Speakers at this Event

Started my shipping career in 1981 as a Marine Engineer and served on board merchant vessels for over 14 years. During this period, I sailed with Shipping Corporation of India, V-Ships and Maersk Singapore. I later joined Lloyds Register (1995-1999) and served as a ship and industrial surveyor.

I joined Wartsila in 1999 and have been located in India, Finland and now in Singapore since 2009. I have held various roles in technical sales, business development and management positions within Wartsila.

In my present role as Director – Decarbonization Solutions at Wartsila Singapore, I am responsible for Market Innovation and developing sustainable shipping solutions with a focus on energy efficiency solutions and sustainable fuels.

Shipping is an important part of the eco system, and we have to act now and start making choices which are kinder to people and the planet.

I am also passionate about traveling and have travelled to 127 countries so far. Understanding the diversity brings me closer to my work as a thought leader for decarbonisation of the Shipping ecosystem.

After graduating from the School of Fundamental Science and Engineering at Waseda University, I began my career at an IT company and supported the promotion of DX at major companies. To realize my dream of doing business overseas and to be involved in solutions to climate change issues, I joined to Santomo Resources, which business focuses on renewable energy, and became an expatriate in Indonesia since February 2023.

Currently developing business such as Palm Kernel Shell, green marine fuel and SAF, mainly focusing on palm-derived biomass. Lately succeeded in producing a new biomass pellet that mixes rice husks and woody material to achieve high calorie content, and are looking for partners for test burning. In addition, realizing renewable energy on remote islands where electricity is in short supply. I have already visited major islands in Indonesia and already becoming professional on speedboat. I have recently become interested in space solar satellite power generation and studying a wide range of sustainable energy possibilities in our planet. In order to realize Santomo's slogan, "Be the first pioneer!", I will keep on challenging to create a new business from scratch.

Takehiro joined BloombergNEF in December 2012. After engaging in research for Japan’s renewable energy sector and frontier power sector (distributed energy for unreliable and off-grid areas in emerging countries), he joined the Commercial Transport Team that covers commercial vehicles, aviation and shipping sectors in April 2021. The team launched research on aviation decarbonization, and Takehiro wrote insight reports on airline decarbonization strategies, investment in low-carbon aviation technology startups, and electric aircraft.

Prior to BloombergNEF, Takehiro worked for the Japan Science and Technology Agency. He completed a master’s degree in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science at Lund University in Sweden, and a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at Tohoku University in Japan.

Dr Prapisala obtained her PhD in Chemical Engineering (Environmental Technology) from the University of Manchester. She brings with her 15 years of experience, which include appointments as Research Engineer with the Keppel Offshore and Marine Technology Centre, as well as Research Lead with the Maritime Energy and Sustainable Development Centre of Excellence at the Nanyang Technological University.

Her research areas include environmental technology (especially air pollution and GHG from the maritime industry), alternative fuels and energy sources for ports and ships, as well as biofuel quality and standards. In the past 10 years she has taken on lead roles in several projects involving exhaust gas emissions for the maritime industry. She is also familiar with analytical techniques and data for R&D in fuels, ship exhaust gas emissions and resultant by-products such as water and sludge.

Tenny Kristiana is ICCT’s Associate Researcher. Her work focuses on various topics, from biofuel, to electrification, and hydrogen in Indonesia. She is a member of the Pacific Forum Young Leaders Program and a fellow of the Clean Energy Leadership Institute. Before joining the ICCT, she worked for Shell Indonesia. Tenny holds an M.A. in International Relations from Waseda University.

Runeel Daliah is a Principal Analyst at Lux Research and part of Lux's Energy Transition team. He currently leads the group's coverage of the decarbonization of the energy system, focusing on carbon capture and utilization, low-carbon fuels, and the hydrogen economy. In this role, he advises global energy and materials & chemicals companies as well as government organizations on the technical and regulatory drivers enabling the adoption of low-carbon technologies, drawing from extensive primary research with policymakers, academics, technology developers, and corporate stakeholders. Runeel holds a master's degree in chemical engineering from The University of Manchester in the United Kingdom.

Amara Buyse is the Sustainability Lead for Southeast Asia, Pacific and South Korea at Rolls-Royce. She is responsible for driving sustainable aviation initiatives and strategies across the company and oversees the decarbonisation of Rolls-Royce manufacturing operations in Singapore. She has a strong background in public policy and sustainability, with previous roles at Google and the European Commission. She also worked at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, where she focused on setting standards to drive decarbonisation in the built environment. Amara is passionate about driving a more sustainable future for aviation through the adoption of sustainable aviation fuels and emerging technologies.

Siegfried Knecht (64), VP Director R&T Affairs in the Airbus Public Affairs Germany Department, has over 15 years of experience in the aerospace industry and over 25 years of political lobbying expertise.

After graduating from the Technical University Aachen with a diploma degree in Computer Science he began his career in 1987 at the Research Center Jülich where he was appointed Assistant Director in 1991. From 1994 to 1997 he was with the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in Bonn, finally as PA to the Parliamentary State Secretary.

In 1998 Siegfried joined the German Association of Research-based Pharma-ceutical Companies as Head of its Berlin office and became Head of Inter-national and Regional Affairs in 2000. He stayed in this position until 2006 when he changed to EADS (today Airbus) as Senior Manager Political Affairs.

