Keynote and Plenary Speakers

Shiwang Gao

Deputy Chief Engineer, Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute

Director of the State Key Laboratory of High-efficiency Flexible Coal Power Generation and CCUS. Dedicated energy-environment researcher with 20+ years of experience in CCUS. Proven track record in developing CO2 capture technologies and leading full-chain CCUS demonstration projects from lab-scale to 1.5-Mt/a industrial facilities.

Richard Hinkley

Vice President Developments, Midstream & Energy Solutions, Santos

Richard J. Hinkley is currently Vice President Projects and Developments, Midstream and Energy Solutions, responsible for execution of new projects across midstream, carbon capture and storage, power, pipelines, low carbon fuels, and decarbonisation of existing infrastructure. The role covers group portfolio, with particular focus on Bayu-Undan, Darwin LNG, Moomba and Port Bonython.

Richard joined Santos in early 2022 after a 25-year career in Chevron Corporation and is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Christine Irvin

Director – Direct Air Capture, Oxy Low Carbon Ventures

Christine Irvin is an engineering and project executive with two decades of experience leading innovative energy and decarbonization projects for Oxy, including Stratos the world’s largest Direct Air Capture facility. Her path to this work was built on years managing large, complex energy infrastructure projects around the world, experience that has proven directly relevant to the unique technical and execution challenges of scaling Direct Air Capture. With a degree in chemical engineering, she brings deep technical expertise, global project leadership, and a strong focus on execution to one of the most closely watched carbon removal efforts in the world.

Steve Ovenden

Vice President, Commercial & Energy Transition, INPEX

Steve was appointed Vice President Commercial and Energy Transition in January 2025. He is responsible for INPEX’s growth-related business development, decarbonisation and new energy business activities in Australia. Prior to joining INPEX in August 2022, Steve was Vice President Western Australia for Santos where he was responsible for Santos’ Upstream Business in the state. Prior to that, Steve spent close to 20 years with ConocoPhillips, where he held various roles across Australia and the USA, with responsibility in engineering, operations, commercial, strategy and planning and asset management. He was named interim President of the Australia-West Business Unit in 2020, prior to transferring to Santos as part of the sale by ConocoPhillips of their Australia-West assets to Santos. Steve holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Western Australia and a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from Curtin University.

Matthias Raab

Chief Executive Officer, CO2CRC

Dr Matthias Raab is a leading advocate for Australia’s energy transition and a recognised expert in carbon capture and storage. As Chief Executive Officer of CO2CRC Limited, he directs significant national research investments in carbon management technologies and oversees the internationally acclaimed Otway International Test Centre, one of the world’s foremost CCS research and demonstration facilities. With over 30 years of experience spanning academia, government, industry and the not-for-profit sector, Dr Raab combines deep scientific expertise with strategic and operational leadership. His work bridges innovation and implementation, advancing Australia’s position as a global leader in carbon management technologies. 

Andrea Ramírez Ramírez

Head of Department Chemical Engineering, Delft University of Technology

Prof. Dr. Andrea Ramírez is Professor of Low-Carbon Systems and Technologies and Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. She holds a BSc in Chemical Engineering, an MSc in Human Ecology, and a PhD in industrial energy efficiency. Her research focuses on developing methodologies and decision-support tools to evaluate emerging low-carbon technologies and assess their potential contribution to sustainable industrial systems. She has been active in the field of CCUS since 2005 and is internationally recognised for her work on the techno-economic and environmental assessment of novel technologies. Prof. Ramírez Ramírez has co-authored more than 140 scientific publications, served as Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, is a Fellow of the Netherlands Academy of Engineering, and is a boegbeeld (champion) of the Energy Transition route of the Dutch Research Agenda (NWA).

Martha Ramos

Director of CCUS and H2, Cemex USA

Martha holds a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Houston, a Certificate from Yale University on Strategy for Sustainable Development, and a Certificate from the University of Edinburgh in Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage. Martha has more than 20 years of experience in the Energy sector, and during the last decade she has been developing integrated solutions and strategies to address decarbonization in the industrial sector and primarily in CCUS. She works with policy advocacy organizations, technology developers, and service providers to find viability for CCUS in Cemex’s operations.

Kynan Scarr

General Manager Asset Development and Lower Carbon, Chevron Australia

Kynan Scarr is the General Manager Asset Development and Lower Carbon for Chevron Australia, located in Perth, Western Australia. Kynan is responsible for reservoir and production optimisation, gas supply planning, permit management, technology and subsurface digital initiatives, and efforts to reduce the carbon intensity of Chevron Australia’s assets. Kynan joined Chevron Australia in 2003 as a Petroleum Engineer and has since held a range of technical and leadership roles of increasing responsibility in Angola, the United States, Indonesia and Australia. These roles have included manager of Portfolio Development in Perth, Integration Manager for Chevron Australia Operations, Advisor to the Executive Vice President of Chevron Upstream in San Ramon, California, and Manager of Integrated Operations in Sumatra, Indonesia. Kynan received his Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of New South Wales, Australia.

Laurent Trost

Chief Operating Officer, Yara Pilbara

Laurent Trost is the Chief Operating Officer of Yara Pilbara, which operates Australia’s largest ammonia plant near Karratha. The plant also provides the feedstock for an adjacent technical ammonium nitrate plant supplying a critical ingredient to mines in the resource-rich Pilbara region. Yara Pilbara is actively advancing its decarbonisation journey through the development of the Project Yuri renewable hydrogen plant on its lease, as well as planning for a carbon capture and storage project.

Laurent is a chemical engineer, and before taking on his current position in late 2020, he was responsible for Yara’s production operations in Cartagena, Colombia.

