Board Members

Led by some of the brightest minds in the energy industry.

Russell James

Chairman

Russell James is General Manager Hydrogen & Future Fuels for ATCO Australia.

With a career spanning more than two decades in the energy industry, Russell James is a leading expert in hydrogen and future fuels innovation in Australia, representing ATCO as a keynote speaker and panellist at hydrogen events nationally and applying this expertise to Board roles in the last two years.

In his time at ATCO Australia, Russell has worked specifically on advancing hydrogen and for the last eight years has been a driving force behind the organisation’s pioneering developments in the hydrogen and clean fuels industry, including ATCO’s world-class Clean Energy Innovation Hub (CEIH) at its Jandakot operations – a commercial scale renewable H2 production project comprising a demonstration of solar, battery and renewable hydrogen production through electrolysis.

Russell has also played critical roles in securing projects for ATCO, including the Hydrogen Jobs Plan in South Australia – a 250MW electrolyser and 200MW Hydrogen Power Station in a consortium with BOC Linde, and advancing its ‘ScaleH2’ initiative through securing funding from the Federal Government’s Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) for feasibility work on a renewable hydrogen export value chain from New South Wales (NSW) to Germany.

Russell was elected Chairperson of the South Australian Hydrogen (SAH2H) Technology Cluster in November 2024 and has served for two years on the Sustainable Built Environment National research centre governing board. He is passionate for sharing and growing the hydrogen industry, not only in Australia but across the globe.

Russell is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Directors and was voted on to the AHC board in September 2024.

Nicholas Mumford

Board Member

Nicholas Mumford is Managing Director of Mumford Commercial Consulting (MC2), a specialist consulting firm established in 2015 that provides expert commercial advice to businesses in the energy and resources sector throughout Australia, New Zealand and Asia. MC2 develop and execute key strategic business development and growth opportunities for clients and provide expert independent and bespoke commercial advice, including negotiating strategically significant transactions throughout the value chain on behalf of clients.

Nicholas is passionate about developing the hydrogen economy in South Australia and a co-founder of South Australian Hydrogen Hubs Inc. (SA-H2H™) – Hydrogen Technology Cluster. He is also a former Councillor of the South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy (SACOME), a fellow of the Australian Institute of Energy, and a Director of Greenhill Energy. Nicholas’ energy and resources career spans more than 25 years and includes international postings with Shell and management positions locally with Santos. Nicholas is a geophysicist by university training but has primarily held commercially focussed business development roles over the last two decades.

Jorge Martin Gistau

Board Member

Jorge leads Ricardo plc‘s Sustainable Transport initiatives across Australia and New Zealand. Ricardo plc is a global strategic, environmental and engineering consultancy at the intersection of transport, energy and global climate agendas.

Jorge is passionate about net zero emission technologies that will enable a more sustainable future. Jorge worked on the NSW Regional Rail Project that is delivering Australian-first bi-mode trains. Most recently, he has led the net zero emissions feasibility and technology study and Strategic Business Case for the Government of South Australia’s Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT) which determined the most appropriate traction power technologies for Adelaide Metro rail network.

Jorge is a Chartered Professional Engineer of Engineers Australia, he holds a Diploma in Project Management, an APICS certification in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) and an Executive MBA by AGSM (UNSW). Jorge has also been a Board Member of the Australasian Railway Association (ARA) Young Leaders Advisory Board. Jorge is an active member of the ARA’s sustainable committee and their rolling stock decarbonisation working group. This allows Jorge to bring an extended knowledge from the transport industry and the most recent innovations including battery-electric and hydrogen solutions.

Simon White

Board Member

Simon White is Managing Director of construction firm Waternish Engineering, which specialises in design and construction services in the water industry across Australia. With a focus on providing clients with lifecycle value Waternish have delivered projects across a range of sectors including municipal, industrial resources and oil and gas.

Starting work in the family-owned business as an after school job, progressing to his current role in 2006. Over that time Waternish has grown from a team of three, to 38 people, developing key industry partnerships and long term engagements which form the basis of a sustainable growth model for the business.

To the Hydrogen Technology Cluster Simon brings significant experience in one of the essential components; water, and how we can develop successful partnerships with this allied industry.

Kristin Raman

Board Member

At AGIG, Krissy leads business strategy, Environmental, Social and Governance reporting, internal communications and the implementation of the long-term vision for gas through renewable gases such as hydrogen and biomethane.

Krissy has played a key role in the development and delivery of several renewable gas projects such as Hydrogen Park South Australia, Hydrogen Park Gladstone and Hydrogen Park Murray Valley, including through the related engagement programs.

With a background in Chemical Engineering and Finance, Krissy has close to 15 years’ experience in the energy industry including in gas and electricity forecasting, energy policy and economic regulation.

Hilary Newstead

Board Member

Hilary Newstead is the Head of Strategic Energy Management for the GFG Alliance in Australia, responsible for the development and execution of energy strategy, encompassing risk-driven sourcing, productivity measures and decarbonisation pathways. Hilary has over 15 years of experience across energy and carbon markets, energy productivity and product development as well as climate change and sustainability. Her work has centred around making essential services and heavy industries more sustainable in a changing climate.

Tim Swaine

Board Member

Tim Swaine is a highly experienced legal professional with a proven track record in the energy, infrastructure and construction sectors. As a senior member of the Energy team at Finlaysons Lawyers, Tim specialises in providing expert legal counsel to support the development of new energy projects, including wind farms, solar farms, large-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) and large-scale hydrogen projects. His practice also encompasses major infrastructure projects and construction, where he offers strategic legal guidance on complex project delivery and risk management.

Tim’s professional background includes significant in-house legal experience working within a high-voltage electricity transmission network service provider (TNSP), as well as with top-tier law firms where he provided legal and commercial services to energy and infrastructure companies on a wide range of matters throughout the life cycle of large-scale projects.

Tim’s professional expertise is driven by his strong belief in the transformative potential of new energy technologies, particularly hydrogen, to contribute to a cleaner and more sustainable energy future. He has a deep understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks governing the hydrogen sector in Australia, which positions him as a trusted advisor. Tim has exposure to South Australia’s Hydrogen Jobs Plan supporting early contractor involvement in the development of a large-scale hydrogen reticulation and storage system, and he is a strong advocate for the growth of the hydrogen sector in Australia.

Dana Spiers

Board Member

Dana is a passionate leader in the clean energy industry helping empower individuals, corporations and communities to take strong action towards achieving a sustainable future. He has extensive experience in engineering and commercial roles across a broad range of industries including the industrial & scientific gases, infrastructure, commercial solar, and battery storage sectors. He holds a Masters degree in Engineering Management and a Bachelor degree in Natural Resources Engineering from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.

Dana first joined BOC in 2005 and has held numerous technical and sales roles across the business. In 2023 Dana lead the BOC bid team to secure the Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) contract with the Sth Aus Govt for 250MW H2 Production & 200MW Power Gen in Whyalla, South Australia. His current role is as BOC’s Project Lead for the HJP Project ECI overseeing the development of the technical & commercial solutions for the hydrogen production, compression and storage packages. Prior to his current role, Dana was the Project Development Manager of Clean Hydrogen, having lead BOC’s investment activities in large Clean Hydrogen project opportunities across Australia and New Zealand from 2022 to 2023.

Through this role, he developed a deep understanding of the necessary “building blocks” required to unlock a clean hydrogen industry in Australia. Through his involvement on the SA-H2H™ board, Dana intends to share his hydrogen project knowledge and experiences to help shape a broad & sustainable hydrogen industry in South Australia.

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