Resources Reclamation Center (in 2022 converted to Resource Recovery Programme) and since 2024 he is Deputy Executive Director at Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute (NEWRI, NTU). Since 2024, he is co-editor-in-chief of Environmental Research, Elsevier. Since 2021, he is a member of the Technical Committee for Circularity of Materials under the purview of Environment and Resources Standards Committee, Enterprise Singapore. Since 2024, he is a member of Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances and Toxic Wastes at National Environment Agency (NEA), Singapore. His interests cover environmental assessment, sustainability, sensor development, waste to energy, waste to resources, CO2 capture and utilization.

Joshua Yuan serves as the Lucy & Stanley Lopata Professor, the Chair for the Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, and the Director of Carbon Utilization Redesign through Biomanufacturing (CURB) Engineering Research Center at Washington University in St. Louis. Previously, he was a faculty member at Texas A&M University since 2008 and was appointed as the Chair for Synthetic Biology and Renewable Products in 2018. He has served as the Director of the Synthetic and Systems Biology Innovation Hub since 2015. Dr. Yuan has built a career in developing, disseminating, and implementing sustainability solutions for the future. Dr. Yuan’s research focuses on carbon capture and utilization, renewable biomaterials, biomass processing, and biorefining, as well as synthetic and systems biology. His group has developed various routes for carbon capture and conversion, including the algae-based and electro-microbial hybrid processes. In particular, his team achieved the highest reported algal outdoor productivity through artificial intelligence-guided process design and microbial engineering. He has been awarded four U.S. patents and has five pending. He has written more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, published in Joule, Chem, Matter, Nature Communications, Green Chemistry, Advanced Sciences, and PNAS, among others. He is now a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Anabela Santos is an economist and the team leader of the Regional Economic Monitoring (REMO) team of Innovation Policies and Economic Impact Unit (JRC.B.7) in the Joint Research Centre of the European
Commission. She has a PhD in Economics and Management from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) and a MsC in Economics from the Universidade de Évora (Portugal). Before joining the JRC, she was a Research Fellow at the Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium). Between 2005 and 2014, she worked as a Financial Advisor, supporting around 50 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Portugal to create or expand their businesses. She is the author of over 50 scientific publications in the fields of policy monitoring and evaluation, access to finance, and innovation. Her research has been recognized with several awards and honors.

Anastasios Perimenis holds Engineering degrees from Greece, Germany and Belgium. Over the last 14 years, he has conducted fundamental and applied research in a series of subjects linked to the development of a sustainable and circular economy. Since 2020, he is the Secretary General of CO2 Value Europe, leading the operational work of the Association for the recognition of CCU as an essential solution towards a climate neutral and carbon circular EU economy.

Claudio J. A. Mota holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), where he also obtained his PhD in Chemistry. He is Full Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, as well as Director of the Institute of Chemistry of the UFRJ. He is a research fellow from CNPq and a State Scientist from FAPERJ. He is member of the Brazilian Chemical Society (SBQ), Brazilian Catalysis Society (SBCat), American Chemical Society (ACS) and fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). He was awarded with the TWAS Prize, given by the Mexican Academy of Science, the Technology Prize from the Brazilian Association of the Chemical Industries (ABIQUIM), the Innovation Prize of SBQ and the Simão Mathias Medal, the highest honor of the SBQ. He is editor of Sustainable Chemistry One World and member of the editorial boards of the Journal of CO2 Utilization, Journal of Catalysis and ACS Omega, having established several international collaborations. His current research interests are focused on biomass transformation, processes of CO2 capture and conversion and H2 production from photocatalysis, targeting applications in the fuel and chemical sectors.

Gabriele Mulas received the Phd in Chemical Sciences at the University of Sassari where he is, at present, Associate Professor in Physical Chemistry at the Department of Chemical, Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences.

The research activity deals with different topics concerning innovative materials at the nanoscale, the development of mechanochemical processes among solids and solid-gas systems, and technology transfer for energy and environment applications. Specific themes are CO2 removal, storage, and conversion; innovative materials related to hydrogen economy; components for new generation of secondary batteries, materials for piezoelectric devices.

He is author of more than 120 papers published in peer reviewed international journals, several book chapters, a book edition; 4 national and several international patents released and some further national and international (PCT) patents pending. He took part to and supervised several research projects funded by national (MIUR, Enea, Sardegna Ricerche) and international (EU, FP5, COST). He has been Coordinator of CO2MPRISE, a MSCA RISE project, and at present he is coordinator of STREAM (MSCA IF) and WAVEE (MSCA SE) projects both funded by EU within Horizon schemes.

