Dr Tobias Sontheimer
(HZB)

Dr Tobias Sontheimer

Tobias is the head of Strategy Department for Energy and Information at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and co-leader of the CARE-O-SENE project. For the past fifteen years, Tobias has worked in strategy development to reshape the energy sector. At HZB, he is currently driving research and technology development in the field of solar energy and green hydrogen-based technologies.

Position

Head of Strategy Department for Energy and Information at HZB

Co-Lead CARE-O-SENE Project

Company

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin

Areas of Expertise

His profound technological and systemic understanding of the energy sector is key for successful strategy development and project management. He has extensive experience in collaborating with stakeholders in academia, industry, and politics. Previously, Tobias was the Chief Research Manager for the national energy R&D portfolio of the Helmholtz association.

He is very passionate about forming new international innovative partnerships in the energy field that facilitate the transition to a carbon-free sustainable future.

Tobias studied physics at RWTH Aachen University and Harvard University and graduated with a PhD in renewable energy technologies as a scholar of SCHOTT AG.

Such fundamental analyses of the Fischer-Tropsch process – like in the CARE-O-SENE project – are completely new. Therefore, we are optimistic that we will reach our goal by 2025 and the dream of climate-neutral flying will become tangible.
Dr Tobias Sontheimer
Head of Strategy Department for Energy and Information

Dr Dirk Schär
(Sasol Germany)

Dr Dirk Schär

Dirk is responsible for the marketing and sales of Sasol’s high performance Cobalt Fischer-Tropsch catalysts enabling Sasol’s own proven Fischer-Tropsch technology as well as alternative micro-channel and fixed bed technologies. Further to this, he is Co-leader of the CARE-O-SENE catalyst development consortium. 

Dirk is fascinated by developing new markets and cooperating with groundbreaking companies and passionate start-ups specifically in sustainable markets.

Position

Technical Manager Marketing and Sales Catalysts

Co-Lead CARE-O-SENE Project

Company

Sasol Germany GmbH

Areas of Expertise

Dirk has a long track record within Sasol Chemicals in different technical customer support, market development and marketing roles. He gained experience in a wide range of applications including plasticisers, lubricants, latent heat storage materials and homogeneous catalysts. Within all these roles, he demonstrated his high customer orientation and centricity.

Finding sustainable solutions together with his customer was always one of his major goals. This puts Dirk in the perfect position to further develop Sasol’s highly specialised catalyst business and to drive the fuel and chemical industry’s transition into a carbon free future from a catalyst point of view.

Dirk holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Georg-August University of Goettingen, Germany.

"Sasol has a more than 70 years experience in Fischer-Tropsch catalysts and technology. Its time to take the next step to lead the industry into a sustainable and carbon free future with the help of our passion."
Dr Dirk Schär
Cohead Catalyst Development

Dr Sonya Calnan
(HZB)

Dr Sonya Calnan

Sonya is a Research Group Leader at the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin responsible for applied catalysis research. She focuses on bridging fundamental science with applications for reactor design and scaling. 

Sonya leads the Work Package 1 in the CARE-O-SENE project and develops thin film catalysts for the Fischer-Tropsch Technology. Furthermore, she designs dedicated micro-channel reactors for their use in Work Package 3.

Position

Leader, Photovoltaics to Fuels Technology Group

Company

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin

Expertise

Sonya has several years of experience in developing chemical reactors for less carbon intensive technologies covering aspects such as thin film catalyst material technology, simulation guided reactor design, as well as reactor construction and testing. The main goal is to develop low cost, high performance and reliable chemical reactors that support the global transition towards a low carbon economy.

Sonya has a PhD in electrical and electronics engineering from Loughborough University, UK and an MBA from Leicester University UK.

"The CARE-O-SENE project will give us room to push the boundaries of what we know about catalysis. I am therefore looking forward to exploring new ideas that may contribute to the carbon transition."
Dr Sonya Calnan
Leader, Photovoltaics to Fuels Technology Group

Dr Anna Zimina
(KIT)

Dr Anna Zimina

Anna has been working as senior scientist at KIT for more than ten years. Leading the group “Catalysis at KIT Light Source” at the Institute of Catalysis Research and Technology, she is responsible for operation of the CATACT beamline at KIT Light Source and the support of the in-house research in the field of catalysis. 

