SAF Investor London 2024 February 27th and 28th, 2024
The widespread adoption of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is no longer an engineering challenge.
It is an economic one.
New technologies now need to prove they can scale up and meet the industry’s need for billions of dollars of capital that are required to have any chance of reaching 2050 targets.
Investors want certainty. They need to know that: future demand is strong; feedstock supply is stable; the economics of production work; and lawmakers will provide clear, stable regulation. SAF Investor London 2024 examined all of these issues.
The conference brought together innovators and customers, financiers and regulators, suppliers and advisers.
SAF Investor London 2024 was not about arguing the case for sustainable aviation fuel. It was about bringing the dealmakers together who can make change happen.
The two-day conference had TED-style presentations, interactive panel discussions, Q&A, audience polling, and fireside chats – broken up with plenty of networking time over coffee breaks, lunches and cocktail receptions.
If you’re interested in speaking or promoting your company to our audience please email [email protected]
Noaman Al Adhami is the Head of Alfanar Project’s UK division, where he leads the development of the largest and most advanced Waste-to-Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) project in the UK, known as Lighthouse Green Fuels.
With a proven track record in establishing global operations and active participation in major energy sector transitions over the past decades, Noaman now directs his expertise towards the transition from fossil to renewable fuels. Widely recognized as a thought leader in the decarbonization of the aviation sector, he provides valuable insights, having been at the forefront of the UK’s SAF development from the beginning.
Noaman holds an MBA from Sheffield Business School and a B.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Jordan.
Nanna Baldvinsdóttir, is a power economist with decades of experience in Iceland’s energy sector, most recently as Business Development Lead on Hydrogen at the National Power Company of Iceland. She has been a prominent voice in Iceland’s energy transition, serving as Chairman of Iceland’s Green Energy Alliance and the Working Group on the Energy Transition at the Federation of Utilities. She currently chairs Iceland’s Association of Hydrogen and E-Fuel producers.
Ausilio is a partner at ERM in the Sustainable Energy Solutions team where he leads the low carbon fuels and sustainable chemicals sector. He was previously founder and director of sustainable energy strategy advisory firm E4tech. He is a leading expert in low carbon fuels with over 25 years’ experience, and works with a broad range of clients on projects covering technical and commercial due diligence, business and policy strategies, and project and supply chain formation. He participates in advisory panels for a range of organisations, including the UK Department for Transport Advanced Fuels Fund, the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA), the IEA and the Climate Bonds Initiative.
Francesco is currently working as Global Project Director for Arcadia e-fuels, a front end developer of power to liquids projects worldwide: he’s currently managing the execution of a FEED Project for the realisation of the first industrial scale power to liquid facility. Green hydrogen production is part of the scope of the work as well.
Mr. Beraldi has worked as Director of Operation for DAC (Direct air capture) projects at Oxy; he has also been nominated Oxy Principal for Operation and Projects execution.
Francesco Beraldi has worked as deputy Vice president Operation at ADNOC from 2015 to 2019. Before Mr. Beraldi covered various roles as Engineering, Construction and Operation advisor at Occidental Oil and Gas (Oxy) since January 2013.
Mr. Beraldi has worked on the Gorgon LNG Project covering a senior management position for the execution of Construction and Commissioning activity in Korea. He has held a long-term contract with KBR (Kellogg Brown & Root), a firm providing EPC services to the oil & gas, petrochemical and power generation industry.
Mr. Beraldi held a full-time position with KBR as a Commissioning, Start-up, and Operations Manager: during those years Francesco has been involved, as a Project Integration Manager, in the Shell Pearl GTL Project: biggest Shell Project of ever.
Previously, Mr. Beraldi has worked in Commissioning Project Management for Bechtel and Technip. He specializes in refinery, LNG, Gas Plants and gas to liquids technology. During his Technip experience MR. Beraldi worked as Pre-commissioning, commissioning, start-up Manager of ORYX GTL (a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and Sasol).
Mr. Beraldi is an expert of hazardous operability (HAZOP), Operability, Maintainability and Advanced Project execution strategies for multi billion Commercial Developments; he has worked in various countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Europe, USA, Canada, China, UAE, Korea and Australia. He holds a Master Degree in Chemical Engineering.
Mariano works as Manager – Europe at Breakthrough Energy, where he leads the organization’s work on low carbon fuels in Europe, with a focus on scaling up e-fuels and strengthening the innovation ecosystem for sustainable aviation. Before joining BE, Mariano worked for six years at the International Energy Agency. He is a Chemical Engineer and holds a master in Energy Economics from IFP School. He is based in Paris.
Diana Birkett Rakow leads Alaska’s ESG and sustainability, government affairs, communications and community engagement with teams in Seattle, San Francisco, Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington D.C. She is responsible for advancing the airline’s path to net zero carbon emissions and legacy of responsibility and corporate citizenship to enable business growth and benefit all stakeholders. She also leads Alaska’s venture arm, Alaska Star Ventures, and chairs the Board for the Alaska Airlines Foundation.
Diana joined Alaska Airlines after two decades in the health care industry, insurance and care delivery and the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. Diana served as Group Health’s executive vice president of public affairs and marketing and president of the Group Health Foundation, leading public affairs and brand through the company’s acquisition by Kaiser Permanente.
Diana holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and master’s degrees in public administration and public health from the University of Washington. She serves on the Boards of Puget Sound Energy, the Seattle Metro Chamber, and Philanthropy Northwest, and on multiple local and global councils working to advance environmental sustainability and clean energy solutions.
Mr. Bogenreif is a Managing Director with Summit Agricultural Group and is part of Summit Ag Investors (collectively “Summit”), its private equity practice that actively invests across the agriculture and renewable energy industries. Summit Ag Investors today manages $4+ billion in assets across its portfolio, and primarily concentrates its efforts into large-scale project developments. In his professional tenure he has been the lead investor for nearly $1 billion in principal capital, across both credit and equity in various structures and businesses. He currently leads Summit Next Gen’s development efforts to construct and operate a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) plant utilizing Honeywell UOP’s Ethanol to Jet technology. Summit Next Gen will have a production capacity of 250 million gallons per year. As the primary lead for Summit Next Gen, he facilitates all administrative, technical, financial, and commercial aspects of the SAF business. In addition to his role specific to Summit Next Gen, he oversees Amber Wave, a food ingredients and low carbon waste-based biofuels production platform that that is the largest of its kind in North America that began operations in 2023. Mr. Bogenreif presently serves on the boards of several companies. Prior to Summit, he held various roles in the finance and investment industry, most recently having been an executive within a single family office serving on investment committee and he previously held leadership roles in leveraged credit for both institutional and bank led financings. Mr. Bogenreif is a graduate of Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business in Dallas, TX with a degree in accounting. He is an aviation enthusiast and holds an FAA private pilot license and instrument rating.
Oliver is a Research Associate at Sightline Climate, a leading market intelligence platform for the new climate economy. He leads research efforts across low-carbon fuels and hydrogen, focusing on the commercialization and economic viability of novel technologies. He and the Sightline team are building tools and frameworks that enable investors, corporations, and governments to navigate and invest in climate-related initiatives effectively.
Oliver holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University and an MS in Energy and Sustainability from Northwestern University.
Partner, Aviation Strategy & Global Chair, Future of Flight
Chris leads KPMG’s Aviation Strategy hub and has over 15 years of experience across growth and decarbonization strategies, M&A and feasibility assessments, working with private equity, corporates and public actors.
He has over 23 years of experience as an executive, an investment banker, a restructuring advisor and an investor, primarily in the aviation sector.
Most recently he was a partner in and co-founder of RPK Capital Management, a portfolio company of the Carlyle Group focused on investing in commercial aircraft and other aviation-related assets. Prior to RPK, Mr. Chaput was a partner and head of the Structured Finance Group at the Seabury Group, an investment banking boutique, where he arranged secured financings of aircraft, rail cars, real estate, ships and other assets. Mr. Chaput was a senior member of the exclusive advisory team that represented US Airways in its successful merger with America West Airlines and that restructured US Airways, Air Canada and Northwest Airlines in bankruptcy. Mr. Chaput was an Executive Director in the Equipment Finance Group at Morgan Stanley from 1998 to September 2002, where he structured and executed public and private aircraft-backed secured bonds and was also active in financing real estate, rail cars and other assets. Before joining Morgan Stanley, Mr. Chaput was the Managing Director-Corporate Finance at Northwest Airlines (1990-1998).
Mr. Chaput practiced law with a Minneapolis law firm from 1986-1990, specializing in corporate, partnership and tax law. He also worked in the Tax Department at Coopers & Lybrand from 1985 to 1986.
Mr. Chaput earned his B.A. from Creighton University, magna cum laude, and his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School, where he also taught Business Planning for two years as an adjunct professor.
Alex, a former RAF Fuels Subject Matter Expert, gained extensive leadership and energy systems experience from his military service. Notably he managed the fuel supply chain for the Falkland Islands and managed the country-wide fuel supply chain for all UK assets across Afghanistan, attracting a $1Bn budgetary responsibility.