Dr. Huyen N. Dinh (she/her) is the director of HydroGEN Energy Materials Network (https://www.h2awsm.org). HydroGEN is a consortium comprise five U.S. DOE national laboratories (NREL, LBNL, SNL, INL, LLNL) that focuses on accelerating R&D of innovative and advanced water splitting materials and technologies for clean, sustainable, and low-cost hydrogen production. Dr. Dinh is the manager for the Hydrogen Systems and Technologies Advanced Research (HSTAR) Group and the Electrons to Molecules lead for Materials, Chemicals, and Computational Science Directorate at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Huyen has been at NREL for over 17 years and has more than 27 years of experience in renewable hydrogen production and fuel cells at national laboratories and in industry.

Inês Cardoso Pereira has a degree in Applied Chemistry from FCT, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa and a PhD from University of Oxford. She is Full Professor at ITQB NOVA, and since 2021 Coordinator of the Associated Laboratory LS4FUTURE, the one of the largest in Portugal. She was Vice-Director of ITQB NOVA for 8 years (2014-22) and is Vice-President of the Institute Council since 2022. She was elected member of EMBO (European Molecular Biology Organisation) in 2021 and of the European Academy of Microbiology and of Academia Europaea in 2022. In 2024 she was awarded the Prémio Alberto Romão Dias by the Sociedade Portuguesa de Química for her contributions to the field of Bioinorganic Chemistry.

She works on the microbial physiology of anaerobes, particularly their bioenergetics and evolution, and also on engineering and understanding the mechanism of biotechnologically relevant enzymes and anaerobes for renewable energy and bioremediation. Her work has focused on the bioenergetics of dissimilatory sulfur metabolism, both in environmental model organisms and in sulfidogenic members of the human gut community, and on enzymes with technological interest, such as hydrogenases for H2 production and formate dehydrogenases for CO2 reduction. More recently she is also working on applications of anaerobes in hydrogen production and CO2 reduction. IACP has 156 publications in international journals (>7000 citations) and 9 book chapters.

Professor Jun Hu comes from East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China. Her research interests focus on the design and synthesis of adsorptive and catalytical dual-functional materials, and apply them in CO2 capture and in-situ conversion (iCCC). Early in 2008, she received her first NSFC funding of Adsorptive CO2 Capture, from then on, she involved in many research projects, such as the 863 Program, the 973 Program, EU FP7 project. Recently, she worked as a PI for the Original Exploration Program of NSFC, and a project of the National Key Research and Development Program of MOST. Till now, she has published more than 150 journal papers, including Energ. Environ. Sci., Nat. Commun. Currently, supported by the SINOPEC, one of the biggest global Chemical Companies, she is working on developing a 1000 tCO2/y iCCC demonstration from a high-temperature flue gas to produce syngas.

Educational background

2003/03   B.S. Kyoto University, School of Science, Department of Chemistry (Thesis Director:

Prof. K. Maruoka)

2005/03   M.S. The University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Engineering, Department of

Applied Chemistry (Thesis Director: Prof. M. Fujita)

2012/03   Ph.D. (Engineering), Nagoya University (Thesis Director: Prof. A. Satsuma)

Employment history

2005/04～2012/03　Researcher, Kao corporation

2012/04～2020/03　Assistant Professor, Tohoku University, Graduate School of Engineering

2015/12～2019/03　JST Presto Researcher (concurrent position)

2016/04～2017/03　ICAT Fellow, Hokkaido University, Institute for Catalysis

(concurrent position)

2017/04～2019/03　Research collaborator, Hokkaido University, Institute for Catalysis

(concurrent position)

2019/04～2020/03　ICAT Fellow, Hokkaido University, Institute for Catalysis

(concurrent position)

2020/04～2022/03　Associate Professor, Osaka City University, Research Center for

Artificial Photosynthesis (PI)

2022/04～2022/09　Associate Professor, Osaka Metropolitan University, Research Center

for Artificial Photosynthesis (PI)

2022/10～                Associate Professor, Osaka Metropolitan University, Graduate School

of Engineering (up to the present, PI)

Areas of expertise

Catalyst chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Coordination chemistry

Affiliations with academic societies

The Chemical Society of Japan (CSJ), Catalysis Society of Japan (CATSJ), The Japan Petroleum Institute (JPI), American Chemical Society (ACS), The Society of Synthetic Organic Chemistry (SSOCJ), Kinka Chemical Society, Japan (KINKA), Research Association For Feedstock Recycling of Plastics Japan (FSRJ)