With the local team and as part of CARE-O-SENE she contributes with her know-how for the advance characterization of the industrially relevant catalytic materials. 

She also leads Work Package 2 of the research project and is a member of the Steering Committee.

Position

Senior Scientist

Company

Karlsruhe Institut für Technologie

Areas of Expertise

Anna has developed expertise in advanced X-ray based characterization methods at Forschungszentrum Jülich, BESSY II and KIT. With her in-depth knowledge, Anna is ideally positioned to achieve the goals of the CARE-O-SENE research project: the development and implementation of hard and soft X-ray spectroscopy and imaging characterization methods on real catalysts under industrially relevant conditions.

Anna studied physics and received her PhD from the Technical University of Berlin.

"Steady growing expertise of KIT in the field of catalysis research will significantly contribute to the success of CARE-O-SENE project. The KIT team will gain a deeper understanding of Fischer-Tropsch catalysts from atomic level up to large scale production and bridge the gap between academia and industry approaching the green future."
Dr Anna Zimina
Senior Scientist

Dr Denzil Moodley
(Sasol Limited)

Dr Denzil Moodley

Denzil is a senior scientist in the Fischer-Tropsch group at Sasol’s Research & Technology Science Research department in Sasolburg. 

He is also the Work Package 3 leader for large-scale catalyst production and testing. 

He is passionate about commercializing catalytic processes for sustainable chemical and fuels using green feedstocks, focusing on topics such as CO2 hydrogenation and Power-to-X.

Position

Senior Scientist

Company

Sasol Limited

Areas of Expertise

Denzil has over 20 years of experience in fundamental and applied catalysis, process chemistry and R&D. His earlier work involved unraveling the complex interplay of catalyst deactivation under realistic industrial conditions using industry-academia collaboration. He has delivered several technology packages, notably on catalyst regeneration as well as provided operations support for commercial GTL & CTL facilities. Denzil has published widely on the topic of Fischer-Tropsch catalysis.

He has been the scientific lead for several critical R&D projects that involved understanding, developing and scaling-up of more efficient Cobalt and Iron Fischer-Tropsch catalysts. In CARE-O-SENE, he will utilize his expertise to enable the translation of fundamental knowledge into practical insight and application. Denzil holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands.

"The holistic approach taken in the consortium using real life catalysts, model systems, theory and modelling will accelerate the understanding and deployment of PtL catalysts for SAF production."
Dr Denzil Moodley
Senior Scientist

Dr Toine Cents
(Sasol Limited)

Dr Toine Cents

Toine is responsible for the Engineering & Research part of Sasol Holding in the Netherlands. Further to this he is the project leader of Work Package 4 of the CARE-O-SENE catalyst development consortium, which deals with:

  • The Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of Power to Liquids and the impact of an improved catalyst in particular
  • The Techno-economics of Power to Liquids and the impact of an improved catalyst
  • The Regeneration of the newly developed catalyst and its impact on LCA
  • The work-up of the Fischer-Tropsch products in order to maximise the yield of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)

Position

Senior Manager Engineering Research Netherlands

Company

Sasol Limited

Areas of Expertise

Toine has a long track record within Sasol Research and Technology in different engineering and management roles. He is focused on fundamental understanding, leading to development and improvement of process technology. He holds, amongst others, expertise in (Fischer-Tropsch) Reactor Technology, CO2 capture and Techno-Economic optimization. 

Toine holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Twente, the Netherlands.

"It is great contributing to Sasol’s road towards a more sustainable future by being part of the development of new processes and technology."
Dr Toine Cents
Senior Manager Engineering Research Netherlands

Dr.-Ing. Tim Boeltken
(INERATEC)

Dr.-Ing. Tim Boeltken

Tim Boeltken (PhD) is CEO and co-founder of INERATEC and combines science and industry expertise with business skills. Being a Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) educated chemical engineer, he has worked in the field of hydrogen production, catalysis, and petrochemistry. He has been awarded with the Peter-und-Luise-Hager prize for the best PhD at KIT, as well as Business Punk ”Top 100 Innovators in Germany”.

Position

Founder & Managing Director

Company

INERATEC

Areas of Expertise

Tim has worked as project leader in the chemical industry at hte GmbH, before he founded INERATEC in 2015. He brings years of market and technology intelligence, sales and executive management to help successfully lead INERATEC.