On returning to the UK, he became the lead Inspector and auditor for the Fuel and Gas Safety Regulator; responsible for licensing 200 military sites across the global Defence Estate.
Alex left the RAF with a Cranfield MBA and founded a telecoms infrastructure company and within a year he was headhunted to a competing startup which was yet to raise investment; 2 years later when he left, the company had raised £78m of investment and the team had grown to 60 people. This experience cemented his subsequent roles in rapidly scaling businesses.
From here he has been immersed in the start-up/scale-up community and has significant experience in a range of sectors and has worked in a wide range of capacities.
He was recently head-hunted into a consultancy working to help the Ministry of Defence decarbonise, and it was there where he saw the opportunity to do something profoundly special for the aviation sector, using both his fuels subject matter expertise, coupled with his strong entrepreneurial background.
CirculAIRity was born on the premise of a long-term solution, which produces credible and scalable SAF at commercially competitive prices. Alex sits on the Jet Zero Council’s SAF Technology Delivery Group, and on the MOD’s Aviation Fuel Committee. He is a Chartered Follow of the CMI and is on the IoD’s Chartered Director programme.
He is currently a NED to two other startups. He is trustee of two charities, a volunteer consultant for The Cranfield Trust, and is the Diversity Ambassador for the IoD South West.
Alex’s hobbies include running, playing squash, rock-climbing, amateur cider brewing and enjoying the great outdoors.
Jonathon is a Master’s graduate in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College, London and has an MBA from INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France.
In July 2015 Jonathon became Group Head of Sustainability for the International Airlines Group with responsibility for the group sustainability strategy across the Groups’ five airlines Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, Level & Vueling.
He was previously British Airway’s Head of Environment, appointed in December 2007, with responsibility for developing and implementing BA’s strategy on all issues relating to the Environment including Climate Change, Air Quality, Noise and Waste.
In 2013 he became Chair of Sustainable Aviation, the leading UK aviation industry consortium of airlines, airports, manufacturers and UK Air Traffic Control authority driving improvements in the sustainability performance of the sector.
In 2015 he was also appointed the Chair of the International Airline Transport Association Environment Committee and in June 2017 was re-selected as Chair.
In August 2019 he was elected as the Chair of the newly formed IATA Sustainability and Environment Advisory Council.
Jonathon is also Chair of the oneworld airline alliance’s Environment & Sustainability Best Practice Group.
In April 2019 Jonathon became President of the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Heathrow Branch.
In September 2020 Jonathon became Visiting Sustainability Professor of Cranfield University to support their work enabling the aviation industry to deliver net zero emissions by 2050.
Jonathon is also a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and a Board Member of the Greener By Design Partnership.
In November 2020 Jonathon became Chair of the UK Government’s Jet Zero Council Sustainable Aviation Fuel Delivery Group enabling the UK to become the global leader in development of sustainable fuels.
From December 2020 Jonathon joined the UK’s Air League Council which has the mission of supporting today’s youth through its Changing Lives Through Aviation campaigns.
In June 2021 Jonathon was appointed as the Chair of the Sustainable Aviation – Farnborough International Limited steering board for the inaugural Sustainable Skies World Summit event being held on Jan 26th / 27th 2022.
Thomas Delor is managing Sustainable Aviation Fuel projects in the Corporate Affairs team at Airbus. In this role, he makes sure Airbus is a catalyst in the production and uptake of SAF. Closely collaborating with the aviation industry’s stakeholders, airports, airlines and fuel producers, Thomas is responsible for the development of Airbus’ partnerships with players across the international SAF and low-carbon fuel landscape.
Prior to his current position, Thomas was instrumental in Airbus’ Aviation Fuel Procurement, increasing the share of SAF across Airbus’ operations and supply chain. Thomas began his career as a Financial and IT consultant at CapGemini in France before joining Airbus in 2003. He holds a Master degree in Finance from Toulouse University.
NBAA Director, Environmental and Technical Operations
Stewart D’Leon joined the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) in December 2019. In this role, he serves as the association’s lead on environmental topics, as well as aircraft maintenance/technical committees. This work includes a variety of responsibilities ranging from International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) environmental input, to partnering with NBAA committee members to address the growing aircraft technician shortage.
Prior to his time at NBAA, he served in a variety of roles during his 14 years at Gulfstream Aerospace, including the previous five years as a field service representative supporting the U.S. Air Force special mission fleet at Joint Base Andrews, MD. Before joining Gulfstream, he served in the U.S. Air Force as an aircraft communication/navigation systems technician.
D’Leon is a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a master’s degree in aviation safety. He also holds an FAA Airframe and Powerplant certificate, an FAA Private Pilot certificate, and is a certified NCATT Aircraft Electronics Technician. In 2021 he also obtained the NBAA Certified Aviation Manager (CAM) credential.
Most importantly, Stewart is supported by his wife Tara, who is accomplished in her own career in the medical industry, and their blended family of six children.
Tom Dickson, CEO of New Energy Risk since 2015, has more than 35 years of experience in the insurance and reinsurance industry and finance; including senior executive and underwriting leadership positions in the US, Europe, and Asia; notably as the former CEO and Chief Underwriting Officer of the Centre Group, a $10B reinsurer that pioneered innovative products to address high-value business risks and financing. Tom has also served on the boards of public and private companies, including Flagstone Re, Paragon Insurance Services, Reformation Insurance Services, and as an advisor to Cellcontrol. He graduated with honors from Stanford University, where he remains an active alumnus, and received a Master’s degree from John Hopkins University (SAIS). Currently, Tom serves on the Natural Capital Advisory Council at Stanford University and the board of Adara Group, a non-profit engaged in health and education development for women and children in remote communities.
/Prior to joining Cranmore Partners, Andrew was Head of Energy Transition with Westend Bank AG, Frankfurt/Germany.
/From 2008 to 2015 and from 2017 to 2022, Andrew worked with KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH in Frankfurt/Germany and New York City. In this role, Andrew lead financings of renewable energy projects in the Americas, Europe and Asia
/Between 2015 and 2016, Andrew worked as financial advisor, advising clients inter alia on PV project bid strategies in Mexico, the debt financing of a gas-fired power plant in Mexico and the refinancing of a UK offshore windfarm.
/Previously, Andrew financed infrastructure projects in Emerging Markets with Depfa Bank out of Nicosia/Cyprus and worked as parliamentary assistant to a Member of the German Bundestag.
Kurt Edwards is Director General of the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) with responsibility for leading IBAC’s unique position as the voice for Business Aviation at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the UN specialized Agency for aviation matters based in Montreal, Canada.
Kurt joined IBAC in 2012 following a 12-year career at the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration where he held increasingly senior roles as liaison with Europe-based regulatory authorities and civil aviation organizations, and as a leading specialist on global environmental portfolios.
Headquartered within the ICAO building in Montreal, IBAC has nurtured increasingly stronger relations and greater engagement with ICAO whilst growing its global membership to 15 national and regional Business Aviation associations across six continents. Concurrently, a growing network of IBAC regional offices worldwide include locations in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, United States, and the United Kingdom.
Kurt has also led the dramatic growth in the IBAC codes of best safety practices for business aircraft operators and ground handlers while redoubling its commitment to environmental programs. During Kurt’s tenure, IBAC launched its popular International Standard for Business Aviation Handling (IS-BAH) and, in 2021, introduced the IBAC Carbon Credit Exchange for the business aviation community in partnership with Carbon Trade eXchange (CTX) and recently introduced a new Industry Partner/Operator Affiliate membership opportunity to further support its work.
A respected industry leader, Kurt currently serves as co-chair of the Business Aviation Coalition for Sustainable Aviation Fuel and sits on the Board of Directors of the Geneva-based Air Transport Action Group and frequently speaks at key conferences and seminars worldwide.
Toby Edwards is co-CEO of Victor, the multi award-winning on-demand jet charter platform and sector leader in Europe. Toby’s tenure with the jet charter company began over a decade ago when he joined as the very first Member Services Executive in July 2012. From that moment he has lived and breathed the company’s core values of Transparency, Integrity and Customer Centricity – rising up through the ranks to take the place of co-CEO of the company at the age of 33 in July 2020.
Since 2020 he has driven growth, led the business to profitability and propelled Victor’s entire strategy around Sustainability, ensuring the mission of ‘A better way to fly’ is far from just an ESG tagline. Under his leadership, Victor has spearheaded pioneering sustainability initiatives within the private jet sector, securing an industry-leading partnership with Neste, the world’s leading producer of Sustainable Aviation Fuel in June 2022.
Toby has accelerated the growth of Victor’s global network, which now encompasses more than 200 operators and 7,000 aircraft. Toby is committed to upholding Victor’s key ethos of providing transparency for clients – disclosing aircraft, operator and carbon emission details at the point of quotation, whilst ensuring both an effortless and seamless travel experience.
Sarah is the CEO of Nova Pangaea Technologies, a UK based company developing biofuels and biochar from forestry and agricultural residues, they are a key part of the UK SAF supply chain.
