Damien O’Reilly is the EU Affairs and Communications Manager for the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS). He was appointed to the role in November 2022 and is based in the ICOS office in Brussels. Damien has also been recently appointed as Vice-chairman of the Cogeca Co-ordination Committee. Cogeca is the European umbrella body for co-operatives and represents co-ops from across the EU. From 1998 to 2022, Damien worked for RTE Radio 1 and presented the award-winning Countrywide. He also worked as a presenter and producer on a wide range of news, sport, and current affairs programmes including three Olympic Games in Beijing (2008), Rio (2016), and Tokyo (2021). Damien is also a founder member and current Vice-President of the European Network of Agricultural Journalists.

Eamon Ryan is Minister for Department of Environment, Climate and Communications and the Department of Transport – two key departments at the centre of Ireland’s climate transformation. He is leader of the Green Party/Comhaontas Glás in Ireland.

Since his re-election and appointment as Minister and Government leader he has led the enactment of Ireland’s Climate Act 2021 and two Climate Actions Plans. He is leading Ireland’s acceleration to renewable energy, with early indications that over 45% of electricity generated in Ireland in 2023 was renewable, reaching 62.1% in December 2023. He oversaw the country’s first off-shore wind auction in 2023, which will see projects produce enough homegrown electricity to power more than 2.5 million homes, with more auctions planned for this year.

In transport, Eamon introduced the first fare reduction for public transport in 75 years with a cut of 20% for adults and 50% for young adults under 26. He has also overseen a sea-change in public transport services and investment of a €1 million a day on walking, cycling and wheeling infrastructure. In 2023, there were a record 308 million passenger journeys on public transport – an increase of 25%, with rural bus patronage up 78%.

Eoin Brennan is the Renewables Commercial Lead at Flogas Enterprise. He has a background in physics and is driven towards achieving sustainable decarbonisation solutions. Eoin developed Flogas Enterprise’s award winning Corporate PPA product for large energy users and he now leads on biomethane origination across the Flogas group. Flogas Enterprise provide route to market services for biomethane producers. They were the first supplier of biomethane through the Irish gas network in 2020 and the inaugural supplier of bioCNG as a transport fuel, soon to be opening Ireland’s first dedicated unmanned bioCNG refuelling station this June.

Harmen will provide the view from Europe, as Ireland seeks to catch up with EU counterparts in establishing biomethane production. The EBA works with European institutions, industry, agricultural partners, NGOs and academia, to develop policies which can enable the large-scale deployment of renewable gases and organic fertilisers throughout Europe, supported by transparent, well established sustainability certification bodies.

With over 30 years’ experience within the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Jonathan is currently DAERA’s Green Growth Deputy Director and leads on work around Anaerobic Digestion and the sustainable utilisation of livestock slurry. He will be presenting on how nutrient management is key in Northern Ireland’s biomethane story.

Padraig is currently working on increasing the amount of renewable gas that Gas Networks Ireland transports to start the transformation of gas industry in Ireland to a sustainable energy business. He has previously worked for a number of energy companies including Ervia, Bord Gáis Energy, ESB and the Commission for Regulation of Utilities.

Future Biogas is a team of 150 dealing with all aspects of biogas, from feedstock and biology through operations and maintenance, to all aspects of financial, regulatory and sustainability reporting. It has developed, built and operates 12 plants across the UK, making it one of the largest biomethane producers in the UK. Philipp’s background is in law and renewables and is a passionate advocate for the role of biogas in the energy transition and enabling sustainable agriculture. He is a board member of the European Biogas Association, Co-Chair of the Biomethane Industrial Partnership Taskforce 3 and on the REA Green Gas Steering Group in the UK.

PJ leads work to present a cohesive voice for Ireland’s biomethane industry. He represents RGFI on the Board of the EBA and Chairs the National Associations Platform. Work includes developing national targets for biomethane and collaboration with the Biomethane Industry Partnership Task Force, on delivering the REPowerEU strategy, working directly with the EU Commissioner’s office. PJ also facilitates industry representation with Irish government officials in DECC and DAFM, on Ireland’s Biomethane Strategy.

Tom is Group Chief Executive of Nephin Energy. Tom has over 20 years’ experience in the energy industry, including over 10 years in the Projects & Energy Department of one of Ireland’s leading law firms, where he focused on renewable energy, large scale real estate and infrastructure projects. Since then, Tom has held senior executive roles at a number of Irish companies, including two public companies.

Tom was senior adviser and project lead in Ireland for CPPIB’s $1.23 billion acquisition of Shell’s interest in the Corrib Gas Field. In 2017 he was asked by CPPIB to build out and lead the company that would eventually own CPPIB’s interest in the field, Nephin Energy. Nephin Energy is currently one of Ireland’s largest producers of natural gas.

Tom established Nephin Renewable Gas (NRG) in 2023. NRG’s ambition is to become the leading producer and supplier of biomethane in Ireland. Tom has mentored on the Irish Stock Exchange’s #IPOready leadership programme which is designed to help ambitious companies prepare for different types of strategic funding options, including going public. Tom is a regular contributor to energy policy debate in Ireland. He holds an LLB from University College Cork, an LLM from University College London and a Diploma in Finance from University College Dublin.