Awards

2015　 Research Award in Aoba Foundation for the Promotion of Engineering (2015)

2017　 Catalysis Society of Japan Award for Young Researchers (2017)

2017　 The Young Scholar Lectures of The Chemical Society of Japan (2017)

2018　The Japan Petroleum Institute Award for Encouragement of Research and Development

2018　 The Young Scientists’ Prize, The Commendation for Science and Technology by the MEXT (2018)

2020　Intelligent Cosmos Research Encouraging Award

2020　Yoichiro Nambu Memorial Young Research Award

2023　President's Award (Osaka Metropolitan University)

2024　President's Award (Osaka Metropolitan University)

Main research areas

Development of heterogeneous catalysts for CO2 conversion

Development of heterogeneous catalysts for plastic conversion

Development of heterogeneous catalysts for biomass conversion

Development of catalysts for the synthesis of fine chemicals

Development of heterogeneous/homogeneous hybrid catalysts

Professor Claeys obtained his PhD (with distinction) in Fischer-Tropsch catalysis at the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, in 1997 and then joined the Catalysis Institute at the University of Cape Town. Here he was instrumental in establishing a large research activity with focus on Fischer-Tropsch catalysis, a technology, which lies at the heart of South Africa’s synthetic fuels and chemicals industry and which is playing an increasingly important role in the production of green future fuels via Power-to-X processes. Other research interests include the preparation and characterisation of nano materials and their use in catalytic applications, as well as the development of catalysts and novel instrumentation for characterisation of catalysts at working conditions. Professor Claeys has published extensively on these topics, he holds a number of patents and he has been awarded an A-rating (‘leading international researcher’) by the National Research Foundation of South Africa. 

A large portion of his research is conducted in conjunction with industrial partners, in particular a longstanding industrial collaboration with Sasol R&D. Professor Claeys directed the Director of the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Catalysis, c*change, a large virtual and multidisciplinary Centre, where he also acted as the Manager of the Scientific Synthesis Gas Programme, which includes processes of catalytic valorization of CO2. He is currently involved in various large PTL projects including the BMBF-funded CARE-O-SENE consortium and the South African national CoalCO2-to-X flagship programme. Moreover, he is the founding Chairperson of the Syngas Convention, a triennial international meeting on synthesis gas technologies held in Cape Town.

Doctor of Industrial Chemistry, University of Milan, Milan-IT; PhD of Engineering Honoris Causa University of Bath, Bath-UK, 2016; Honorary Professor at the Chemical Engineering Faculty, University of Tianjin, China; CEO of “InnovativeCatalysis for Carbon Recycling-IC2R Ltd; President of the Scientific Board of the Interuniversity Consortium on Chemical Reactivity and Catalysis, Italy.

Former Researcher at UCL-London, Full Professor of Chemistry University of Bari, IT until 2012; IMM Professor-NUS-Singapore 2012-2016; David Parkin Professor at the University of Bath, UK 2016-2017; GIAN Professor at the ANNA University, Chennai-India, 2018; Professor of Carbon Cyclic Economy, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2019.

His scientific interests are in the fields of Chemistry of Small Molecules (N2, H2, O2, CO, CO2, olefins); Metals in low-negative oxidation state; Reaction mechanisms; Catalysis; Photocatalysis; Utilization of biomass; New bio-sourced monomers for polymeric materials.

Author of over 300 papers in peer reviewed international journals and of 12 books on CO2 and Biomass valorization; owner of several patents.

Founder and Honorary Chair of ICCDU-International Conference on Carbon Dioxide Utilization.

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Awards: Italian Chemical Society for the “Pioneering work on Carbon Dioxide Activation (and Utilization)” 1990; Renoir Award for the dissemination of Science, 1990; Société Française de Chimie, 1995 for Inorganic Chemistry; Tianjin University, Tianjin China, for Green Chemistry 2002; Recognitions from the American Chemical Society for the dissemination of “CO2 Utilization”; Gold medal of the Inorganic Chemistry Division of the Italian Chemical Society, 2016; International award for the contribution to the development of the Chemistry of CO2 2017.

Marcelo Costa is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at CoLAB Net4CO2, where he leads the development of cutting-edge decarbonization technologies. He holds a PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering from the University of Porto (2017), with a thesis focused on carbon capture using hydrate-based and NetMIX technologies. Following a postdoctoral position at LSRE-LCM, he joined CoLAB Net4CO2 as Team Leader of the CO₂ Capture Team. After five years in that role, he was appointed CTO. Marcelo has authored peer-reviewed publications, presented his work at international conferences, holds international patents, and has supervised several graduate students.