Sarah has now gained over 20 years international executive board experience including Chief Executive roles in the energy, natural resources, and manufacturing sectors, much of it in the US before she returned in 2019 to the North of England to take over at Nova Pangaea.
She was an associate partner at Hanson Family Holdings (formerly Hanson Plc) for over 12 years where she was involved in a large number of projects, internationally across logistics and industrial sectors.
Sarah studied leadership & management at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and has an MBA from Bradford University School of Management.
Scott Evans is Gulfstream’s director of demonstration, airborne customer support (ACS) and corporate flight operations. In this role, he is responsible for Gulfstream’s domestic and international demonstration, ACS, and corporate aircraft fleet. He also pilots demonstration flights, including the fully outfitted G700 production-test aircraft, on which he has had the opportunity to set several speed records.
In the 24 years Evans has been with Gulfstream, he has served in various roles in both flight test and the customer demonstration flight department. He was a project pilot for the Gulfstream G150, Gulfstream G280 and Gulfstream G500 and Gulfstream G600 programs, and was appointed senior international demonstration pilot and chief demonstration pilot before being promoted to his current position.
Evans received a bachelor‘s degree in aeronautics and Master of Business Administration from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
James Falzon is Associate Director, Sustainable Infrastructure, at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). He is responsible for integrating climate change considerations into the Bank’s annual €2 billion investments in infrastructure projects. He has led the development of the Bank’s methodological framework for aligning investments in aviation sector with the goals of the Paris Agreement, and advises on policy dialogues and technical cooperation activities related to aviation and in particular the development of SAF supply chains.
Patrikas Feiferas is an Investment Associate at Contrarian Ventures – hands-on, community-focused and founders-vetted European early-stage VC firm committed to net-zero.
Prior to joining Contrarian Ventures, he spent a few years living in China, Singapore and Taiwan. He is also a certified fluent everyday Chinese speaker. Patrikas graduated with a BSc in Finance from ISM University of Management and Economics as well as built his network globally during his university exchange in Singapore Management University and Shantou University.
Throughout his studies in Singapore, he participated in organizing the first-ever country-wide survey raising awareness on Alzheimer disease. Previously, he worked at one of the largest renewable energy infrastructure developers and mobility services provider in the Baltics Modus Group.
Marcella Franchi joined Haffner Energy in 2021, a French company with a 30-year-old proven expertise in biomass-to-energy technology, and over 40 plants delivered to date. Marcella was a key player in the success of Haffner Energy’s IPO in February 2022. She was appointed SVP North America in May 2023 as the company’s international ambitions expanded due to the urgency of finding viable solutions for the energy transition. Haffner Energy is entering the USA market with its patented technologies in line with the IRA and Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap guidance, focusing on SAF and renewable hydrogen production from sustainable biomass and organic waste. Marcella began her career in financial engineering at Warren & Selbert (now Accufy Inc) in London, where she stayed for 17 years. She became a successful entrepreneur, founding and running companies in real estate and rentals in the UK and Portugal. Marcella has a degree from the London School of Economics and a postgraduate qualification in Corporate Finance from the London Business School. She has lectured and consulted at university in Hong Kong and Lisbon. She is on the boards of the LBS Energy Club and Women in Green Hydrogen.
Maureen presently serves as the Sustainability & Future Workforce Manager at the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) based in Brussels. Being a dual-qualified lawyer (in France and in England/Wales) she previously held various legal roles at The Air Law Firm where she covered aircraft transactions, finance, and management and more recently at Borealis Maritime Limited where she focused on shipping finance and corporate transactions. In 2018, Maureen was selected by EBAA for the 2018 One Young World summit and subsequently co-founded the STARS label which is set to be launched first half of 2024.
Her training includes roles at Dassault Falcon Jet in New York and Airbus Miami.
Gene Gebolys is the founder and CEO of World Energy. For over 25 years World Energy has been at the forefront of commercializing renewable fuels and was the world’s first commercial-scale sustainable aviation fuel producer. Today, World Energy is investing over $15 billion into major new projects in California, Texas, and Newfoundland to help leaders accelerate their efforts to make net-zero real.
Gene launched World Energy to accelerate the commercialization of alternatives to fossil-based motor fuels and has played a leading role in building today’s global biofuels industry. Under Gene’s leadership, World Energy is currently undergoing a $2.5 billion dollar conversion project at its Los Angeles facility that will convert the facility into a 100% renewable production hub. The Los Angeles project is the model for World Energy’s Houston facility conversion, currently underway. Once complete, the LA and Houston facilities will allow World Energy to produce a total of 500 million gallons of SAF by 2026.
Gene holds a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Science degree in economics & business management from The Ohio State University.
Dr. Gruber, CEO and Board Member of Gevo, has spent over 30 years developing and commercializing renewable biobased technologies to replace petrochemicals. His teams have developed and commercialized several renewable resource-based products, including organic acids, plastics, fibers, advanced alcohols, hydrocarbon fuels, and the like. Gruber led the development and commercialization of PLA at Cargill and co-founded Natureworks. As CEO of Gevo, Dr. Gruber leads the business to commercialize Isobutanol for gasoline blendstock, renewable, low carbon jet fuel, and low carbon renewable gasoline.
Dr. Gruber received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biology from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota, and a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Minnesota. He also earned a master’s degree in business administration from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Gruber has received numerous awards including: The George Washington Carver Award from BIO, The Presidential Green Chemistry Award, The Discover Award for Environmental Innovation
from Discover Magazine, The Lee W. Rivers Innovation Award from CDMA, an Outstanding Achievement Award from the University of MN in 2011, The Julius Stieglitz Award from the
University of Chicago, The Kirkpatrick Award from Chemical Engineering, Design and Engineering Award from Popular Mechanics, Technology of the Year Award from Industry Week, Technology of the Year Award from United States DOE, and numerous others. Dr. Gruber was the editor of the two-volume book “Biorefineries—Industrial Processes and Products,” and holds more than 60 US patents, with several others pending.
Michael Halaby has 20+ years of providing strategic funding advice to C-suite executives in the aviation, automotive and financial institution sectors on accessing the US$ and international bond, secured bank debt, and regional financing markets; he has arranged over US$122 billion in debt financing via ~270 transactions for borrowers in the US, Europe and Middle East. Michael is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society
— Based in London, Michael Halaby is Managing Director – Head of Aviation Advisory at MUFG Bank, Ltd. In this capacity, Michael’s role is to build and supervise the Aviation Advisory business for its global aviation partners including lessors, airlines and investors which aims to help its clients raise capital, offer aviation financial consultancy services such as a lease versus buy analysis or fleet financing options and provide advice on ESG strategies. He is an active speaker and writer on ESG (see list below)
— Previously, Michael Halaby was Principal at Halaby Aero Limited, a consultancy actively involved in advising aviation firms on accessing debt and equity financing as well as ESG aviation finance. Assignments included advising a debut operating lessor on strategies to access the debt markets, assisting an aviation asset manager on their ESG policy, providing insight on regional aircraft, slots financing and on expansion into aircraft leasing. Michael has also written recent analyses on ESG in aviation finance, on the regional aircraft sector and on the debt capital markets for aviation. He wrote an ad-hoc market commentary, “Contrails of Consciousness”, which was read by hundreds of senior aviation professionals
— Michael was Head of Aviation Debt Origination – EMEA at Deutsche Bank in London for over six years; he was responsible for client coverage of airlines, aircraft operating lessors and aviation-related businesses across the debt product suite (eg secured bank debt, EETC, unsecured bonds, private placements, ABS, Schuldschein, Jolco); he increasingly spent time on equity private placements and M&A
— Previously Michael was a Senior Transactor in Deutsche Bank’s Structured Finance team structuring secured debt transactions for airlines and aircraft leasing companies located in EMEA and some select names in the US
— Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, Michael worked at Valais Advisory for two years providing issuers and investors with impartial, independent assistance in securing and understanding debt capital markets financing
— Previous to Valais, Michael was at BNP Paribas in New York for six years as Managing Director — Debt Capital Markets where he was responsible for financials and aviation DCM. He personally executed 104 transactions with a total value of US$66.8 billion as Lead Manager/Bookrunner. Michael also built and ran the Yankee bond product group
— Before BNP Paribas, Michael worked for ABN AMRO, for ten years, initially in Amsterdam then London and New York in their Debt Capital Markets group covering US aviation, auto and FIG clients. At ABN AMRO, Michael executed 152 transactions with a total value of US$55.3bn as Lead Manager/Bookrunner
— Michael received his MBA from Columbia Business School and received his BSBA from the University of
Denver; he is also diplomé in French Civilisation from the Université de la Sorbonne
— Before business school, Michael worked in Paris for four years at American Express Carte – France and
American Express Bank – France
— Michael often speaks at company presentations and conferences on ESG topics and the state of the debt markets for borrowers and lenders/investors, including Airline Economics, AirFinance Journal, Air Convention, IBA, ICAO, Ishka, Victory Events
— He also is quoted in various publications including the Financial Times, Airfinance Journal, Airline Economics
— He is FCA registered and was previously a US registered representative (Series 17, 24 and 63); he is a British-American citizen
— Michael is a member of ISTAT and has sat on the ISTAT Humanitarian Committee since 2015; he is also a committee member of The Aviation Club UK
— He was a helicopter pilot (R44), designed a line of aviation-themed notebooks: FLIGHTBOOK, and is an avid and award-winning amateur aviation photographer
Mike graduated with a PhD from Cambridge and joined Shell in their petrochemicals business. After several years developing their fertiliser business he joined ICI as strategic planner. He formed energy consultancy Dee Associates several years ago where he specialised in industrial energy efficiency. He co-founded Avioxx Ltd to exploit his patented waste to energy system which forms the front end to the Avioxx process for making sustainable aviation fuel.