In September 2013 he was appointed as VP Head of Political and External Affairs for Airbus (commercial airplanes) in Germany. He held responsibility for all political matters related to Germany with a particular focus on German and foreign government officials, parliamentarians, business associations and think tanks.

Following an 18 months interim stage in the Airbus Corporate Technical Office, he joined in July 2017 the Airbus Public Affairs Germany team as VP Director R&T Affairs and resumed his functional reporting to the Airbus CTO.

In June 2011 Siegfried accepted the honorary appointment as Chairman of the Board of aireg, the Aviation Initiative for Renewable Energy in Germany.

Edward Choi is the Group Head of Strategy & Investment of Apeiron Bioenergy, one of Asia's largest used cooking oil collectors. He oversees the group's investments, M&A and corporate finance activities. Edward was educated at University of Warwick and London School of Economics and qualified as a New York Attorney before transitioning to finance. Edward has experience in public and private equity investments and worked in the deal team of Horizons Ventures, where he participated in over 60 investments globally and was responsible for the portfolio's ESG impact assessment.

Chris works in the Financial Advisory practice in Southeast Asia specialized in Corporate Strategy & M&A. He brings 20+ years of experience in growth strategies, M&A, turnaround and operational excellence, focused on providing advisory services to Corporates, Financial Institutions and Governments. He has worked in both Strategy Houses and the Big 4, and has been in Southeast Asia for over 15 years. His particular area of focus covers the Agricultural and Food/ Feed Value Chain, including but not limited to crops, inputs, processing, and finished products (food/feed, chemicals, fuels). Main crops covered have been tropical crops and edible oils (especially palm oil) as well as food and feed ingredients, and protein. Chris also holds a particular interest in technologies that are transforming the agricultural value chain such as blockchain, IoT, etc. 

Graduating from Chuo University with BA in Economics, Hiroaki Sugimori started off his career working for an investment management company. He joined ANA in 1998 and has over 25 years of experience in the airline industry. In the past 5 years, he has been engaged in various projects pertaining to the control and reduction of GHG emissions within the ANA group with a particularly strong focus on introducing sustainable aviation fuels into the Japanese market.
He and his team have worked very closely with SAF producers in the US to inspect fuel quality at each step of the manufacturing process and other areas critical to usage, including transportation logistics and fuel blending for loading onto aircraft. This successful flight was a major step toward full-scale sustainable aviation fuel use for ANA. With this experience, his team was able to establish a procurement supply chain from Europe to Japan together with a leading European SAF producer. He also played a key role in launching the “SAF Flight Initiative Program” for ANA’s corporate customers.

As of May, 2023.

Dr. Ramakrishna Krishnan, a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the National University of Singapore, is currently an R&D Engineer at ENGIE Lab Singapore. His doctoral thesis focused on computational studies in the catalysis of CO2 conversion to hydrogen carriers, and biomass valorization, with several publications in reputed journals. At ENGIE Lab Singapore, he is focused on the topic of low-carbon alternative fuels for power generation.

With over 22 years of experience as a transactional lawyer in the UK, EU, and Asia, Peter has cultivated a multifaceted legal practice encompassing commodities, derivatives, structured products, and climate finance. His unique blend of expertise in commodities and climate finance equips him to offer a comprehensive perspective and skillset crucial for guiding businesses through the energy transition journey. Having served as a partner at two diverse international law firms prior to joining HFW, Peter possesses a deep understanding of his clients' viewpoints on both the 'buy side' and the 'sell side.' He embraces diverse work opportunities and collaborates closely with clients to address their challenges and achieve their commercial goals, embodying the mantras "variety is the spice of life" and "there is no such thing as bad experience."

Peter is a recognised global leader in his field, with a notable presence in climate finance and environmental products markets since 2004. His extensive experience spans various aspects of carbon markets, from the EU ETS and Kyoto Protocol to China's pilot markets, voluntary markets, UERs, RECs, ROCs, and the Article 6 markets under the Paris Agreement. Recently, Peter was invited to participate in the IIF Task force on scaling voluntary carbon markets, initiated by Mark Carney in his role as UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance Advisor to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson for COP26. Peter's advisory scope encompasses over the counter, exchange-traded, and structured energy derivatives and commodities, including netting, collateral management, and regulatory matters. His commodity portfolio includes LNG, natural gas, base metals, precious metals, and power. Additionally, he provides counsel to lenders, borrowers, issuers, and arrangers in the realm of derivative aspects within project finance, asset finance, and capital markets products. Peter remains an active member of several industry groups, contributing his insights at ISDA, IETA, and EFET.

Steven Bartholomeusz is the Head of Public Affairs for Asia Pacific at Neste, and leads all public policy and advocacy efforts in the company’s engagement with governments, public sector organisations, think tanks and other key stakeholders in the region.

He is responsible for working with stakeholders to develop policies related to transport and the circular economy, covering Neste’s Renewable Road Transport, Renewable Aviation and Renewable Polymers and Chemicals businesses. With the need to advance acceptance of a wide feedstock base for biofuels, Steven also supports the Feedstock Growth and Supply teams in the region.

Steven is an experienced public affairs professional with over 20 years of international, regional and local experience in the oil and gas industry, hydropower and public utilities, food and beverage industry.