Speakers

Katja Asikainen
Chair of the Board, Regional Council

Katja Asikainen serves as the Chair of the North Karelia Regional Government and a City Councillor of Joensuu. She has extensive experience in regional decision-making and social influence. Katja sees the energy and green transitions as opportunities for North Karelia: Eastern Finland, which is in a difficult situation, will rise with them, if at all.

Sari Multala
Minister of Climate and the Environment

Minister for the Environment and Climate Sari Multala heads the Ministry of the Environment. She is responsible for matters related to the environment, construction and housing in the Government. These include climate policy, nature and water protection, pollution prevention, circular economy, construction and land use, and housing policy. Minister Multala also handles matters related to the Energy Department in the Ministry of Employment and the Economy.

Herkko Plit
CEO, P2X Solutions Oy

P2X Solutions’ founding partner Herkko Plit has 30 years of management experience from the energy industry. Previously, Plit has served as the CEO of Baltic Connector Oy, which has implemented Finland’s share in the natural gas pipeline between Estonia and Finland, and has worked for TVO, Fortum, the Ministry of Employment and the Economy and the European Commission. Herkko leads P2X with his visionary and open-minded attitude. Plit is also the Chair of the Board of  Hydrogen Cluster Finland. 

Herkko’s vision is to build emission-free welfare state for the generations to come. Plit decided to establish P2X Solutions after realizing that we will not be able to reach the emission reduction targets without hydrogen. Plit leads his team towards a cleaner future with his visionary approach. P2X opened the Finnish hydrogen market in early 2025, with the completion of the first green hydrogen production plant in Harjavalta, with a production capacity of 20 MW. 

Juha Peltomäki
Business Finland

Juha is responsible for Business Finland's Invest in Finland work in the bio and circular economy sectors. The investment opportunities created by biogenic carbon and renewable electricity are now the focus of Juha's work. Juha's experience at Business Finland includes, in addition to investments, R&D financing and export promotion. Juha has business experience gained from management positions at an international equipment supplier.

Sari Koivula
The Regional Council of North Karelia

Sari Koivula, Ph D. in forestry, works as a Forest and Climate Expert in the Regional Council of North Karelia. She is in  response of forest, climate and energy issues and regional programs related to these issues. This includes for example the implementation, promoting and monitoring of the climate and energy program and regional implementation plan of the national bioeconomy strategy. She also represents the regional council in national and EU networks in these questions.  Sari Koivula is coordinator of the Forest Bioeconomy New Openings growth program in eastern Finland (funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment), managed by the Regional Council of North Karelia. The growth program is part of the implementation of the Eastern Finland program in accordance with the government program. 

Jari Sistonen
ResilEast, U-Cont Ltd

The engineer, whose life's work has been building fuel distribution systems and storage facilities from Hawaii to Siberia and from the Arctic Ocean to Antarctica with his team, has spent the last few years solving issues at the interface of defence, resilience, and energy.

Asko Muhonen
Senior Specialist, Comprehensive Security, Colonel

Asko Muhonen is currently working as a specialist in comprehensive security in the city of Kuopio. His main task is to participate in constructing a comprehensive international security competence centre.

Muhonen has a long career in the Defence Forces, having left the reserve at the end of 2020 as a colonel. In the Defence Forces, Muhonen has served as, among other things, the head of a regional office, a battalion commander, a brigade chief of staff, a land forces planning chief and the director of the Land Warfare School. His career also includes 4 years at NATO's operational command headquarters in Brunssum, the Netherlands. After moving to the reserve, he has worked on matters related to the preparation of Finland's NATO membership. Muhonen's last assignment before Kuopio was in Brussels, at the Finnish Mission to NATO, located at NATO headquarters, as a diplomat seconded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs for 2 years. There, he was responsible for engaging in defence planning and integrated air and missile defence in the early stages of Finland's accession to NATO.

Sanni Kontinen
Gasgrid Finland

Kari Anttonen
Savon Voima

Business director of district heat and electricity production business unit on Savon Voima. Savon Voima offers district heating in 21 district heating networks in 13 municipalities in eastern Finland, mostly from renewable heat sources. Electricity production with different kind of production units based on renewables is altogether about 700 GWh/a. 

Jonne Hirvonen
Carbonaide

Jonne Hirvonen has spent over a decade advancing CCUS technologies, from oxygen combustion and geological storage to the hydrogen economy. At Carbonaide, he now focuses on decentralized CCUS in concrete, aiming to establish it as a global building standard. Originating from VTT, Carbonaide’s carbon curing technology is backed by Finland’s precast concrete industry and is currently deployed at two factories in Eastern Finland – soon to be the world’s largest ones using CO₂ curing. 