James is an experienced aviation professional from Crawley, UK. His aviation career began as a military and then qualifying as a commercial pilot, and evolving into a pivotal role in managing the service and delivery of technology and communication solutions. A lifelong learner, James has complemented his aviation expertise with a BA in Politics and an MSc in Organizational Psychology, reflecting his deep interest in social sciences.
Currently working as a freelance consultant, James is passionate about leveraging technology to enhance lives and believes in the transformative power of education and collaboration for achieving audacious goals. His commitment to personal development and community service is evident in his role as a volunteer Krav Maga instructor and his recent charity cycle ride from London to Paris in three days.
As a board member of the aviation trade association BBGA and The Self Defence Centre CIC, James contributes significantly to both the aviation industry and his local community. His expertise in aviation, martial arts, philosophy, and human interactions makes him a captivating speaker and an invaluable panelist.
James’s enthusiasm for generative AI and its potential reflects his forward-thinking approach, making him an asset in discussions about the intersection of technology, society, and individual empowerment.
Wayne is a senior leader in Accenture’s UKIA Sustainability Services hub with over 15 year’s experience in sustainability and a proven record in executing sustainability strategies and directing programmes to deliver decarbonisation. He works with clients across multiple sectors including aviation, automotive and the public sector. Wayne holds a bachelor degree in Aerospace Engineering & Astronautics and is a Member of the Energy Institute.
Juan Higuera is a Principal at Climate Investment where he focuses on growth-stage equity investments in platforms and companies that reduce, recycle and store greenhouse gas emissions from high-emitting sectors. Juan joined Climate Investment in 2021, bringing with him over 15 years of experience in energy, infrastructure and finance. Prior to joining Climate Investment, Juan was a Vice President at Macquarie Group where he focused on principal investments in North America and LatAm in the energy and infrastructure space. Previously, he was a Vice President of investment banking at J.P. Morgan covering clients in the energy industry in North America, Europe and the Middle East advising on M&A and capital markets transactions. Juan started his career at Power Costs, Inc. providing consulting services to clients in the power sector. Juan holds an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin, an MS in Industrial Engineering from The University of Oklahoma, and a BS in Industrial Engineering from Universidad Industrial de Santander. Juan is based in Houston, TX.
Ingrid was previously a Director and Head of Policy and Advocacy at Federated Hermes International. She was also the firm’s climate change coordinator. She has over 15 years of experience working on environmental policy and sustainable finance issues. Prior to joining Hermes Ingrid was a Director at climate change think tank E3G, leading a range of global initiatives on sustainable and inclusive finance. She has also held positions at the low carbon asset manager Climate Change Capital; been an energy and environment adviser in the UK Parliament; and adviser at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Prior to that she had a career in science publishing and journalism.
Ingrid was previously a Director and Head of Policy and Advocacy at Federated Hermes International. She was also the firm’s climate change coordinator. She has over 15 years of experience working on environmental policy and sustainable finance issues. Prior to joining Hermes Ingrid was a Director at climate change think tank E3G, leading a range of global initiatives on sustainable and inclusive finance. She has also held positions at the low carbon asset manager Climate Change Capital; been an energy and environment adviser in the UK Parliament; and adviser at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Prior to that she had a career in science publishing and journalism.
Ingrid has held a number of UK and EU advisory roles including Member of the UK Green Finance Initiative (2016/2018), Member of the European Commission’s High Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance (2017/2018) and ran the Secretariat for the Green Finance Taskforce (2017/2018). During the period 2019/2021 she was Vice Chair of the Disclosures Working Group within the UK Prudential Regulation Authority/Financial Conduct Authority Climate Financial Risk Forum and Co-Chair of the Investment Association’s Climate Change Working Group. She is currently a Member of the Lloyd’s ESG Advisory Group, acting as an independent expert on climate change.
Ingrid has a BSc in Biological Sciences (Hons Zoology) from the University of Edinburgh and an MSc/DIC in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London. Her BSc thesis was published in Genetical Research (Cambs) and she was awarded the Kathleen Lacy Prize for ranking first in her MSc specialism (Pollution Management).
About Jason Jepson: 25 years of significant and ongoing experience in global financial services; hardware/software; e-commerce; and consumer goods. Was the PR lead on 2 separate billion-dollar acquisitions. Strategic advisor to key ESG financial structures, serving both the needs of client as well as the desired returns of the private markets.
Dana Kaplinski is the Managing Director of Sustainability Portfolio Management at Delta Air Lines, responsible for developing the company’s short- and long-term SAF strategy in support Delta’s decarbonization goals. In collaboration with Delta’s fuel, legal and government affairs teams, Dana’s team works to increase SAF uplift at Delta, and partners with private and public external stakeholders to support the scale-up of the US SAF industry.
Dana has more than two decades of business, product management, and engineering leadership experience related to electric propulsion and new technology, across the aerospace and defense, fuel cell, and the automotive industry. Prior to joining Delta, Dana worked for Kaman Aerospace Corporation as Vice President of Engineering, most recently, and prior to that as Vice President of Business Development. She was General Manager for the Transportation Fuel Cell Business at UTC Power, responsible for expanding the business through partnerships, licensing the company’s IP portfolio, and new product sales. Dana started her career at General Motors, progressing through product development and management roles, culminating with Assistant Chief Engineer, where she led the co-development of a hybrid powertrain, licensing GM IP to domestic and international OEMs.
Dana holds a Master of Business Administration from Michigan State University and Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University.
Saurabh is the CEO & a co-founder at Metafuels, a Swiss start-up developing an innovative technology for the production of SAF from sustainable methanol. The company is single mindedly focussed on cost leadership to allow e-fuels to go mainstream. Its aerobrew technology achieves this through ultra-high SAF yield, superior energy efficiency and scalability alongside industry-leading carbon footprint reduction. This also ensures that valuable, sustainably sourced carbon and renewable electricity are concentrated into one targeted fuel, SAF, with maximum efficiency. Saurabh has spent the last 15 years working in the cleantech space including on the scale-up and commercialisation of decarbonisation technologies.
Dave Kettner is Virent’s President & General Counsel and a dedicated renewable industry executive who specializes in strategies to take the company to the next level of growth and opportunity. Dave joined Virent in 2007 and served as the company’s VP of Legal Affairs and Business Operations before taking on his current role in 2019. He is a licensed attorney with 25+ years of experience in intellectual property, contracts and other corporate matters. Dave’s vision for Virent is to drive organizational impact in the renewable industry, which is why he currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Advanced BioFuels Association (ABFA), BIO and BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section, and the Alternative Fuels and Chemicals Coalition. Throughout his career, Dave has demonstrated his ability to inspire a high performance culture & align the organization towards a common vision. He is also a recognized industry leader with the commitment and dedication to accelerate commercialization of renewable technologies. Dave holds a JD in Law and BS in Genetics and Cell Biology from the University of Minnesota.
Keith joined SAF+ in 2022 after 21 years with an airline, where he held management positions in several departments. He created and led the airline’s award-winning sustainability department and helped launch the first aircraft recycling and e-SAF industries in Quebec. Previously, Keith worked as a plant manager in automotive parts manufacturing, as an operations management consultant, and as a process and research engineer. He has worked in Australia, Europe, Africa, the United States, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.
Keith holds a degree in metallurgical engineering from McGill University, an MBA from McGill/Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium), and a certificate in business leadership development from Christ Church University, Oxford (UK). Keith is a recipient of the 2021 Clean 50 Award, given to the Top 50 sustainability leaders in Canada.
Alasdair is an entrepreneur and Co-Founder of Carbon Neutral Fuels, a Power-to-Liquid startup developing a modular and scalable system for the production of SAF that can be rapidly deployed anywhere that e-fuels are needed. CNF was awarded £1.4m from the Department for Transport’s Advanced Fuels Fund in Window 2 to advance this modular concept.
Alasdair believes that energy is the key to human prosperity, that climate change can be solved through innovation, and that to succeed, new innovations need the support of capital markets and policy makers.