Tim Dixon

Director & General Manager, IEAGHG

Tim is the Director General Manager of IEAGHG, and a Director on the Board for The International CCS Knowledge Centre. He is also proud to be an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas in Austin, and an Honorary Lecturer at the School of Geosciences at the University of Edinburgh. He was an original Board Member of the UK CCS Research Centre. Previously, he has worked in CCS, emissions trading, clean energy technologies and related areas for AEA Technology (ETSU), the UK Government‘s Department of Trade and Industry, and the Global CCS Institute. He was the EU’s Lead Negotiator for getting CCS into the Clean Development Mechanism in the UNFCCC in 2011, a UK negotiator for getting CCS into the London Convention, in OSPAR, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, and inputting into the EU CCS Directive. Tim is regularly invited to speak at conferences on climate and CCS around the world

Samantha McCulloch

Chief Executive, Australian Energy Producers

Samantha McCulloch is the Chief Executive of Australian Energy Producers, the peak body for Australia’s oil and gas sector. Australian Energy Producers’ members contribute more than $100 billion to our economy each year while meeting a quarter of Australia’s energy needs. Since 2022, Samantha has proudly led the industry’s advocacy for competitive and sustainable policy settings to secure the critical role of Australian oil and gas in achieving our energy and climate goals. Before joining Australian Energy Producers, Samantha spent seven years at the Paris-based International Energy Agency as head of the carbon capture, utilisation and storage team. She has more than 20 years of policy, industry and technical expertise from roles across government, industry associations and the private sector in Australia and internationally. Samantha holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Wollongong, as well as a Master of Public Policy from the Australian National University.

Kelly Thambimuthu

Chair of the Executive Committee, IEAGHG

Professor Kelly has over forty years of experience in the low-emissions technology sector. For more than three decades, he has chaired the IEAGHG, a technology collaboration programme of the International Energy Agency to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He pioneered advances in cleaner fossil fuel technologies while heading the Centre for Low Emissions Technology in Queensland from 2004 to 2009 and has been a scientist and program director at CANMET Energy, Natural Resources Canada, and a professorial fellow at the University of Queensland. Kelly contributed to the landmark IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, which was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.

Alex Cruz

Emerging Technologies Leader, Baker Hughes

Dr. Alex Cruz is the Emerging Technologies Leader at Baker Hughes. He oversees R&D programs, partnerships, and innovation strategy. With a broad range of experience in industrial operations and corporate R&D, Alex is an internationally recognized technology leader, having received prestigious awards such as the Solvay Prize for Young Scientists (International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry), Wilhelm Ostwald Prize (German Chemical Society), Emerging Industrial Investigator Award (American Chemical Society) and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers 35 Under 35. Alex is passionate about science communication, champions equitable access to knowledge, while embracing a healthy disregard for traditional subject boundaries.

MennatAllah Labib

CCS and Energy Systems Technology Analyst, IEAGHG

MennatAllah is a chemical engineer, with a minor in environmental engineering. During her master’s degree, her research in renewable energy helped her foster an interest in circular economies and the use of biomass and “wastes” in the production of renewable liquid fuels. During her PhD, she developed and tested a novel air-solvent contactor for DAC.

MennatAllah now works as a CCS and Energy Systems Technology Analyst at the IEAGHG. In her role, she collaborates with stakeholders from across the globe to advance technology that reduces carbon emissions and accelerates the deployment of CCS projects, leading the way to net zero.

Asama Mazhar

CCUS Specialist, Cemex

Asama Mazhar is a CCUS Specialist at Cemex, a multinational construction materials company, where he works on the development of CCUS projects from early conception through their implementation phases. A chemical engineer by background, he works with multidisciplinary teams to support technology evaluation and selection, process design, and project development activities across the CCUS value chain. His interest in environmental sustainability began during his studies and has since evolved into a professional focus on advancing industrial decarbonization through the development and deployment of CCUS technologies.

Elsy Milan

Researcher, Imperial College London

Elsy Milan is an award-winning Lebanese climate advocate and researcher at Imperial College London who promotes an equitable energy transition and the role of the women and young people in STEM. Current lead negotiator for the Lebanese Delegation at the UNFCCC COP meetings for the Article 6 and Technology work programs, she gained prominence among her peers as one of the five most promising young people in fighting climate change in the MENA region in 2021. A global public speaker, climate ambassador and young leader, she has collaborated with many governments, the private sector and international agencies to bridge the gap between the North and the South.

Clair Patterson

Geoscientist, Geoscience Australia

Claire Patterson is a geoscientist in the Underground Storage team at Geoscience Australia. Claire is currently working with a team to assess Australia’s geological storage potential for the National Carbon Dioxide Storage Resource Atlas. Claire was responsible for surface and groundwater monitoring during a world first CO2 controlled release experiment in a shallow fault at the CO2CRC Otway International Test Centre in 2024. She has also led a study on brine management options for CCS projects and looks after the Australian CCS Data Hub. Claire holds a Bachelor of Advanced Science (honours) from the Australian National University.

Ehsan Soroodan

Research Scientist, CSIRO

Dr. Ehsan Soroodan is a Research Scientist at CSIRO specialising in chemical process modelling, optimisation, and techno-economic assessment of low-carbon technologies. His work focuses on carbon capture and Direct Air Capture (DAC), including process modelling and scale-up assessment for hard-to-abate industries. Ehsan currently leads modelling activities for an industry-partnered DAC pilot plant demonstration in Australia. He holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from The University of Melbourne, where he developed advanced membrane gas separation models for industrial process simulation. His broader experience spans carbon capture, low-carbon fuels, hydrogen, and green chemicals, bridging research, modelling, and industry deployment.