His life goal is to be the driver towards climate neutrality. Projects like CARE-O-SENE that leverage the impact of a technological solution and promote the availability of sustainable aviation fuel.

Tim holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany.

"INERATEC is a pioneer in the field of power-to-liquid applications. With the project partners in CARE-O-SENE, we want to further advance the production of synthetic fuels for aviation."
Dr.-Ing. Tim Boeltken
Founder & Managing Director INERATEC

Prof Dr Moritz Wolf
(KIT)

Prof Dr Moritz Wolf

Moritz has been Tenure-Track-Professor at KIT since May 2022 and leads the Materials Synthesis and Scale-Up group at the Institute of Catalysis Research and Technology (IKFT). His research focuses on catalyst preparation and applications in the field of CO2 conversion, syngas chemistry and chemical hydrogen storage. In CARE-O-SENE, he is mainly involved in Work Package 1 and is responsible for the synthesis of model systems, nanoparticles and reference materials, which are subsequently characterized in depth using the various techniques available in Work Package 2 .

Position

Tenure-Track-Professor at KIT

Group Leader Materials Synthesis and Scale-Up at IKFT

Company

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Areas of Expertise

Moritz has been active in research on Fischer-Tropsch synthesis for more than ten years, focusing predominantly on deactivation mechanisms of supported cobalt catalysts. His fundamental work in this field, among other achievements, was recognized with the prestigious Carl-Zerbe Prize of the German Society for Sustainable Energy Carriers, Mobility and Carbon Cycles e.V. (DGMK) in 2023.

Together with acquired expertise in other fields of catalyst application, he contributes to the success of the CARE-O-SENE project through his expertise in the synthesis of defined nanoparticles and their use in model catalysts.

Moritz studied chemical engineering at KIT and received his doctorate from the University of Cape Town (UCT).

"CARE-O-SENE brings together scientists from a broad range of disciplines, generating fruitful synergies by combining proven Fischer-Tropsch experts with specialists from other fields."
Prof Dr Moritz Wolf
Leader of the Materials Synthesis and Scale-Up group at IKFT

Dr. Lucero Cobos- Becerra
(HZB)

Dr. Lucero Cobos- Becerra

Lucero is a Scientific Officer in the Energy and Information Department at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and is also the project coordinator for CARE-O-SENE. With over ten years of experience, Lucero specialises in strategy development and the conceptualisation and implementation of international research projects. Her current focus at HZB is on international projects related to renewable fuels, catalysis for H2 production, and CO2 conversion - Power-to-X.

Position

Work package leader

Company

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin

Expertise

Lucero has extensive expertise in managing international cooperation projects and collaborating with stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, including academia, industry, and politics. She has previously served as an international project leader for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), where she focused on circular economy and sustainable production and consumption projects. Lucero holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and has a background in Chemical Engineering.

Dr Kai Kalz
(Sasol Germany)

Dr Kai Kalz

Kai has been a team leader in research and development at the Sasol site in Brunsbüttel since 2019. In this role, he develops new products, applications and manufacturing processes in the field of inorganic speciality chemicals and catalyst carriers. What fascinates him most is the interesting and sometimes long path from the initial idea to the customised product, which is ultimately produced on a ton scale.

At CARE-O-SENE, Kai is mainly involved in work packages 1 and 3 . Here he develops new carriers for Fischer-Tropsch catalysts in the laboratory and drives the subsequent scale-up forward to production scale.

Position

Team leader in research and development (Sasol site Brunsbüttel)

Company

Sasol Germany GmbH

Areas of Expertise

Kai has developed a large number of new products at Sasol and accompanied the scale-up to production level. Before joining Sasol, he was a postdoc and group leader at the Institute of Catalysis Research and Technology (IKFT) at KIT, where he worked on the synthesis, characterisation and testing of heterogeneous catalysts for energy-related applications. The expertise he gained there in catalyst research is now helping him to develop customised catalyst supports for Fischer-Tropsch catalysts.

Kai studied chemistry at the Georg-August University of Göttingen, where he successfully completed his doctorate in the field of bioinorganic and organometallic chemistry.

"CARE-O-SENE brings together the knowledge, experience and passion of experts from various fields of academia and industry to create the transition to climate-neutral aviation through teamwork."
Dr Kai Kalz
Team leader in research and development