Leadership Spotlight
Meet our coordinator and work package leaders
At IS2H4C, our project is led by a visionary coordinator alongside a dynamic team of experts spearheading eight distinct Work Packages (WPs). The project coordinator oversees the entire initiative, ensuring a cohesive approach toward achieving our goals. Each WP leader brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in fields ranging from sustainable energy to cutting-edge hydrogen technologies.
Project Coordinator
Dr. Devrim Murat Yazan
Dr. Devrim Murat Yazan is an associate professor at the Industrial Engineering and Business Information Systems (IEBIS) Department at the University of Twente. He serves as the principal investigator and project coordinator of the IS2H4C project. With a background in industrial engineering, Dr. Yazan holds a PhD in Innovation Management and Product Development. His research focuses on sustainable supply chain management and the circular economy, with particular emphasis on industrial symbiosis networks and sustainable business models. His expertise also includes the bio-based economy, renewable energy, and circular construction ecosystems. He is the founder of the Sustainable and Resilient Circular Economy Laboratory (SRC Lab) and the Circular Economy Platform Twente (CEP Twente).
1. Project and data management
Elif Erdinç Arca
Leader of Work Package 1
Elif Erdinc Arca is the Project Manager for the IS2H4C project at the University of Twente, where she leads WP1, focusing on project management and coordination. Before joining the University of Twente, she gained extensive experience in the R&D sector, most notably at Tüpraş, where she contributed to various carbon capture initiatives. Her expertise lies in CO2 capture technologies, specializing in both absorption and adsorption processes, as well as in sustainable process development. She holds a Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering, with a focus on reaction engineering and heterogeneous catalysis. She has been involved in many Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects in different roles; researcher, project manager, and team lead.
2. Technology development and technical aspects
Dr. Wolfgang Weiß
Leader of Work Package 2
Dr. Wolfgang Weiß is an engineer with extensive expertise in manufacturing simulations and thermo-mechanical processes. He holds a degree from Graz University of Technology and currently serves as the head of the “Industrial Systems” department at AEE INTEC in Gleisdorf, Austria. In this role, he drives advancements in renewable energy, waste heat utilisation, and industrial-urban symbiosis. Dr. Weiß leads the work package on technological developments. He focuses on innovative technology applications for wastewater treatment and the efficient use of excess heat. His work enhances resource efficiency, reduces energy consumption, and promotes sustainable infrastructure development.
3. Societal engagement and governance
Dr. Michael Kohlgrüber
Leader of Work Package 3
Dr. Michael Kohlgrüber is a social scientist and economist, leading research projects in the field of digitalisation and decarbonisation. He is a senior researcher at the Social Research Centre (SFS). His current research is focused on the integration of social and technological innovation in industrial companies and regional ecosystems. Within technologically oriented projects on sustainable development of companies and regional ecosystems, he establishes co-creation processes with relevant stakeholders and ensures that social requirements are considered within a project. He is investigating socio-economic aspects of the circular economy, such as engaging relevant stakeholders and enabling collaboration between companies and stakeholders to optimize technological and non-technological solutions jointly.
4. Modelling & optimisation for H4C development
Dr. Alessio Trivella
Co-leader of Work Package 4
Dr. Alessio Trivella is an Assistant Professor of Operations Research at the Industrial Engineering and Business Information Systems group at the University of Twente (UT). Before joining the UT, he obtained bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Mathematics from the University of Milan, a Ph.D. in Operations Research from the Management Science department at the Technical University of Denmark, and he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Transport Planning and Systems at ETH Zurich. In his research, he develops optimisation models and algorithms for solving contemporary decision-making challenges arising in the energy, transportation, and logistics sectors (e.g., operations, planning, and investments), while accounting for risks and uncertainties.
4. Modelling & optimisation for H4C development
Dr. Daniela Guericke
Co-leader of Work Package 4
Dr. Daniela Guericke is an Assistant Professor for Stochastic Operations Research in the Section Industrial Engineering and Business Information Systems. Her research focuses on sustainable operations by utilizing (stochastic) operations research and optimization methods in application areas such as energy systems and health care. In particular, she is interested in decision-making under uncertainty and solving large-scale optimization problems. Daniela received her PhD in Business Information Systems from the Decision Support and Operations Research Lab, Paderborn University. Afterwards, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Technical University of Denmark (DTU). In 2020, she became Assistant Professor for Decision-making under Uncertainty in Integrated Energy Systems at DTU.
5. Business and financial models
João Torres
Leader of Work Package 5
João Torres is an Associate Partner of the ESG practice at KPMG Portugal and a member of KPMG’s EMEA ESG & Assurance Topic Team. He holds a degree in Economics from the University of Porto and is a certified Official Auditor in Portugal. Since joining KPMG, João has led numerous projects for both national and international clients, spanning financial and sustainability reporting, ESG strategy development, decarbonization plans, and circular economy initiatives. His extensive expertise includes the creation of sustainable financing frameworks, defining ESG roadmaps, conducting materiality and dual materiality analyses, and performing gap analyses in line with the CSRD directive and ESRS standards. João also advises on EU Taxonomy alignment and has contributed to the development of ESG reporting strategies, including internal control systems, tools, and sustainability reporting processes.
6. Integration and demonstration in hubs
José Ignacio Barbero
Leader of Work Package 6
José Ignacio Barbero, is an industrial engineer who started his career at LABEIN and is currently a Project Manager in the Industry & Mobility Unit at TECNALIA. He has led numerous R&D projects focused on virtual prototypes and manufacturing, specialising in steel manufacturing and foundry processes. His research includes fluid dynamics and heat transfer modeling in steelmaking to improve product quality and reduce costs, time, and environmental impact. He also develops digital twins and predictive models, using both mathematical models and artificial intelligence techniques. Additionally, José has worked on embedded systems for data acquisition and signal processing, aiming to optimize complex systems. His expertise also extends to deep learning models applied to steelmaking data.
7. Digital collaboration platform for H4C
Poojan Timilsina
Leader of Work Package 7
Poojan Timilsina is an aeronautical engineer with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and has over 8 years of experience in innovation and project management. He has managed several EU-funded projects under programs such as FP7, H2020, and Horizon Europe. He is currently leading Work Package 7 (WP7) for the IS2H4C project on behalf of IRIS Engineering, a company that provides photonic and artificial intelligence solutions for the real-time control of industrial and production processes. In IS2H4C, Mr. Timilsina and his colleagues from IRIS are working to develop a digital collaboration platform to support industrial symbiosis among project partners.
8. Communication and dissemination
Claire Chrétien
Leader of Work Package 8
Claire Chretien is a project management professional with over 15 years of experience in the energy and international development sectors. She currently leads the EU Project Office at Energy Efficiency in Industrial Processes (EEIP), where she spearheads the implementation of over 10 Horizon Europe and LIFE projects focused on advancing the energy transition in the EU. Her expertise lies in driving energy and resource efficiency, decarbonisation, renewable energy, and circularity/industrial symbiosis initiatives for both energy-intensive industries and SMEs, with specific focus on communication, dissemination, replication and scaling up. She is fluent in French and English and holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Strasbourg.