Pauliina Pikkujämsä
Business Joensuu

Pauliina Pikkujämsä is a Finnish business and regional development professional, particularly active in investment attraction, regional marketing, and economic development. 

She has worked at BusinessOulu (and its predecessor Oulu Innovation) where she held roles including Invest In leadership and was responsible for aspects of city/regional marketing and investment services. 

In 2019, she was appointed unit director at Business Joensuu, where she is involved in steering the region’s investment, innovation, and business growth activities. In her role at Business Joensuu, she has emphasized stronger integration between university research and business/innovation, particularly in areas like photonics and forest-bioeconomy

Jere Penttilä
City Mayor, Joensuu

Jere Penttilä is the Mayor of Joensuu. During his career, Penttilä has also led the City of Riihimäki and the municipalities of Kontiolahti and Pyhäselkä. In addition, Penttilä has served as Kesko's Regional Director for Eastern Finland. Penttilä holds a Master's degree in Social Sciences.

Kosti Rautiainen
Caruna

Kosti Rautiainen currently works as a Customer Account Manager at Caruna and is responsible for, among other things, the long-term development of electricity networks to meet the needs of over a million Finns. He has worked in the energy sector for over 20 years and also has significant international experience. Before joining Caruna, he had worked in various positions in leading energy and circular economy companies, such as Ekokem, Fortum and Vattenfall. During his career, he has mainly worked on combined heat and power (CHP) and district heating distribution, solar power generation, waste-to-energy utilisation and recycling, and electricity distribution systems in Northern Europe and India. Kosti has a Master of Science in Energy Engineering from Lappeenranta University of Technology.

Jukka Kopra
Ramboll

Jukka Kopra works as the department manager for Power systems - department as well as a project manager for regional energy solutions. Kopra has strong expertise in assessments related to green transition projects, studies on carbon reduction, and the hydrogen industry. Kopra has participated in numerous studies investigating how various actors can aim for carbon reduction by considering the comprehensive emission impacts of different actions. In terms of energy, both production, transmission, and consumption solutions have been examined to minimize lifecycle emissions. These studies have combined the perspectives of different actors to seek a common progression model. Kopra also serves as Ramboll's Sustainable Development Manager for Finland's energy business, promoting sustainable development solutions and operating models in projects. 

Ari Pappinen
DME Group

Dr. Ari Pappinen is the Executive Chairman of DME Group, a Finland-based company group specialising in sustainable industrial transformation and clean-tech development. He has extensive experience in the forest-based bioeconomy, circular innovations, and green transition projects both in Finland and abroad. At DME, he drives strategic partnerships and ventures that bring together industry and investors to turn strengths into scalable, financeable solutions for a carbon-neutral economy. His keynote focuses on emerging business opportunities in carbon-negative concrete, illustrating how industrial side streams can be transformed into valuable materials driving Finland’s low-carbon future

Juho-Matti Uuksulainen
Vireon

Juho-Matti Uuksulainen is the Project Director for Finland at hydrogen distribution company Vireon, where he is responsible for developing the company’s hydrogen refuelling station network in Finland. He has over 15 years of experience in the gas sector, particularly in biogas and alternative fuels. Previously, he served as Head of Projects and Operations for Southern Finland at Gasum. Uuksulainen has led the planning and permitting of Finland’s first high-capacity hydrogen refuelling station compliant with EU standards. He has extensive expertise in hydrogen infrastructure development and practical project execution. 

Kirsi Kinnunen
North Savo Energy Cluster

Before diving into energy, I built a solid career in finance—specializing in lending, investments, and winning new customers. Then I caught the clean energy bug, studied Energy Technology at Savonia, and graduated from LUT University in 2023. Currently, I work at Navitas Kehitys Oy developing the Energy Cluster North Savo, where we collaborate to drive innovation and promote sustainable growth in Eastern Finland. Nature is my personal power bank—hikes and fresh air do wonders for the mood and sparks the creativity. 

Lasse Peltonen
University of Eastern Finland

Lasse Peltonen D.Adm.Sc. (Environmental Policy), Professor of Environmental Governance and Conflict Resolution at the Department of Historical and Geographical Studies, University of Eastern Finland (UEF). He is also co-director of the International Master's Programme in Environmental Policy and Law at UEF. His research and teaching encompasses themes of environmental conflicts, social acceptance, conflict resolution and collaborative methods in the fields of land use, urban planning and natural resources. Previously, he has worked as a senior researcher and research director at the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies, Helsinki University of Technology and Aalto University, and as a research coordinator at the Finnish Environment Institute. In addition to his academic work, he is co-founder of Akordi Oy, a company specialising in environmental conflict resolution. 

