Program
The theme for WHEC2008 - Supplying Energy To A Changing World - recognises that hydrogen is an energy carrier, and that the global energy business is changing. Two significant changes are occurring. On the one hand, the developed nations are acknowledging and responding to the impact that continuing use of fossil fuels has on both global climate and local air quality. In contrast, the forecasted economic growth by developing nations such as China is likely to severely constrain global supplies as the demand for energy increases. In the future, will accepted market forces and economic theory shape the way we produce and use energy? Will other factors such as social and environmental impact gain in importance in the coming years? The program will address the role of hydrogen energy in the future world, debating the issues and highlighting significant progress both in technologies and in our understanding of energy systems.
Delegates will have the unique opportunity to hear first hand of the experiences in Perth, Western Australia, of running hydrogen fuel cell buses - the first in the southern hemisphere. Other Australian initiatives such as leading edge research and development in hydrogen materials and fuel cell technologies are also expected to attract much interest.
Invited Speakers
Dr Klaus Bonhoff
Managing Director, NOW National Organisation Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Technologies
Dr Ulrich Buenger
Randy Dey
Chair, ISO TC/197 Hydrogen Technologies and President CCS Global
Randy Dey is President of The CCS Global Group, a strategy consulting firm that he established in 1977. He is an expert in international standards and codes development, compliance and harmonization with a special focus on hydrogen, fuel cells and alternate fuel sectors. Mr Dey is chair of ISO/TC 197, Hydrogen technologies, and holds leadership positions in other codes and standards forums related to hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. He coordinated the ISO Round Table on Global Harmonization of Regulations, Codes and Standards for Gaseous Fuels and Vehicles which was held in Geneva on 10 January 2007.
Dr David Hart
Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London
David Hart has consulted and carried out research on fuel cell and hydrogen issues for a wide range of organisations worldwide, including national governments, major industrial companies, financial organisations and NGOs. In addition to his work as a Director of E4tech, he is also Head of Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Research at Imperial College London's Centre for Energy Policy and Technology (ICEPT), and sits on the Steering Committee of the Grove Fuel Cell Symposium, one of the leading global fora for fuel cell experts.
David is recognised as one of the leading experts in hydrogen energy technology and infrastructure, and the associated policy and environmental issues; and in fuel cells used for transport, portable and stationary decentralised power generation. He has led over a dozen fuel cell and hydrogen assessments for due diligence work, in addition to strategic analyses and a wide variety of reports and papers, and has been an invited keynote speaker on fuel cell and hydrogen issues on five continents. David holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering with German from the University of Bath and in Environmental Technology from Imperial College, and his PhD at Imperial College was in Hydrogen Energy Systems. He has worked in Germany and Japan as a control systems engineer, and speaks English, German, Japanese and French.
Dr Alan Lloyd
President, The International Centre for Clean Transportation
Dr Alan C. Lloyd is the President of the International Council on Clean Transportation. He served as the Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency from 2004 through February 2006 and as the Chairman of the California Air Resources Board from 1999 to 2004. Prior to joining CARB, Dr Lloyd was the Executive Director of the Energy and Environmental Engineering Center for the Desert Research Institute at the University and Community College System of Nevada, Reno, and the chief scientist at the South Coast Air Quality Management District from 1988 to 1996. Dr. Lloyd's work focuses on the viable future of advanced technology and renewable fuels, with attention to urban air quality issues and global climate change. A proponent of alternate fuels, electric drive and fuel cell vehicles eventually leading to a hydrogen economy, Dr. Lloyd was the 2003 Chairman of the California Fuel Cell Partnership and is a co-founder of the California Stationary Fuel Cell collaborative. He earned both his B.S. in Chemistry and Ph.D. in Gas Kinetics at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, U.K.
Dr Kelly Thambimuthu
Chief Executive, Centre for Low Emission Technology, Queensland
Dr Kelly Thambimuthu heads the Centre for Low Emission Technology as its Chief Executive Officer and brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge as a result of having worked in the field of low emission technology for over 20 years. He is highly respected by governments and research organisations throughout the world. His ongoing commitment to our environment includes other roles such as: Chairman since 1995 of the IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme, the leading group within the International Energy Agency/Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (IEA/OECD) evaluating options to achieve deep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from fossil energy use; an editorial panel member and coordinating lead author of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) group formed to write a special report on CO2 Capture and Storage as a climate change mitigation option; and a member of the Technical Expert's Panel for the FutureGen Project. Kelly has also recently been appointed to the Queensland Government's Clean Coal Technology Projects Board.
Kelly holds degrees at the Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorate levels in chemical engineering from the University of Birmingham, UK, McGill University, Canada and the University of Cambridge, UK.