Our advisory council

Claire Johnson has been hooked on hydrogen since 2015 when she first moved into the sector working for Toyota. She was part of the team that introduced the first Mirai to Australia.

Since then, Claire established the Australian Hydrogen Council, co-founded and led hydrogen consultancy Hydrolytics, and now she has recently joined HYZON Motors in a new position. She is also an Editorial Advisory Member for H2 View.
 

Chris Dolman has worked for BOC since 2004 both in South Pacific and the United Kingdom and has held a number of roles across product and marketing management, business development, acquisitions, sales, and health and safety during this time. He has extensive experience in the applications of gas across key growth sectors including universities and research, agriculture and clean energy.

He has led key hydrogen product stewardship initiatives with hydrogen deemed a controlled substance in Australian states and created tools to allow hydrogen safety assessments and business case development. He has also been involved in new hydrogen applications from mobility to energy and customer-specific applications.

Chris is an active member of the NERA hydrogen clusters, as well as various state-based zero emission working groups. This allows him to bring an extended network to any board positions including project developers and members of Standards Australia for Hydrogen and the Australian New Zealand Industrial Gas Association, which has been working with hydrogen safely and effectively for decades.
 

Professor Bronwyn Fox has a strong reputation for bringing together researchers across scientific domains, integrating digital capability and working with industry to deliver brilliant outcomes – all critical attributes for the Chief Scientist of Australia’s national science agency.

Bronwyn held the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise) at Swinburne University of Technology. Prior to this appointment, she was the Founding Director of Swinburne's Manufacturing Futures Research Institute with a mission to support the transition of Australia’s manufacturing sector to Industry 4.0 – the fourth industrial revolution.

She is also an internationally recognised expert on carbon fibre and composite materials and is Chair of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (Victorian Division), a Fellow of the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
 

Vikram Singh leads hydrogen development at the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) – driving the transition of the gas sector towards a zero carbon future. Having delivered the largest renewable hydrogen production facility in Australia, he has been instrumental in developing a pipeline of renewable hydrogen projects with over 600 MW of projects in delivery and feasibility assessments. 

Prior to AGIG, Vikram was a partner at Deloitte Access Economics, Australia and specialised in the energy and utilities sector. He has also held senior management positions at Singapore Power and Powercor Australia.

With deep experience across the energy sector, Vikram is well placed to lead energy companies through market reform and transition towards a net zero future.
 

Patrick Gorr is a senior executive with an outstanding track record of achievement delivering high-level, transformative commercial projects. Specialising in commercial risk, financial analysis, strategy and modelling, Patrick has been charged with designing, delivering and implementing major strategic and commercial projects across the private, public and NGO sectors. 

A Chartered Accountant by profession, he holds a Bachelor of Business, Economics, Accounting and International Trade from Swinburne University of Technology, and has held senior strategic roles in Australia and Europe with the Victorian Government, International Development Law Organisation and EDF Energy. 

Patrick has been employed by Arup to bring his sector-specific experience and strategic thinking to the energy sector with a view to developing a commercial strategy that will help us to achieve our vision to shape a better world.
 

Peter Froeschle currently serves as Managing Director of ARENA2036 – a research campus he co-founded with specialists from Daimler, Bosch, Fraunhofer and the University of Stuttgart. This organisation brings together researchers and engineers from institutes and companies, who are working in the fields of production, digitalisation and mobility of the future.

Prior to that, Peter was the Head of the Strategic Energy & Market Development – Fuel Cell / Electric Vehicles at Daimler. During this period, he was elected Vice Chairman of the Board of the New Energy World Industrial Grouping and subsequently as a governing board member of the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking.
 

Dr Patrick Hartley is the leader of CSIRO’s Hydrogen Industry Mission. He is responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of a major new national research initiative launched in May 2021 delivering research, development and demonstrations to enable the scaleup of Australia’s domestic and export hydrogen industries.

In 2018, Patrick established CSIRO’s Hydrogen Energy Systems Future Science Platform to address research challenges underpinning the development of hydrogen energy value chains in Australia. During this time, he also co-led the formulation of CSIRO’s National Hydrogen Roadmap and, with the Chief Scientist of Australia, the Hydrogen for Australia’s Future briefing paper, which was presented to the Council of Australian Government’s Energy Council in August 2018.

From 2014 to 2019, Patrick led the Oil, Gas and Fuels research program within CSIRO's Energy Business Unit. The program comprises 85 research staff and students working on applied research projects – spanning the energy resources value chain, focusing on the sustainable development of Australia’s petroleum resources and addressing the challenges of large scale carbon dioxide storage.
 

Richard Bolt has led organisations ranging from a community-based advocacy group to a large government department with lead roles in national carbon and energy policy reform – driving technology innovation in energy, resources and agriculture; tackling corruption in education; gaining justice for victims of child sexual abuse; and building inclusion and collaboration in large government departments.

Before joining Nous, Richard’s roles included running Victorian Government's departments, leading strategy for Swinburne University of Technology, regulating privatised energy industries, conducting policy research and negotiation for a senate party and enganging in public advocacy.

Richard's previous board and council memberships include the Stakeholder Advisory Group to the Chief Scientist on a National Hydrogen Strategy, the Advisory Board at the Australian Centre for Renewable Energy, the National Consultative Committee on Peace and Disarmament, and the Victorian Secretaries Board.
 

Sandra Lau has worked across five Australian states and two continents with over 15 years in the mining industry, including downstream oil and gas. With bachelor degrees in mechanical engineering and commerce from the University of Melbourne and an Executive MBA from the Australian School of Graduate Management, she has held a variety of engineering, project and management roles. 

In her current strategic role as Viva Energy’s Alternative Fuels Manager, Sandra is responsible for understanding changing consumer trends and future consumer mobility options to determine ways for Viva Energy to participate in an energy system and transition to a lower carbon future. During 2019, she was voted onto the Board of the Australian Hydrogen Council by her industry peers.
 

David Wilson has over 30 years of experience in Japanese-Australian business relations. His career has varied from sales, marketing and logistics – running a production facility and a franchise business, as well as managing investments in various subsidiaries.

He is currently the Acting Chief Operating Officer and Director of Sumitomo Australia – overseeing business and investment in Australia and New Zealand. David’s objective is to utilise his skills and local knowledge to complement the acumen of Sumitomo's management to build business.