Peter Styring is Professor of Chemical Engineering & Chemistry and Associate Fellow in the Understanding of Politics at the University of Sheffield, UK. Peter is also a Director and Co-Founder of a Spinout Company specialising in low-cost carbon dioxide capture. He is a Fellow of the RSC and IChemE and a Chartered Chemist. His background is in Organic Chemistry and Catalysis and is s former Head of Department in Chemistry at Sheffield. Peter’s team have developed a novel PSA carbon capture which has been deployed to point source emitter sites. The captured carbon dioxide is liquefied and then used as a feedstock in the production of value-added products such as hydrocarbons, alcohols, polymers and inorganics. He has a wide range of publications in chemistry and engineering and a number of edited textbooks and chapters on Carbon Dioxide Utilisation. He has been author of a number of policy white papers and in 2017 was part of the UK Government team and Panel chair that helped draft the Mission Innovation Accelerating CCUS Report. In 2025 he was part of a Royal Society delegation on a Policy Exchange in Japan. Peter is a key member of the Innovate UK-funded Flue2Chem Project with 17 co-partners (https://www.soci.org/flue2chem) which has captured carbon dioxide from biomass combustion plants at papermills and converted this to surfactants for components in low carbon fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs).

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering with focus on Industrial Operations Management at Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon.

More than 27 years of experience in industrial management, with both functional and managerial positions, from process, quality and project management to operations and plant management.

Since 2021, he has held a position as plant manager at Nordic Electrofuel AS, where he has contributed to the design of the e-Fue pilot plant planned to be installed in Porsgrunn, which will help decarbonize the aviation sector.

For four years, Victor Dias led major projects in the design and installation of new facilities for a multinational company, Renewable Energy Corporation (REC-Wafer), to produce solar wafers for solar panels in Norway.

He has worked for 9 years for a multinational company, RHI Magnesita, as Operations Manager, producing magnesia oxide products for refractory markets.

Victor Dias has a proven track record in industrial management both in Norway and in Portugal. He is recognized for his leadership, his scientific approach and forward-looking vision. He connects research and development activities with industrial goals.

In Norway, he has been an industrial co-tutor for master students at a local technical university (University of South-East Norway).

Anabela Santos is an economist and the team leader of the Regional Economic Monitoring (REMO) team of Innovation Policies and Economic Impact Unit (JRC.B.7) in the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission.

She has a PhD in Economics and Management from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) and a MsC in Economics from the Unversidade de Évora (Portugal). Before joining the JRC, she was a Research Fellow at the Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium). Between 2005 and 2014, she worked as a Financial Advisor, supporting around 50 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Portugal to create or expand their businesses.

She is the author of over 50 scientific publications in the fields of policy monitoring and evaluation, access to finance, and innovation. Her research has been recognized with several awards and honors.

Institutional link: Territorial Data Analysis and Modelling (TEDAM) - European Commission

 Full Professor of Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis at UniBA, Bari-IT. Chair of the National Interuniversity Consortium on Chemical Reactivity and Catalysis-CIRCC-IT, and the Italian Group for CO2 Capture and Utilization. Vice-Chair of the International Conference on Carbon Dioxide Utilization. Associate Editor of J. CO2 Utilization; Frontiers in Energy Research. Editorial board member of Current Green Chem.; Current Catalysis; International J. Green Tech.. Coordinator of the EU Project DESIRED No 101083355 (7 Partners, 6 Countries, €3 million). Her scientific interests are Catalysis; CO2 utilization to produce chemicals and fuels; Use of sc-CO2 as solvent and reagent; Synthesis of heterogeneous catalysts (mixed oxides) with tunable acid/base properties; Hybrid catalysis. Author (HI=52, >13868 citations) of over 185 papers published in high IF-Journals, and 6 Books on CO2 Chemistry and Biorefineries. Co-owner of several EU-World Patents. Awards: Energy and Environment Foundation “HR Skill Development Platinum Award” 2018 for “Carbon Recycling: Towards the Circular Economy”, New Delhi, February 16, 2018; RUCADI Prize on “Better Carbon Management – An Intelligent Chemical Use of CO2”, 2001, Thessaloniki (Greece); Finalist EUCHEMS award “European Sustainable Chemistry Award 2010”.