Yusuf Macun has over 20 years’ experience in energy and infrastructure finance and investments, with a focus on the power, water, renewables and oil & gas verticals. His impressive track record includes the successful closing of cross-border deals in excess of c. USD 20bn over 35 transactions in a range of emerging and developed markets, particularly the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Before founding Cranmore Partners in 2017, Yusuf held a variety of leadership roles including Global Head of Project & Commercial Finance at Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA). and Head of Power &Renewables for Europe and Africa at HSBC London, where he advised governments and companies on a wide range of transactions across EMEA in verticals including wind, solar, coal/oil/gas-fired thermal and nuclear power generation. He also gained valuable transaction experience and expertise in prior roles at the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund, Lazard and Flemings.
Yusuf is a graduate of HEC Paris (Grande Ecole) and holds a Master’s Degree in Engineering & Computer Science from ENSIMAG in Grenoble.
Ms Moynihan joined Wizz Air in 2022 as Corporate Officer and in February 2023 was appointed as Corporate and ESG Officer, leading corporate, legal, regulatory and government affairs functions, including ESG & sustainability governance. The Wizz Air sustainability team is credited for helping the company win the CAPA Award for the most environmentally sustainable airline group globally in 2022 and 2023. Wizz Air also has one of the lowest carbon intensities in the industry, with a record 53.8 grams of CO2 per passenger per km for fiscal year 2023. Ms Moynihan is a Barrister by background and has practiced as a litigator in the Irish Courts, held roles as a researcher for the Irish Superior Courts and the European Court of Justice. Ms Moynihan has been working in aviation for more than ten years and has a track record in the low-cost industry, having held legal roles in Ryanair and Vueling, where she held the position of General Counsel and Board Secretary.
For the Past 17 years, Yawar abbas naqvi has been involved in assisting customers in successful implementation of capital-intensive energy development projects. He is currently working as Senior business development manager at KBR, responsible for commercialization of KBR’s PureSAF technology. His experience covers business development, project development, various project phases from inception to Startup & commissioning, working across significant industries such as biofuels, grey/blue/green ammonia, grey/eMethanol, blue/green hydrogen, gas-to-liquid plants etc. Holds an Engineering degree in Chemical engineering and Management degree from Copenhagen Business School.
Mr. Vijay Nirani is the Managing Director of TruAlt Bioenergy, a prominent leader in pioneering
advancements within the Bioethanol and Compressed Bio-gas (CBG) sector. TruAlt Bioenergy is also one
of Asia’s Largest Biofuel Company.
At the core of Mr. Nirani’s leadership philosophy lies a strategic focus on diversification within the
company’s product portfolio, with a particular emphasis on ethanol and compressed biogas, alongside
other cutting-edge energy solutions.
His conviction is deeply rooted in the understanding that the desire for improved living standards within
a burgeoning global population will inevitably drive the demand for energy in the years to come.
Simultaneously, the urgency to combat the specter of climate change fuels a global transition toward a
low-carbon energy paradigm.
This proactive approach not only fortifies the integration of upstream and downstream operations but
also positions the company at the forefront to bolster non-crude oil businesses and increase innovation
& dynamism in the energy sector.
Mr. Vijay Nirani’s profound vision, combined with the steadfast commitment of TruAlt Bioenergy,
collectively illuminate a path toward a sustainable tomorrow. His shared dedication ensures that energy
continues to serve as a catalyst for progress while preserving our planet’s delicate ecological balance.
Tim Obitts is the Chief Executive Officer at Alder Renewables, bringing nearly three decades of legal and executive experience to the role. Prior to joining Alder Renewables, Tim served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), a trade association of more than 3,700 companies. NATA represents aviation businesses from across the entire sector, including aviation fuel suppliers, ground handlers, FBOs, on-demand air charter, fractional air carriers, and MROs.
In this role, Tim worked on emergent issues affecting aviation businesses, including sustainability, often representing the sector before the U.S. Congress, the administration, and various federal and state agencies. Prior to serving as CEO and President, Tim served as the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel for NATA. Before his time at NATA, Tim was the managing shareholder of the law firm Gammon & Grange, P.C., where he served as counsel for numerous for-profit and nonprofit firms and led advocacy efforts with Congress and federal agencies on behalf of his clients.
Tim also served as co-chair of the firm’s litigation section, focusing on constitutional law, and was with the firm for nineteen years. He is a member of the bars of California, Colorado, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Tim is admitted to practice before numerous federal District and Appellate Courts and is member of the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States of America.
Tim is a recognized thought leader on sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and speaks regularly at events worldwide. He helped found and served as the Chairperson of the Business Aviation Coalition on Sustainable Aviation Fuel and the Council on Sustainable Aviation Fuel Accountability, a collaborative effort between business and commercial aviation. In addition, Tim served on several working groups inside the Federal Aviation Administration and on a number of non-profit boards. Raised in Santa Barbara, California, Tim received a B.A., double major in History and Philosophy, from Gordon College, where he was All-New England N.A.I.A in Tennis. He earned his Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from California Western School of Law.
Future Energy Global is an integrity-led financial services company that has developed an innovative Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) pre-purchasing ecosystem that accelerates the flow of capital to meet aviation’s net-zero goals. As the Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Natasha leads a world-class team of aviation, finance and climate experts to accelerate the production and uptake of SAF. She previously worked at GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), formerly the world’s largest aircraft lessor, for 15 years as the Head of Portfolio Strategy, Product Strategy, and Product Marketing. Prior to that Natasha held various sales, marketing and engineering positions with Airbus and Fairchild Dornier.
Natasha holds a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering from Carleton University and a Certificate in “Business and Climate Change: Towards Net Zero Emissions” from the Cambridge Institute of Sustainable Leadership.
Andy is UK Business Development Manager for Arcadia eFuels, a company committed to building facilities to produce the world’s future fuels.
For the past 5 years Andy has been providing independent commercial and business development services to legacy and energy transition clients. Prior to this he spent nearly 20 years domestically and internationally with bp in a range of increasingly senior technical and commercial roles.
Andy is a strong advocate for delivery and acceleration of UK climate change commitments.
Shashank Nigam is the founder and CEO of SimpliFlying. Having consulted for more
than 100 airlines over 15 years, Nigam is a frequent keynote speaker and has been
widely featured in major media outlets like The New York Times, The Wall Street
Journal and the BBC. His first book, SOAR, was an Amazon bestseller and is
currently being taught to Masters students at Cranfield University (UK) and EmbryRiddle (USA). Sustainability in the Air is his second book that shares lessons from
innovators helping aviation become sustainable. He is the host of a leading podcast
with the same name. A Canadian, he lives in London, UK with his wife and two
daughters.
Wendy Owens is the Founder and CEO of Hexas Biomass Inc. (Hexas), a biomass solutions company producing plant-based raw materials for use in bioenergy and structural and nonstructural products. She is a serial entrepreneur with experience across multiple industries. Hexas combines her background in materials engineering and biotechnology with a passion to save the Earth. Concurrently with past entrepreneurial endeavors, she spent 14 years as an executive-level appointed advisor to the US Secretary of Commerce and US Trade Representative. Ms. Owens is a published author on a variety of subjects and has a Master of Art degree from Tufts University. https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-owens/
Jonathan is based in the English countryside and currently works as the Fuel Consultant for Star Alliance Services GmbH, as well as running his own consultancy company, Penthurst Ltd.
Jonathan joined Star Alliance in June 2017, and works on behalf of 26 airlines globally on joint initiatives including any SAF and fossil fuel purchasing requests or other fuel related issues.
Jonathan previously worked for Virgin Atlantic for 26 years from 1990 until September 2016 and worked in Treasury and Fuel Procurement. In addition to his treasury duties and managing their global fuel exposure throughout this time he helped Virgin operate the first commercial biofuel test flight in 2008.
Jonathan Chaired the IATA Commercial Fuel Working Group for five years, organising these meetings and steering the group through some troubling times. He also represented all the visiting airlines on the Hong Kong Management Association for eight years where he worked on the industries behalf to improve fuel services at the new airport in the most cost-effective manner. On his home front he has always been very active in regard to the supply and storage of aviation fuel into the UK airports and continues to participate in fuel related working groups at Heathrow.
Sjoerd is a Strategy Manager at SkyNRG, a global leader in the development of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Next to strategy development, he is working on corporate development and several investment tracks. Prior to this position Sjoerd was a Senior Project lead, heading several feasibility studies to develop (e-)SAF production facilities across the globe. Sjoerd was working as strategy consultant before joining SkyNRG in 2019.
Kennedy serves as the President of 4AIR to offer expertise and guidance for creating meaningful sustainability commitments focused on aviation. Kennedy has worked to promote a more comprehensive and long-term way of thinking about sustainability for aviation while providing increased transparency, comparability, and ease of starting a program. Kennedy is a passionate general aviation pilot and has a degree from the University of Notre Dame.
Elise started her career 20 years ago in the Oil and Gas engineering and construction field, in complex environment where building efficient partnership with local stakeholders is a necessity to run sustainable operations.
She has acquired a panel of technical and economical knowledge for numerous type of energy production facilities around the globe.
