De Chen is the professor in catalysis at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) since 2001 (associate professor 1998-2001). He earned his PhD in industrial catalysis at NTNU, Norway, in 1998. He was a visiting professor at the University of California at Berkeley (2009-2010) and East China University of Science and Technology (2017-2018). His work on combined theoretic and experimental heterogeneous catalysis has in several instances led to the development of new ideas for catalysts for gas to liquids, monomer production for polyvinyl chloride (PVC), biomass to liquids, natural gas to olefins, hydrogen production and fuels, as well as materials for CO2 capture technologies and energy storages. He is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Technological Science. He is also a member of European Kinetic Networks, a leader group at the SFI center of industrial Catalysis Science and Innovation (iCSI), and FME center of biomass for fuels (Bio4Fuels). He well-published more than 350 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals (citations more than 13100, H-index:62, and 47 since 2015, source: Google Scholar) and more than 10 patents.

Associate Prof. Kumar Rout at the catalysis group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Norwegian University of science and Technology, and Kinetic and Catalysis division of SINTEF Industry, has long worked on different techniques for biomass conversion including fast hydropyrolysis of biomass coupling with catalytic upgrading to fuels in pilot scale, hydrogen production from biomass derived compounds by sorption enhanced reforming or gasification, one-pot synthesis of diols from cellulose and lignocellulosic biomass and biomass-to-liquid (BtL) Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. Prof. (Dr) Rout has good experience on catalyst development including advanced catalyst preparation, characterization, kinetic study, reactor design, process design and economic evaluation. Recently, Prof. (Dr) Rout received Gianni Astarita Young Scientist award for outstanding research in Chemical Reaction Engineering. He published more than 16 scientific papers (H-index 8) and has filed 10 patents.

Dr. Michael Boot (CEO), male, received his MSc. and PhD. in Mechanical Engineering (specialty in fuel design) in 2005 and 2010, respectively, from Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands. In 2017, Michael received an Executive MBA from TIAS Business School in Tilburg, the Netherlands. From 2009 onwards, Michael has followed a dual career path, both as an entrepreneur and as a scientist. Michael co-founded multiple tech-startups in the biofuel, turbomachinery, biocrude, and automotive design domains, all of which are still alive and kicking. At the This proposal version was submitted by Yongdan Li on 28/04/2020 16:35:15 Brussels Local Time. Issued by the Funding & Tenders Portal Submission System. 10 EHLCATHOL template WP18-20 v20180201 same time, Michael rose through the ranks of academia from PhD student (2005-2010), to part-time assistant professor (2010-2015), to Fellow (2016 onwards). Relevant experience & Role in the project: Bridging academic and RTI technology to industry, Business development, IP management

Panos Kouris holds a BSc. and a MEng in Chemical Engineering, from the Department of Chemical Engineering of the University of Patras in Greece. During this period, he investigated and developed a new process for the polyphenols recovery and methane production from olive oil mill wastewaters. In 2015, he obtained his MSc. in Process Engineering from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry of Eindhoven University of Technology, where he investigated a new process for the recovery of useful components from lignocellulosic biomass waste streams by using Deep Eutectic Solvents (DES). Currently, he is a PhD candidate (TU/e) and work package leader (InSciTe) under the supervision of Professor Emiel Hensen and Dr. Michael Boot, where he investigates the development of a new generation of liquid biofuels from lignin and the construction of the world’s first multifunctional pilot plant for lignocellulosic biomass conversion. Relevant experience & Role in the project – Lab, bench and pilot scale optimization of the CLO process and business development

Dannie van Osch finished his M.Sc. degree in chemical engineering and chemistry in 2014 with the distinction cum laude from Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). In 2018 he defended his Ph.D. thesis, also at TU/e. During his academic career he has focused on sustainable chemistry, which includes research into spinning disc reactors, microfluidic devices, visible light photocatalysis, sustainable solvents, and crude lignin oil. His research during his PhD gained attention in the Dutch national news. In 2018 Dannie was selected as Young European Talent, while in 2019 he was chosen as CAS Future Leader and awarded with a One Young World Shell Scholarship. Since February 2019 he is also a member of the Brightlands Young Professionals Advisory Board. Relevant experience & Role in the project – Techno-economic analysis

Timothy Boon von Ochssée (CFO), male, received his MSc in International Economics and Finance from the University of Tilburg in 2005 and a PhD. in Energy Economics (specialty using option-game analysis in gas markets) from the University of Groningen in 2010. From 2010 onwards, Timothy endeavoured to work as an energy economist at ABN AMRO before joining Taqa’s gas storage commercial team as a commercial analyst. Subsequently he ventured out to work for Saudi Aramco as an investment economist first in the Corporate Planning department and afterwards in the oil major’s Upstream R&D arm. Before joining Vertoro as CFO, Timothy worked as a financial consultant for various Swiss clients. Relevant experience & Role in the project – Techno-economic analysis.

Svetlana Obydenkova, female, CSO at Vertoro and the PhD student at the Eindhoven University of Technology and at the Maastricht University, working on the sustainable incorporation of lignin-based carbon into the broader circular economy. Svetlana has double MSc degree in Energy Technology and Sustainable Fuels Economy obtained from KTH Royal Institute of Technology and AGH University of Science and Technology. She has also environmental engineering degree obtained from the Moscow State University of Fine Chemical Technologies. Svetlana’s background comprises more than ten years of working experience in the field of environmental impact assessment, life cycle assessment and environmental engineering in the energy and mining sectors. Relevant experience & Role in the project – Life cycle assessment