Beyond Recycling: Green Hydrogen, Circular Carbon and Deep Tech for Net-Zero Industry
As industries strive to achieve climate neutrality while strengthening energy security and competitiveness, the transition to a circular, low-carbon economy requires solutions that go far beyond conventional recycling. This panel will explore the role of green hydrogen, circular carbon strategies, integrated energy systems, and deep-tech innovations in accelerating industrial decarbonisation. Bringing together experts from academia, industry, and innovation ecosystems, the discussion will focus on how cutting-edge technologies can transform sustainable fuels, biofuels, and resource utilization, while shortening the pathway from research to market and supporting the development of resilient, net-zero industrial value chains.
Prof. Izabela CzekajPK Krakow University of TechnologyProf. Izabela CzekajProfesor, Wydział Inżynierii i Technologii Chemicznej, PK Krakow University of TechnologyProf. Izabela Czekaj is a researcher and academic leader working at the intersection of green hydrogen, sustainable fuels, catalysis, carbon-neutral chemical processes, and industrial decarbonisation. Her research focuses on technologies enabling the transition from fossil-based value chains to circular and climate-neutral industrial systems, including hydrogen-based processes, renewable feedstocks, carbon utilisation pathways, and advanced materials for clean energy applications.
Actively involved in international research collaborations and European innovation initiatives, she brings extensive experience in connecting scientific excellence with industrial needs and policy priorities. Her work addresses key challenges related to the Net-Zero transition, including the deployment of deep-tech solutions for low-carbon manufacturing, resource efficiency, circular carbon management, and sustainable energy systems.Read full bio →
Jacek MurawskiOrlen VCJacek MurawskiPresident of the Board, Orlen VCJacek Murawski is the President of the Board and the Managing Partner of ORLEN VC, a corporate venture capital investing in technologies for the transformation of the energy sector and the industry of the future. For more than a decade he actively participates in the development of a venture capital and innovation ecosystem in CEE. Previously he was a General Partner in Invento VC, the Vice President and CFO of PGNiG, CFO Orange Poland, an Investing Partner of MCI Capital and CEO of Wirtualna Polska. He specializes in technological investments, scaling innovative companies and establishing cooperation between start-ups, science and big industry organisations.Read full bio →
dr hab. inż. Rafał Ślefarski, prof. PPPolitechnika Poznańskadr hab. inż. Rafał Ślefarski, prof. PPProfessor, Politechnika PoznańskaProf. Rafał Ślefarski is an expert in sustainable energy systems, hydrogen and Power-to-X technologies, low-emission combustion, and thermochemical conversion of biomass and waste. His research focuses on the integration of green hydrogen, alternative gaseous fuels, circular carbon pathways, and advanced energy technologies supporting industrial decarbonization. He has led and contributed to numerous research and industry projects in gas technologies, carbon-neutral fuels, CHP systems, biomass gasification, and waste-to-energy solutions. Prof. Ślefarski is a member of the Board of Polish Institute of Combustion and an active member of the European Turbine Network.Read full bio →
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