In 2016, she joined the newly created low-carbon business segment of TotalEnergies, embracing challenges of creating safe, cost efficient and climate neutral business. She actively looked for new venture investments in energy efficiency, bioenergy, technological and natural based carbon capture to grow a genuine, sustainable and profitable future.
In 2020, she joined the Northern Lights joint venture, the world first cross-border open-source CO2 transport and storage service company. As senior business development lead, she created innovative solutions to finance carbon removals project development. She co-founded the CCS+ Initiative, which aims to leverage carbon markets financial incentives to scale up CCS technologies.
Since April 2023, Elise is supporting the sustainability journey of Air France KLM Group by leading the strategic growth of SAF and zero emissions technologies usage.
Jimmy Samartzis is the Chief Executive Officer of LanzaJet, Inc., a global leader in sustainable fuels technology and production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel from low-carbon and waste-based sources. LanzaJet’s pioneering technology enables the efficient conversion of ethanol to sustainable hydrocarbon fuels. As the founding CEO, Jimmyis leading the company and the technology through commercialization and operational execution, and is building the world’s first Alcohol-to-Jet (ATJ) production facility. LanzaJet is supported by a world-class group of strategic investors including LanzaTech, Suncor Energy, Mitsui & Co., Shell Oil, and British Airways, along with financial participation from All Nippon Airways, Microsoft, and the
US Department of Energy. LanzaJet’s ATJ technology originated with the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Lab and scaled-up by LanzaTech.
LanzaJet is developing projects on multiple continents with the first biorefinery to be operational in Georgia, USA, which is built, owned, and operated by LanzaJet. LanzaJet is working with its strategic investors and with third party licensees on multiple projects across the globe, working its way towards a goal of 1B gallons of sustainable hydrocarbons produced using LanzaJet’s ATJ technology by 2030.
Jimmy’s career has focused on climate change and in particular advancing the decarbonization of industries reliant on fossil fuels. He is known for his inspirational leadership, building private/public partnerships, and impact by enabling change across industries, governments, companies, and teams.
He effectively navigates the complexities of first-of-a-kind technologies, commercial partnerships, regulation and policy, global adoption, and stakeholder relations.
While in the airline industry, his contributions led to pioneering test flights, the first commercial-scale
sustainable jet fuel deal and commercial production, and to a global industry agreement to enable a reduction in aviation emissions and adoption of low-carbon fuels. Additionally, he led a global coalition of stakeholders across the value chain to break down the barriers associated with the commercialization of sustainable fuels.
He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, a global leader in high-energy particle physics. He previously served as chief executive of a business unit at United Airlines as well as in various senior executive functions at the airline, and as an executive advisor to clients globally through his work with top consultancies including Oliver Wyman, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Slalom. He served President William J. Clinton at The White House and his administration at the US Department of Labor, and also worked in the Mayor’s Office for the City of Chicago.
He earned his M.B.A. from the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, a M.A. from John Hopkins University, and an B.A. from the University of Chicago.
As Manager of Global Sustainability, Nicole spearheads Amex GBT’s sustainability strategy with respect to internal targets and external products and services. Prior to this role, Nicole worked across the travel and sustainability ecosystem, including as an Operations Manager and Auditor for the UK Travel Association’s Sustainability Department, and as a Portfolio Manager for a leading provider of Carbon Offsets and Renewable Energy Certificates.
Nicole holds a Postgraduate Diploma (Education for Sustainability) from London South Bank University and a BA Hons (International Tourism Management) from Leeds Beckett University.
Dana is the Partner of Sustainability at Oneiros Aerospace, driven by a profound passion for sustainability within the aviation industry. With over 12 years of experience, Dana specialises in training and educating executives on sustainable aviation practices, bridging the gap between novel science and technologies, policy and strategy implementation. She also excels in creating sustainability strategies and identifying commercial opportunities in the sustainable aviation sector.
Prior to joining Oneiros Aerospace, Dana collaborated with multiple players in the aviation value chain, helping develop strategies for revenue growth through the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). She also worked with the Challenge Group (Liege, Belgium) on critical projects related to COVID-19 vaccine transportation, and currently working on the establishment of a new SAF plant.
Dana holds a PhD in Physics and Engineering of Composite Materials, and she has served as a Postdoctoral Researcher in Physics and Engineering at the University College London, UK. She also holds an MSc in Nuclear Engineering and Technology and an MPhys in Physics from the University of Manchester, UK.
Anahita Smeets is a Vice President at RockCreek, focused on venture and growth equity investments.
Prior to joining RockCreek, Anahita was an Investor at Wi Venture, a European VC firm focused on the energy transition and a Venture Fellow at H/L Ventures, a New York-based VC firm focused on investments at the nexus of growth, impact, and diversity. Previously, she held roles on Afiniti’s Commercial Strategy team and WeWork’s Enterprise Growth team. Anahita started her career on the Investment Team at RockCreek.
Anahita received her MBA from Columbia Business School, MSc from Imperial College Business School, and B.A. from Georgetown University.
Anahita grew up in Geneva, Switzerland, and is based in London.
Co-founder and CEO of OXCCU, a spinout from Oxford University, specialising in novel catalysts and reactor designs to convert CO₂ into SAF. OXCCU’s mission is to give future generations the acknowledged benefits of hydrocarbons but without their climate impact. It’s groundbreaking process directly converts CO2 to jet fuel range hydrocarbons in a single step. Andrew is a former climate tech VC investor and is committed to leading technological innovation to solve climate change.
Philip Walsh specialises in projects and project finance in the energy and infrastructure sector, particularly on renewable energy and energy transition matters (including hydrogen, e-fuels and carbon capture storage projects). Philip regularly acts for commercial and multilateral lenders, development finance institutions, institutional investors, sponsors and developers on projects in the Netherlands and wider Europe, the Nordics, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Philip advises both on finance documents and on commercial project documents, with a particular focus on offtake arrangements.Philip co-lead’s Clifford Chance’s Green Fuels initiative, and is currently advising on SAF projects in Europe, the US and South Asia. Philip is qualified in England and Wales.
Gerald Wiencke, Head of Transport & Logistics, DAL Deutsche Anlagen-Leasing GmbH & Co. KG:
Gerald Wiencke is Head of Transport & Logistics at DAL Deutsche Anlagen-Leasing, belonging to Deutsche Leasing Group, the largest leasing company in Germany with business operations in 23 countries across Europe as well as in the US, China and Brazil. Deutsche Leasing is part of the German Savings Banks Group.
Before joining DAL, Gerald Wiencke worked in various functions at UniCredit Group for 25 years, mainly in the fields of structured finance, project and asset based finance. He was responsible for setting up the European aircraft financing business within UniCredit Group.
Gerald Wiencke holds a masters diploma in business administration from LMU University in Munich.
As Head of Transport & Logistics at DAL he leads a team that is responsible for the financing of business aircraft, helicopters, engines as well as rolling stock equipment for passenger and cargo transport with a new business volume of EUR 1 billion per year. DAL has taken an active role in supporting its customers in the transformation process towards sustainability and decarbonization.
Dr. Jan H. Wille is a Partner with Strategy&, PwC’s strategy consulting practice, based in Hamburg. Leading PwC’s Aerospace and Defense (A&D) team in EMEA, he supports clients in dealing with their strategic challenges and major transformations, many of them
technology-driven. More recently, he has focused on the transformation of the A&D industry toward greater sustainability. Jan is an author of numerous publications and a frequent speaker at A&D conferences.
Zainab Yaqub joined Topsoe in 2022, where she works as Senior Licensing Manager. She is responsible for the licensing of Topsoe’s hydroprocessing and synthetic fuels technologies portfolio. Before joining Topsoe, Zainab worked in various technical and commercial roles at Honeywell UOP for more than 10 years. Zainab holds a Masters in Chemical Engineering from the University of Surrey, UK.
Ulrike Ziegler is president of impact on sustainable aviation e.V., a non-profit association founded in early 2022 by leading financiers, lessors, consultancies and universities in Aviation. impact e.V., a global platform, promotes climate protection in civil aviation by developing effective industry standards for translation into a sustainability-linked finance framework. Furthermore impact e.V. is dedicated to enable the scale-up of decarbonization technologies (e.g. SAF), a key ingredient to reach Net Zero 2050.
Ulrike has more than 20 years aviation experience and held senior positions at UniCredit Bank as Global Head of Aircraft Finance and at ING Germany as Head of Aviation. She has worked with airlines and lessors around the globe at various stages of their business development. Keen to facilitate change she has spearheaded major strategic projects at both UniCredit and ING.
Ulrike has served as long-standing member of the Investment Committee of the HSH Global Aircraft I fund. Prior to her aviation career she has worked in Project Finance, Export Finance and Syndications.
09.00 Opening Remarks Alasdair Whyte, SAF Investor
09.10Forecasting SAF production and demand until 2050 SAF supply and demand in 2023
What will be the key pathways?
Will there be enough investment?
What will SAF cost?