Henrique Matos is a Full Professor in the Chemical Engineering Department at IST/Universidade de Lisboa, where he graduated in Chemical Engineering in 1986 and got his PhD in Chemical Engineering at the same university, in 1993. His scientific interests lie in Supercritical Fluids Technology and Process Systems Engineering, namely in Modelling, Simulation, Process Integration and Sustainability Analysis of Industrial Processes. The investigation resulted in 4 patents and 256 publications in international journals, articles in conferences, etc. He has participated in more than 30 R&D projects, supported by Public Institutions or industrial companies. He supervised 19 PhD students and 57 master’s students.

More information at https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8128-7346

Margarida Mateus is the Executive Director of C5Lab – Collaborative Laboratory for Sustainable Construction. With a PhD in Physical Chemistry and an Executive MBA from INDEG-ISCTE, she has over 15 years of experience in R&D bridging academia and the cement industry. She led the design and implementation of the decarbonization strategy and revamping of the Secil cement plant in Outão, and coordinated the first pilot biorefinery for bio-oil production via direct liquefaction integrated in a cement plant. Her current work focuses on carbon capture, energy efficiency, and the development of low-carbon cementitious materials.

Hugo Matias is the CEO of CoLAB NET4CO2, a technological company dedicated to development and deployment of decarbonization technologies and solutions, managing a team of +20 researchers and a multiyear budget of +10 MM€. He has +20 years’ experience in the energy industry with focus on International joint ventures management, Integrated project management, cost efficiency, high-performance/multicultural team management, portfolio construction and economic evaluation. Hugo started his career in 1997 with PARTEX OIL AND GAS working in projects in Kazakhstan and the Middle East. He joined REPSOL in 2005 where he held mostly international management positions in several countries: Brazil, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ireland, UK and Spain. In 2020 he joined CERENA & IST-University of Lisbon as Associated Professor and Researcher developing research projects related with “green” exploration strategies and underground CO2 storage.

After starting his career as a researcher in Portugal, Marco Ferraz moved to San Francisco to work as a visiting researcher at the USGS, in collaboration with NASA. In 2009, he relocated to Australia to pursue a PhD at the University of Sydney, where he also served as a lecturer at the School of Geosciences.

Upon returning to Portugal in 2012, Marco joined Galp as a Geoscientist in Exploration and Production, contributing to some of the company’s most prominent assets. Today, he leads the Upstream & Industrial Innovation Center at Galp, managing over 60 research, development, and innovation projects in Portugal and Brazil. These initiatives span oil and gas production, refining processes, and energy transition topics such as hydrogen, low-carbon fuels, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), and energy storage.

Marco is also chairman of the board of the Net4CO2 collaborative laboratory.

Peter Styring is Professor of Chemical Engineering & Chemistry and Associate Fellow in the Understanding of Politics at the University of Sheffield, UK. Peter is also a Director and Co-Founder of a Spinout Company specialising in low-cost carbon dioxide capture. He is a Fellow of the RSC and IChemE and a Chartered Chemist. His background is in Organic Chemistry and Catalysis and is s former Head of Department in Chemistry at Sheffield. Peter’s team have developed a novel PSA carbon capture which has been deployed to point source emitter sites. The captured carbon dioxide is liquefied and then used as a feedstock in the production of value-added products such as hydrocarbons, alcohols, polymers and inorganics. He has a wide range of publications in chemistry and engineering and a number of edited textbooks and chapters on Carbon Dioxide Utilisation. He has been author of a number of policy white papers and in 2017 was part of the UK Government team and Panel chair that helped draft the Mission Innovation Accelerating CCUS Report. In 2025 he was part of a Royal Society delegation on a Policy Exchange in Japan. Peter is a key member of the Innovate UK-funded Flue2Chem Project with 17 co-partners (https://www.soci.org/flue2chem) which has captured carbon dioxide from biomass combustion plants at papermills and converted this to surfactants for components in low carbon fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs).

CUMPLIDO Pilar / PhD in Sustainable Chemistry by the Polytechnic University of Valencia / Female
Dr. Pilar Cumplido (F), degree in Chemical Engineering and PhD in Sustainable Chemistry with 9 years of experience in R&D. She worked for the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) in Instituto de Tecnología Química (ITQ) for 6 years in the field of synthesis of microporous materials as catalysts and heterogeneous catalytic reactions. She collaborates with the Thermodynamic and Transport Properties group of the University of Valencia in research relating to the purification of azeotropic mixtures through liquid-liquid extraction. She joined AIMPLAS in 2022 in the
Decarbonization group where her research is focused in the synthesis of materials as catalyst and/or adsorbents to reduce and revalorize CO2 emissions, greenhouse emission and biomass. Her research has resulted in
the publication of 12 articles in peer-reviewed scientific international journals and in the participation in national and international congresses.