ERM Webinar: Hydrogen’s Role in Transitioning to a Low Carbon Economy for the US East Coast

Reihaneh Irani-Famili is Vice President of Business Resilience Infrastructure Investment at National Grid. She is responsible for readiness in responding to major service disruptions and supporting the restoration efforts impacting over 20 Million people across the Northeast US. She is also leading the strategy for infrastructure investment as it relates to the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act. Reihaneh joined National Grid in 2016. During her time she has been responsible for building a number of major change programs designed to elevate the organization of over 16,000 US employees to lead in the clean energy transition. Her leadership has enabled a savings of over $20 million dollars for customers, and enabled development and promotion of diverse talent across the organization.

Reihaneh has worked in the energy industry for 20 years with experience in engineering, maintenance and development of large-scale oil and gas facilities, consulting, and gas and electric utility operation. She is passionate about building a resilient business with a focus on people and sustainability.

Andrew Place is CATF’s U. S. State Energy and Climate Policy Director. Andrew works to enact technology-inclusive, state-level, deep decarbonization policies for the power sector as well as the transportation, industry, and building sectors. Most recently, Andrew served as a commissioner on the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. Prior to that, he was Corporate Director for Energy and Environmental Policy at the Pittsburgh-headquartered EQT Corporation.

Andrew has also held several key positions in Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection, as well as being a research fellow in Carnegie Mellon University’s Department of Engineering and Public Policy. He received his bachelor’s degree in Economics, with a concentration in Mathematics, from the University of Pittsburgh, and a master’s degree in Public Policy and Management from the H. John Heinz III College at Carnegie Mellon.

Haiyan Sun is the program manager of New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). In this role, she is responsible for leading a newly formed team in NYSERDA to explore the potential roles for hydrogen and other clean fuels in New York State, focusing on policy recommendations, market development, research and development initiatives and investment programs. Prior to her current role, she led the National Offshore Wind R&D Consortium program with $40M co-funded by DOE and NYSERDA.

Haiyan holds a PhD degree in electromagnetic from Iowa State University, a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Nanjing University, and a bachelor’s degree from Soochow University. She and her husband Feng have 2 children and reside in Niskayuna, New York.

Blair Hastey is a member of Business Development team at Enbridge where he works to identify, conceptualize, and qualify growth projects for natural gas pipelines. In this capacity, Blair works closely to align customers and partners in order to meet the energy needs of the Northeast region. Prior to joining the Business Development team, Blair worked on the development and execution of large capital expansion projects in both western Pennsylvania and northern Canada.

Blair has also worked Enbridge’s operations group, where he was responsible for the construction management of maintenance projects on midstream and mainline assets in western Canada. Blair graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.”

Ed Young has been with Toyota for over 5 years working in hydrogen fuel infrastructure development, and hydrogen advocacy at the federal and state levels.

Rick Beuttel is vice president of Bloom Energy’s hydrogen business. In this role, he spearheads the company’s market strategy, serves as an evangelist for emerging hydrogen solutions, and develops relationships with industry leaders to continue momentum around Bloom’s hydrogen technology. Beuttel brings over three decades of experience in business development in the energy and industrial sectors, including extensive work deploying and scaling hydrogen projects across international markets.

Before joining Bloom Energy, Beuttel served as vice president of business development at Air Products, overseeing the development and execution of large-scale energy projects, largely focused on hydrogen throughout the Americas. During this time, he was responsible for the deployment of over $8 billion of capital, including world-scale hydrogen projects in Eastern Louisiana, Edmonton, Alberta, the acquisition of hydrogen plants from PBF Energy, and other projects centered around hydrogen and synthesis gas production.

Brian has over 20 years of experience in corporate sustainability, climate change strategy, planning and implementation. Brian is currently providing strategic advice and technical support to energy clients developing Net Zero goals and strategies. Brian provides support to energy companies on carbon offset strategy development include evaluating project investment opportunities and voluntary carbon offset purchases. Brian leads the Downstream Natural Gas Initiative (DSI), a group of leading natural gas utilities collaborating to build a shared vision for the role of utilities and the gas distribution network in the transition to a low-carbon future.

Brian is currently advising clients on integrating greenhouse gas considerations into natural gas planning, developing and implementing greenhouse gas reduction strategies; and corporate disclosure and reporting.