Live and interactive roundtable panel discussion: hydrogen or batteries - the best alternative to diesel

Helen Norman is the Editor of Electric & Hybrid Rail Technology - the sister publication of the Electric & Hybrid Rail Technology Online Conference. Helen has worked on the publication since its inception in early 2021. Prior to this she has edited several publications covering sustainable mobility and logistics, and has written numerous articles covering battery technology, hydrogen power, charging and refuelling, rail freight and the wider decarbonization of the rail sector.

Senthil is an experienced product manager with more than 20 years of experience in the railway sector and specializes in the fields of traction converters and energy storage systems for railway rolling stock. He is passionate about sustainable transport and works together with customers to realize energy-efficient traction solutions. Senthil holds a master's degree in electrical engineering from PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, India and a Master of Advanced Studies degree in Management, Technology and Economics from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland.

Thomas is responsible for Product Management for the retrofit propulsion segment in ABB’s Traction Division and has been involved in various railway propulsion retrofit projects, e.g., ICE 1 for Deutsche Bahn and RE460 locomotives for Swiss Federal Railways. During his 15-year career at ABB, he worked in various positions in Research & Development for power electronics and railway propulsion. Thomas holds a master's degree in electrical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland.

Marc-Andre Sahba is project manager for technology-driven strategic initiatives at Deutsche Bahn holding with a strong focus and commitment on alternative drive technologies. He is heading the joint funding project H2goesRail for DB playing a major role at Deutsche Bahn achieving climate-neutrality. Marc-Andre brings more than 12 years of railway sector experience. Prior to joining Deutsche Bahn in 2019 he worked for Bombardier Transportation both in rolling stock and service business.

Christian Pieper is a project manager for alternative drive & infrastructure H2goesRail at DB Energie. Christian has a focus on hydrogen infrastructure projects, alternative rail vehicle concepts, fuel cells and batterie systems. Christian brings more than 5 years of railway sector experience across DB Energie and DB Bahnbau Gruppe.

Will is CEO of Siemens Mobility Limited, having originally joined the business in 2013.  A former Army Officer, Will’s broad senior management career spanning over 25 years has included roles at Invensys Rail, Alstom and GE Transportation as well as leading Siemens Mobility’s International Sales team in Spain. 

Will is committed to going further and faster to decarbonise our transport network and to creating jobs and growth whilst doing so.  Will is also a passionate advocate for equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Delivering technical engineering projects for Ricardo’s global customer base since 1998, Jonathan’s experience covers the design and development of both internal combustion engines and clean energy propulsion systems in rail. Initially working in analysis and simulation prior to a role as chief engineer in the Large & Industrial Propulsion team, he has been responsible for leading clean-sheet design and development programmes for OEMs in the automotive, rail, marine, power generation and industrial sectors.