Our Mission
The Global Syngas Technologies Council (GSTC) mission is to be the central meeting place for the international syngas industry. We provide a platform to showcase the cutting edge technologies that move the industry forward as voiced by the industry’s technology providers, as used and evaluated by the industry’s manufacturers, and as supported by the industry’s engineering, construction, and equipment providers. We provide attractive settings where industry leaders and decision makers network, do deals and make life-long friendships. Finally, we promote the industry to the public by articulating its value and environmental sensitivity and amplifying our member’s news, operational achievements, and accomplishments.
GSTC Leadership
William E. Preston
Executive Director of GSTC
KP Engineering
KP Engineering
Bill has been involved with the GSTC and its predecessor organizations since 1983. He has had a 41-year career in the process industry including all aspects of the syngas industry. He is the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KP Engineering.
Bill had a 22-year career at Texaco that encompassed technical positions, and leadership positions in technology licensing, project development, and ultimately, division management. He went on to top management positions in international technology companies Linc Energy Ltd., Synthesis Energy Systems, GreatPoint Energy, and the Energy Capital Group.
Bill holds an MS degree in Chemical Engineering from his beloved University of Texas at Austin, and a BA in Chemistry from Pomona College in Claremont, California. He is the recipient of numerous industry awards and honors and has authored and presented numerous technology-related articles and papers.
Bea Ann Phillips
Director, Membership and Planning of GSTC
Global Syngas Technologies Council
Global Syngas Technologies Council
Bea Ann Phillips has been an independent meeting planner and consultant for over 20 years, managing conferences and trade shows for a variety of national and international clients in the energy sector. She has worked with the GTC/GSTC since 2000.
Prior to establishing her consulting business, Bea Ann spent 16 years managing an association in Washington DC where she wrote and managed grant projects and served as chief financial officer; membership development specialist and education coordinator. Prior to that, Bea Ann was a research analyst in the public relations firm of Hill and Knowlton.
Bea Ann holds a BA in Communications from Kent State University and a Master’s in Public Administration, specializing in Non-Profit Management from Virginia Polytechnic institute and State University.
Executive Committee
Marc Bacon
Chairman of GSTC
Omni Conversion Technologies
Omni Conversion Technologies
Marc is President and COO of OMNI Conversion Technologies, having led the team that advanced its technology to commercial readiness and is now deploying it worldwide. During that journey, with over 1.2M person-hours of effort, the OMNI team developed over 20 patent families, engineered, and supported the operations of a full scale demonstration plant. It then packaged the system into a modular commercial design and set up a low-cost, high-quality international supply chain to produce it.
Marc’s history combines two engineering degrees, an MBA, and doctoral studies in organization leadership with over 40 years of operations, engineering, and executive experience. His greatest love is his family, and his goal to be a worthy steward of the assets and people entrusted to him.
Lucy Wilson
Lucy Wilson
Vice Chairman of GSTC
Johnson Matthey
Vice Chairman of GSTC
Johnson Matthey
Lucy is the Commercial Licensing Manager for Johnson Matthey’s LCHTM blue hydrogen technology within the Low Carbon Solutions business.
In the last 12 years, she has contributed to all of the different Catalyst Technologies business teams within JM being based first in the UK before moving to the USA in 2015. Through roles in design, commissioning, technical service, global key account management then licensing of methanol and hydrogen technology, Lucy has built knowledge and experience across the chemicals value chain from offshore and upstream purification to downstream chemicals production and catalyst.
Lucy holds a B.Eng in Chemical Engineering from Teesside University in the UK.
Johan Malan
Secretary of GSTC
Topsoe
Topsoe
Johan is the Head of Licensing for Topsoe in North America, with 20 years of experience in syngas generation, gas clean-up and manufacturing of synthetic fuels and chemicals. His work experience ranges from Research and Development, Process Design, Commissioning and Start-up, Operations and Technology Licensing. He started his career with Sasol in South-Africa, working at the Secunda coal based synthetic fuels facility before moving to R&D where he continued the advancement of Sasol’s Fischer-Tropsch technology. He was the Lead FT Licensor for the Escravos Gas-to-Liquids start-up in Nigeria, and the Concept and Licensing Engineering Manager for Syngas Generation at Sasol before moving to the USA in 2015 to join Velocys Inc. While at Velocys he was the Commissioning Manger for the ENVIA Energy Landfill Gas-to-Liquids facility in Oklahoma City, the first commercial facility of its kind in the world.
Before joining Topsoe, he spent two years as a Senior Consultant with Hatch’s Anything-to-Liquids division. Johan is a Chemical Engineer by training and holds a Doctorate in Process Engineering from the University of Twente in the Netherlands.
Cliff Keeler
Treasurer of GSTC
SunGas Renewables
SunGas Renewables
Mr. Keeler brings a wide range of leadership, technology, and operations experience in the gasification industry to SunGas. Before his role at SunGas Renewables, Mr. Keeler was a Sr. Gasification Advisor to Reliance Industries during engineering, construction, start-up and operation of the world’s largest gasification facility in India.
Prior to Reliance, Mr. Keeler held senior positions at CB&I, Phillips 66 and ConocoPhillips for commercialization, technology development, and licensing of the E Gas Gasification Technology. He was operations manager at the Wabash Gasification facility and worked in Dow Chemical’s Energy Research group where he was instrumental in the development of Dow’s Gasification technology. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Utah.
David Maher
David Maher
At Large Member of GSTC
Linde Gas
At Large Member of GSTC
Linde Gas
David Maher is the Sr. Manager of Business Development Technology at Linde Gas based in Houston, TX where he oversees development of clean hydrogen and carbon hubs.
David spent the first 10 years of his career at ExxonMobil, where he built global experience in Gas Treating & LNG across Operations, Research, and Projects. David then transitioned into clean hydrogen and carbon capture technology development for commercialization of clean gas monetization pathways before joining Linde where he has continued his passion for decarbonizing the energy value chain.
David holds a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Rice University and a MBA from the University of Texas.
Jeffrey Kloosterman
At Large Member of GSTC
Air Products
Air Products
Jeff has over 17 years of experience in R&D and technology for industrial business development and growth. His experience encompasses high temperature processes, including gasification, shift, syngas clean up, steam methane reforming, autothermal reforming and combustion.
Jeff received PhD in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University in 2003.