Will aviation get to NetZero by 2050? Moderator: Shashank Nigam, Founder & CEO, Simpliflying
Chris Brown, Partner Aviation Strategy & Global Chair, Future of Flight, KPMG Jan Wille, EMEA Aerospace & Defense Leader, PwC Strategy&
Nikhil Sachdeva, Principal, Roland Berger
09.50Book and Claim: making sure there is enough to go round Meeting transparency standards
unlocking SAFs economic potential
Is it just a means to an end? Gene Gebolys, CEO, World Energy
10.10Gulfstream Aerospace: The OEM role in scaling and promoting SAF Can business aviation to be a catalyst for SAF
Educating the operator and promoting the use of SAF
Supporting the path to 100% SAF
Business aviation’s role in R&D of new SAF technologies Moderator: Maureen Gautier, Sustainability & Future Workforce Manager, EBAA
Scott Evans, Gulfstream Aerospace
10.30 Morning Coffee
11.00 Uptake agreements: The race for SAF Do customers need to sign offtake agreements now?
How can smaller carriers get supply?
Do agreements need to be standardised?
How much do off-take agreements matter to investors? Moderator: Jonathan Pardoe, Fuel Consultant, Star Alliance Services
Yvonne Moynihan, Chief Corporate & ESG Officer, Wizz Air
Dana Kaplinski, Managing Director of SAF, Delta Air Lines
Thomas Fowler, Director of Sustainability & Finance, Ryanair
11.40Removing price uncertainty Learning from energy Contracts for Difference
How would a SAF scheme work?
Why caps are is especially important for second and third generation SAF
Subsidies versus price mechanisms?
Should schemes be private or public
When could price mechanisms happen? Ingrid Holmes, Executive Director, Green Finance Institute
12.00E-fuels: getting from innovation to development How do you stand out?
Finding early investors
Who will fund development? Moderator: Ausilio Bauen, Partner, ERM Group
Andrew Symes, Co-Founder & CEO, OXCCU Nanna Baldvinsdóttir, Co-Founder, Idunnh2
Andy McNeill, Business Development Manager, Arcadia eFuels
Alex Chikhani, Founder & CEO, CirculAIRity
Saurabh Kapoor, CEO, Metafuels
12.40 Lunch hosted by Gulfstream Aerospace
13.50 Finding early-stage investors How can you pick winners?
Strategic investors versus pure venture capital?
How important is sustainability when investing? Moderator: Alasdair Whyte, SAF Investor
Nicole Sautter, Director of Global Sustainability, AMEX GBT
Anahita Smeets, Vice President, Rock Creek
Patrikas Feiferas, Investment Associate, Contrarian Ventures
Matt Ridley, Investment Principal, International Airlines Group
14.30 Wizz Air: SAF on a budget
Challenges for low cost carriers
Ensuring supply in a point to point model
robust offtakes and investments Yvonne Moynihan, Chief Corporate & ESG Officer, Wizz Air
14.50 Trash talking: Municipal waste Understanding the economics
Why one man’s waste is another man’s treasure
Feedstock competition with power generation
Moderator: Wayne Hitchings, Sustainability Services, Accenture
Diana Rakow, SVP, Public Affairs and Sustainability, Alaska Air
Mike Hancock, Chairman, Avioxx
Noaman Al Adhami, UK Country Head, Alfanar Projects
15.30 Afternoon Tea
15.55Can business aviation lead the way?
Are business jet users less price sensitive?
Does book and claim make more sense than delivering to smaller airports?
How can business aviation companies support producers before commercialisation?
How can the industry place off-take agreements? Moderator: Alasdair Whyte, SAF Investor
Kennedy Ricci, President, 4Air Toby Edwards, Managing Director, Victor
Mike Winston, Chairman, Jet AI
Nicola-Jane Sellers, Group Sustainability Manager, Luxaviation
16.35 Let’s talk excrement Harnessing true waste
How far can sewage take us
The opportunity for Waste Water Treatment Plants Moderator: Oscar Henderson, SAF Investor
James Hygate, Co-Founder & CEO, Firefly Green Fuels
16.55 What role can aircraft lessors and financiers play? How significant an investment group are lessors?
Should leasing companies sign off-take agreements?
SAF and the EU finance taxonomy Moderator: Natasha Mann, Founder & CEO, Future Energy Global
Ulrike Ziegler, President of the Board of Directors, Impact on Sustainable Aviation
Gerald Wienke, Head of Transport & Logistics, DAL Deutsche Anlagen-Leasing
Michael Halaby, Head of Aviation Advisory, MUFG Bank
17.30 SAF Investor Deal of the Year Awards 2023
Awarded to the most significant SAF transactions.
17.55 Closing Remarks Alasdair Whyte, SAF Investor
18.00 Cocktail Reception
Day Two
08.00 Refreshments & Registration
08.45 Opening Remarks Alasdair Whyte, SAF Investor
08.50 Finding project finance
What are debt and equity investors looking for?
SAF versus other wind, solar and other projects Moderator: Yotam Avrahami, Managing Projects, AAM, Deloitte
Martin Forman, Director – ISD New Energies & Natural Resources, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
Andrew Eckhardt, Executive Director, Cranmore Partners
Kevin Bogenreif, Managing Director, Summit Agricultural Group
James Falzon, Associate Director, Sustainable Infrastructure, European Bank for Reconstruction & Development
Wray Thorn, Partner & Co-Founder, Focus Impact
09.30What next for ReFueEUl?
Who were the winners and losers?
What is still uncertain?
How will EU policy evolve? Moderator: Oscar Henderson, SAF Investor
Daniel Bloch, SAF Specialist, IATA
Dana Shoukroun, Partner of Sustainability, Oneiros Aerosapce
Mariano Berkenwald, Manager – Europe, Breakthrough Energy
10.00 Is Alcohol-to-jet the heir to HEFA? Competing with land transport Corn vs waste biomass – watching CI scores
Ethanol versus Methanol
Is ATJ an attractive investment? Moderator: Alasdair Whyte, SAF Investor
Patrick Gruber, CEO, Gevo
Sarah Ellerby, CEO, Nova Pangaea Technologies
Jonathon Counsell, Global Head of Sustainability, IAG
Jimmy Samartzis, CEO, LanzaJet
10.40 Morning Coffee
11.05 Getting to Final Investment Decision: The Investor Perspective Attracting investors to first projects
Minimising risk for investors Moderator: Oliver Booth, Research Associate, Sightline Climate
Natasha Mann, Co-Founder & CEO, Future Energy Global
Juan Higuera, Investment Principal, Climate Investment
Thomas Delor, Sustainable Aviation Fuel Projects Manager, Airbus
Jason Jepson, Executive Vice President, Royce Lynch
11.45 Gaining access to capital debt by mitigating technology risk
What is technology risk insurance
Securing investor confidence
Protecting against project lifecycle Moderator: Alasdair Whyte, SAF Investor
Tom Dickson, CEO, New Energy Risk
Ingrid Holmes, Executive Director, Green Finance Institute
12.05 Unlocking e-fuels Meeting the energy and hydrogen needs
Reducing CAPEX risk
How to get to commercial production? Moderator: Olivier Macé, Managing Partner, Broadmanor Consulting
Keith Lawless, Senior Aviation Expert, SAF+ International Group Elise Roc, Director of New Energy, Air France KLM Sjoerd Raijmans, Strategy Manager, SkyNRG
Alasdair Lumsden, Founder, Carbon Neutral Fuels
12.45 Lunch hosted by gulfstream Aerospace
14.00 Can India lead the market Is policy or finance the key to emerging markets?
Choosing pathways in the subcontinent Moderator: Oscar Henderson, SAF Investor
Viijay Nirani, Founder & Managing Director, Trualt Bioenergy
14.20 Is the future biomass? Is there enough feedstock?
Does feedstock flexibility help attract investment? Moderator: Alasdair Whyte, SAF Investor
Tim Obitts, CEO, Alder Renewables
Marcella Franchi, Vice President, North America, Haffner Energy
Wendy Owens, Founder & CEO, Hexas Biomass
15.00 Will the US Inflation Reduction Act survive 2024? How could the US presidential elections change incentives?
Is there enough certainty for investors?
How important are state incentives? Kenneth Hill, President, BioCarbon Strategy Consulting
15.20 Associations and scaling SAF Meeting emissions targets
Securing industry buy in
Education, Education, Education Moderator: Kurt Edwards, Director General, IBAC
Stewart D’Leon, Director, Environmental & Technical Operations, NBAA
Maureen Gautier, Sustainability & Future Workforce Manager, EBAA
James Hardie, Board member (Sustainability), BBGA
16.00 Afternoon Tea
16.25 Picking production partners
Benefits of expertise and optionality
Forging stable partnerships
De-risking Final Investment Decisions
Maintaining latest technological efficiencies Moderator: Oscar Henderson, SAF Investor
Zainab Yaqub, Senior Licensing Manager, Topsoe
Yawar Abbas Naqvi, Senior Technology & Business Development, KBR
16.55 Getting to Go – commercialising Net-Zero technology James Vaughan, International Business Development, London, Infinium
17.15Getting to Final Investment Decision: The producer perspective
Do you need pilot plants?