Mariana Galvão Lyra
LUT University

Mariana Galvão Lyra holds a PhD in Environmental Policy from the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) and is currently affiliated with the LUT University Business School as a postdoctoral researcher and project manager. With a career that bridges consulting and academia, she works on topics at the intersection of business and society. Her current research focuses on the social acceptance of emerging technologies for energy transitions, particularly green hydrogen and power-to-x solutions. 

Anniina Kontiokorpi
Karelia AMK

Anniina Kontiokorpi is a Senior Lecturer at Karelia University of Applied Sciences. She teaches in Energy and Environmental Engineering bachelor programme and in  Sustainability Management Master’s programme. She works also in Green Skills for Hydrogen Economy and Renewable Energies project in which she has been researching the skills needed for developing the hydrogen economy.

Rami Alfasfos
Business Joensuu

Rami Alfasfos is a Development Manager, Hydrogen Economy at Business Joensuu, working to advance regional energy transition, hydrogen development, and sustainable industrial growth in Eastern Finland.

He earned his Doctor of Science (Tech.) from LUT University, where his dissertation, “Towards a Resilient Hydrogen Economy: Climate Impact, Safety, Cybersecurity, and the Foundations for Public Trust,” explored systemic resilience and public acceptance in hydrogen transitions.
Rami has extensive experience in hydrogen safety, Power-to-X systems, and sustainability-driven innovation, with over 17 years of professional and research experience across Finland and Sweden. At Business Joensuu, he leads and supports initiatives that bridge research, industry, and infrastructure development to strengthen the regional hydrogen ecosystem, and to attract and support investments in the energy sector at both national and international levels.

To further advance these goals, he established Energy Joensuu, a strategic platform designed to build and coordinate a regional energy cluster that unites companies, research institutions, and public actors to accelerate clean energy growth and industrial collaboration.

Jami Holtari
Managing Director, Hydrogen Valley Finland 
MSc, Industrial Engineering and Management 

Jami Holtari is a dynamic regional developer and hydrogen economy advocate, currently serving as Managing Director of Hydrogen Valley Finland (Suomen Vetylaakso ry). With a strong background he brings strategic insight and influence to green transition initiatives. Jami is also a JCI Senator and board partner (Hallituspartnerit), actively engaged in lobbying and driving sustainable growth across Eastern Finland. 

Jarkko Harjula
Cursor (Kotka Region)

Mika Kolari
Business Tampere

Senior Business Advisor Mika Kolari is an EU Funding Specialist at Business Tampere, where he supports regional development through strategic funding initiatives and sustainable innovation. His work emphasizes the integration of circular economy principles into hydrogen economy projects, helping local ecosystems transition toward low-carbon solutions. Mika plays a key role in identifying and enabling EU-backed opportunities that strengthen Tampere’s position as a leader in clean energy and resource-efficient industrial transformation. 

Esa Eerola
CEfMoF (Jyväskylä)

Esa Eerola is Program Manager at the Central Finland Mobility Foundation (Cefmof), a Jyväskylä-based organization dedicated to accelerating the green transition and advancing the hydrogen economy through innovation and real-world applications. In his role, Esa identifies, facilitates, and supports initiatives and partnerships that drive a carbon-neutral future. One concrete example is the hydrogen-powered city bus pilot in Jyväskylä. 

With over 30 years of experience in high-tech solution development and marketing, Esa is passionate about leveraging his expertise to collaborate with partners in building a sustainable, carbon-neutral future. 

Tapio Schmidt-Achert
Senior Research Consultant at FfE (Research Center for Energy Economics)

Tapio Schmidt-Achert is a Senior Research Consultant at FfE – the Research Center for Energy Economics, a leading German institute specializing in energy systems analysis. Tapio focuses on the evaluation of flexible assets such as electric vehicles and electrolyzers, and contributes to strategic research on hydrogen integration in future energy systems.

Recent work has centered on assessing the global and European cost structures of hydrogen imports, analyzing the role of hydrogen within integrated energy systems, and evaluating RFNBO criteria and associated emissions. As part of the Trans4ReaL initiative for the BMWK, Tapio supports long-term planning for large-scale hydrogen projects with a focus on market ramp-up and technology-neutral approaches.

Tero Ijäs
Ecosystem Manager, Business Finland

My current role is an Ecosystem Manager in energy. I have been sparring innovation ecosystems and advanced the company and research organization collaboration. My major responsibility relates to the hydrogen where I work in close collaboration with hydrogen Cluster Finland, Hydrogen Research Forum Finland and many other stakeholder groups. My core expertise is in hydrogen, power-to-x and carbon capture. 

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