2024 PRESENTERS BIOGRAPHIES
Listed alphabetically by first name
Brandy Johnson
Babcock & Wilcox
Chief Technology Officer
Presentation: Commercializing BrightLoop™ Hydrogen Production in Massillon, Ohio
Brandy Johnson is Chief Technology Officer at Babcock & Wilcox (B&W), responsible for the development of B&W’s ClimateBright™ suite of decarbonization and hydrogen production technologies, including the deployment, scale-up and commercialization activities of its BrightLoop™ novel hydrogen generation technology. She was named to this position in 2022.
Prior to that, Johnson held roles of increasing responsibility in B&W including overseeing all of Global Engineering as well as a large P&L.
She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Kent State University, and an Advanced Master Certificate in Integrated Supply Management from Michigan State University’s Executive Development Program. She is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Ohio, a Project Management Institute Certified Project Management Professional, and has completed several advanced leadership development programs, including the 2016 B&W Executive Development Program led by Korn Ferry. She is also a contributing author of the 41st edition of Steam/its generation and use. Published by B&W, it is the world’s longest continually published engineering textbook of its kind.
Project Summary:
Babcock & Wilcox is deploying the first commercial BrightLoop™ hydrogen production plant using a chemical looping process at the nearby Massillon Energy & Technology Park. The project helps to transform the brownfield site of a former, demolished steel mill into a national showcase for sustainable hydrogen generation. The BrightLoop unit will use renewable and/or sustainably captured natural gas feedstock to produce nearly five metric tons of H2 per day for industrial and transportation applications while simultaneously capturing and sequestering the carbon dioxide. Learn more about this exciting Northeast Ohio project at the Symposium!
Bryan Pivovar
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Senior Research Fellow
Presentation: H2 Economics and Electrolysis R&D Efforts to Reduce Cost
Bryan Pivovar is Senior Research Fellow at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, CO where he has overseen NREL’s electrolysis and fuel cell and materials R&D. He is Director for a major US Department of Energy Consortium (since October 2020), H2NEW (Hydrogen (H2) from Next-generation Electrolyzers of Water), which focuses on addressing components, materials integration, and manufacturing R&D to enable manufacturable electrolyzers that meet required cost, durability, and performance targets, simultaneously, in order to enable $2/kg hydrogen. He received his PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota and led fuel cell R&D at Los Alamos National Laboratory prior to joining NREL. He received the 2012 Tobias Young Investigator Award, the 2021 Energy Technology Division Research Award, and was elected Fellow 2023 of The Electrochemical Society and has coauthored over 150 papers with over 16,000 citations in the general area of fuel cells and electrolysis.
Davide Perzynski
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Assistant Manager, Hydrogen Solutions Business Development
Presentation: TBD
David Perzynski is assistant manager of Hydrogen Solutions Development at American Honda Motor Co., Inc., (AHM), responsible for leading the company’s hydrogen product, service, business strategy and business development activities in North America.
Perzynski began working with Honda as a co-op student in May 2012. This included supporting the Sustainable Supply Chains Department within Honda R&D Americas, Inc., now part of Honda Development & Manufacturing of America, LLC (HDMA) in improving annual supplier environmental data collection efforts. In December 2012, he became a co-op in the Environment Health and Safety Department at Honda of America Mfg., Inc., also now part of HDMA, where he supported green factory initiatives.
From 2013 to 2023, Perzynski worked for several companies in the energy management field, including work on combined heat and power microturbine solutions, microgrid and nanogrid solutions, energy storage systems, backup power generation, as well as solar systems, and fuel cell and EV charging technologies.
In April 2023, he joined American Honda Motor Co., Inc. as assistant manager for Hydrogen Solutions Business Development, focused on the companies four core domains for hydrogen fuel cell technology: automobiles, commercial vehicles, stationary power stations and construction equipment. In this position, he plays a key role in establishing collaborations and partnerships to enhance and support Honda hydrogen fuel cell business, supporting new product applications for Honda hydrogen fuel cell systems, as well as new services for products that are developed
Perzynski holds a B.S. in Honors Environmental Policy and Management with a focus on Economic Sustainability (EEDS) from The Ohio State University.
Katrina Fritz
California Hydrogen Business Council
President and Chief Executive Officer
Presentation TBD
Participant in Panel Discussion, ""Government-University-Industry Partnerships in the Hydrogen Economy"
Katrina Fritz is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the California Hydrogen Business Council, the largest and longest established hydrogen trading association in the U.S. Katrina leads the organization as chief advocate and champion for advancement of hydrogen and renewable fuels sectors to achieve air quality and climate objectives. Katrina is a member of the Executive Committee of the U.S. Department of Energy Clean Hydrogen Technology Alignment Cooperative, the California Energy Commission’s Advisory Committee for the Clean Transportation Investment Plan, and the Angeles Link Project Advisory Group.
Over the past 20 years, Katrina has worked with business and government leaders around the world to champion air quality, decarbonization, and economic growth through the development and use of innovative technology. She has advised global Fortune 500 companies and the public sector on business development and energy and environmental policy and regulation in distributed generation and hydrogen markets.
Katrina was appointed to the New Jersey Governor’s Fuel Cell Task Force in 2021 and has served as an expert to the European Commission on clean energy programs. Katrina has worked as an executive at UTC Power and Plug Power in business development and government relations and as an Independent Director on the Board of Advent Technologies. She has held leadership positions in numerous clean energy trade associations and advisory boards. Katrina holds a BA degree from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.
Neil Banwart
Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen (MachH2)
Chief Integration Officer
Presentation: "Overview of Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen (MachH2)"
Panelist in Panel Discussion, ""Government-University-Industry Partnerships in the Hydrogen Economy"
As Chief Integration Officer, Neil Banwart’s responsibilities include ensuring MachH2 maximizes all sources of funding and also working to continually expand the reach and impact of MachH2. In conjunction with the CEO, he also represents MachH2 in public facing matters such as media interviews, on panels, and at tradeshows.
Neil also serves as Managing Director-Hydrogen at Energy Systems Network (ESN). Prior to ESN, he spent nearly a decade at Cummins Inc. He has held several M&A, Treasury, and finance roles in his career, including service as the CFO of a small private equity fund. Neil earned a Bachelor’s in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from Bradley University. He is a CFA Charterholder and serves on the Board of Directors of the CFA Society of Indianapolis as the immediate past president.
Shawn Bennett
Battelle
Energy and Resilience Division Manager
Presentation TBD
Participant in Panel Discussion, ""Government-University-Industry Partnerships in the Hydrogen Economy"
Shawn Bennett is the Energy and Resilience Division Manager at Battelle, where he oversees all government-funded energy projects awarded to Battelle. In this role, he primarily focuses on opportunities in Carbon Capture and Storage, Hydrogen, Rare Earth Elements and Critical Minerals, and Direct Air Capture.
Mr. Bennett is a former Managing Director at FTI Consulting in their Energy and Natural Resources sector. Mr. Bennett is also the former Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Oil and Natural Gas at the U.S. Department of Energy, where he oversaw the Department’s research and development in the oil and gas sector, policy analysis, methane quantification and mitigation, and regulated LNG export authorizations for the United States.