Is this the hardest to find?
Is it all about the money? Moderator: Philip Walsh, Counsel, Clifford Chance Christopher Chaput, CFO, DG Fuels
Francesco Beraldi, Global Projects Manager, Arcadia eFuels
Dave Kettner, President & General Counsel, Virent
17.55 Closing Remarks Alasdair Whyte, SAF Investor
Sponsors
Event Partner
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. invented the first purpose-built business jet in 1958, and today, more than 3,000 aircraft are in service around the world. With parent company General Dynamics, Gulfstream consistently invests in the future, dedicating resources to researching and developing innovative new aircraft, technologies and services. Gulfstream’s comprehensive fleet includes the Gulfstream G280™, Gulfstream G650™ and Gulfstream G650ER™, and a next-generation family of aircraft including the Gulfstream G400™, Gulfstream G500™, Gulfstream G600™, Gulfstream G700™ and Gulfstream G800™. All are backed by Gulfstream’s Customer Support network and its worldwide team. Visit our website at www.gulfstream.com.
Sponsors
Airbus pioneers sustainable aerospace for a safe and united world. The Company constantly innovates to provide the most efficient and technologically-advanced solutions in aerospace, defence, and connected services. In commercial aircraft, Airbus offers the most modern and fuel-efficient airliners. Airbus is also a European leader in defence and security and one of the world's leading space businesses. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions worldwide.
Airbus approaches sustainability by respecting the planet, valuing people and enabling prosperity. These guiding principles are embedded in our operations and activities
4AIR is an industry pioneer offering sustainability solutions designed exclusively for business aviation. In 2023, 4AIR launched the Assure SAF Registry, a blockchain-based digital platform for managing and tracking Sustainable Aviation Fuel. Assure enables an auditable and traceable supply chain, necessary for claiming the regulatory and voluntary benefits of SAF, for both physical and book and claim transactions.
Learn more at www.assuresafregistry.com.
Carbon Neutral Fuels is a technology integrator aiming to produce sustainable fuels for hard-to-decarbonise industries, including the aviation and maritime sectors.
Our ambition is to provide a sustainable replacement to fossil fuels by leveraging the groundbreaking advances made in carbon dioxide removal and fuel synthesis approaches. We will deploy novel technologies to sequester excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use clean hydrogen to make synthetic fuels that replace fossil fuels.
Future Energy Global is an integrity-led financial services company that has developed an innovative Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) pre-purchasing ecosystem that accelerates the flow of capital to meet aviation’s net-zero goals. As the Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Natasha leads a world-class team of aviation, finance and climate experts to accelerate the production and uptake of SAF. She previously worked at GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), formerly the world’s largest aircraft lessor, for 15 years as the Head of Portfolio Strategy, Product Strategy, and Product Marketing. Prior to that Natasha held various sales, marketing and engineering positions with Airbus and Fairchild Dornier
Gevo’s mission is to transform renewable energy and carbon into energy-dense liquid hydrocarbons. These liquid hydrocarbons can be used for drop-in transportation fuels such as gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel fuel, that when burned have potential to yield net-zero greenhouse gas emissions when measured across the full lifecycle of the products. Gevo uses low-carbon renewable resource-based carbohydrates as raw materials and is in an advanced state of developing renewable electricity and renewable natural gas for use in production processes, resulting in low-carbon fuels with substantially reduced carbon intensity (the level of greenhouse gas emissions compared to standard petroleum fossil-based fuels across their lifecycle). Gevo’s products perform as well or better than traditional fossil-based fuels in infrastructure and engines, but with substantially reduced greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to addressing the problems of fuels, Gevo’s technology also enables certain plastics, such as polyester, to be made with more sustainable ingredients. Gevo’s ability to penetrate the growing low-carbon fuels market depends on the price of oil and the value of abating carbon emissions that would otherwise increase greenhouse gas emissions. Gevo believes that it possesses the technology and know-how to convert various carbohydrate feedstocks through a fermentation process into alcohols and then transform the alcohols into renewable fuels and materials, through a combination of its own technology, know-how, engineering, and licensing of technology and engineering from Axens North America, Inc., which yields the potential to generate project and corporate returns that justify the build-out of a multi-billion-dollar business.
Gevo believes that Argonne National Laboratory GREET model is the best available standard of scientific based measurement for life cycle inventory or LCI.
Jet AI is working towards a seamless experience for aviation operators and customers powered by natural language processing and advanced fleet logistics optimizations.
TruAlt Bioenergy stands as one of Asia’s largest biofuels companies and India's first
integrated biofuels company, with a proud connection to 350,000 farmers. We take
immense pride in our position as one of Asia's largest producers of 1G Ethanol, with a
capacity of 2 million litres/day, and as trailblazers in establishing one of India's first
Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) plants. We aim to strengthen the CBG network by setting up
24 more units with a total capacity of 82.5 million kgs/annum
Looking ahead, we are set to push the boundaries by venturing into the production of 2G
Bioethanol and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Notably, our SAF initiative will chart new
horizons as one of India's first SAF plants operating on a commercial scale in the
immediate future.
Our consolidated efforts exhibit a resolute commitment to sustainability, reflecting
steadfast dedication to making substantive contributions to the advancement of India's
renewable energy landscape. Our purpose is fostering a circular economy, empowering
agriculture, strengthening local communities, addressing environmental issues, and
making sustainability a tangible reality.
Association Partner
IBAC promotes the growth of business aviation, benefiting all sectors of the industry and all regions of the world.
As a non-profit, international trade association, IBAC proudly represents the interests of business aviation -- for the industry, by the industry -- through its official observer status at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), worldwide advocacy, and globally recognized, voluntary safety standards programmes: the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO™), and the International Standard for Business Aviation Handlers (IS-BAH™).
Media Partners
Attendees
Created to bring producers, end users, banks and finance arrangers, technology providers, lawyers, venture capital and private equity, institutional investors and hedge funds, consultants, NGOs and academics, aircraft financiers and lessors airports and fuel providers, insurance brokers & underwriters as well as auditors & certification together to find the way the industry can feasibly meet the industry’s pathway to Net Zero.
Attendees include:
360Af | 4AIR | A Trade Comm | AAA Oils & Fats Pte | Air bp | Air Canada | Air Charter Service | Air France – KLM Group | Airbus | Airbus Corporate Jets | AJW, IncA | Alaska Airlines | Alder Renewables | Alfanar Projects | Altair | AMEX GBT | Arcadia eFuels | Aspen Group | ATMI – TotalEnergies | Avioxx | Axens | Azzera | BioCarbon Strategies | Blunomy | BNP Paribas | BOMBARDIER | Breakthrough Energy | Broadmanor Consulting | Carbon Neutral Fuels | CBR Sustainability Partners | Chevron | CirculAIRity | Clifford Chance LLP | Climate Investment | Contrarian Ventures | Course Correction Consulting LTD | Cranmore Partners | DAL Deutsche Anlagen-Leasing | Deloitte | Delta Air Lines | DG Fuels | EdyMac, LLC | Embraer | ENEOS Corporation | Equinor ASA | ERM Group, Inc | Essential Jet Solutions | European Bank for Reconstruction and Development | European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) | Falko | Finnair | Firefly Green Fuels | Flexjet | Freelance for Aviation Week | Future Energy Global | Gevo | Green Finance Institute | Gulfstream Aerospace | Haffner Energy | HCS Group GmbH | Hexas | Hinicio | IATA | Idunnh2 | Impact-On-Sustainable-Aviation | Infinium | International Airlines Group | International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) | International SOS | Jet.AI | Jetzero | JetZero.TV (The TRUE story of sustainable aviation) | John Crane | Johnson Matthey | KBR | KLM | KPMG | Lanzajet | Latvenergo | Leto Partners | Lloyds Banking Group | Luxaviation Group | Marathon Capital | Martyn Fiddler Aviation | McDermott International Inc. | Metafuels | Mindset | MUFG Bank | Muzinich & Co. | Nabors Industries Ltd | National Business Aviation Association | Neste | New Energy Risk | Nova Pangaea Technologies | OMV | Oneiros Aerospace Ireland Limited | OXCCU | PA Consulting Services Ltd | Phycobloom | PwC | Strategy& | Real Response Media | Renewable Transport Fuel Association (RTFA) | Repsol | Resource Wise | RockCreek | Roland Berger | Rolls-Royce | Royce Lynch | Ryanair | SABIC | SAF+ International Group | Sata Internacional – Azores Airlines | SIF Consulting Ltd | Sightline Climate | SimpliFlying | SkyNRG | SOUTH POLE | Star Alliance Services | Sumitomo Corporation | Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing | Summit Next Gen | Sustainable Times | Sustineri Fuels | Svenskt Industriflyg AB | Technip Energies | Titan Fuels | Topsoe | True North Leaders Ltd | Velocys | Victor | Virent | Willis Lease Finance Corporation | Wizz Air | World Energy | World Fuel Services Corporation
