About – Global Syngas Technologies Council

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
Global Syngas Technologies Council

Bill has been involved with the GSTC and its predecessor organizations since 1983. He has had a 42-year career in the process industry including all aspects of the syngas industry. He recently retired from his nearly ten-year run as the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KP Engineering, which is now owned by the Shaw Group.

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.

Bea Ann Phillips

Director, Membership and Planning of GSTC
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

Lucy Wilson

Lucy Wilson
Chair 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.

Cliff Keeler

Vice Chair of GSTC
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.

Yoojung Kim

Treasurer of GSTC
Celanese

Yoojung Kim is Global Process Technology Engineer at Celanese with over 20 years of process engineering, technology, and operations experience in the chemical industry. She has a wide range of experience including process optimization and expansions, as well as technology assessments for business development. Yoojung holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Johan Malan

Secretary of GSTC
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.

Russell Hillenburg

At Large Member of GSTC
Woven Metal Products/
Modular Plant Solutions

Russell Hillenburg is the President/CEO of Woven Metal Products (WMP), a leading metal fabrication and manufacturing partner serving industries worldwide. He has cultivated key licensor relationships that have contributed to WMP’s success. Based in Alvin, Texas, WMP works with refineries, chemical plants and other companies globally.

Russell is also the President and Co-Founder of Modular Plant Solutions (MPS), an engineering firm specializing in process modularization and project implementation for the energy sector. MPS is the only company with a patented modular process plant structural system based on the ISO-1496/CSC container standard, which streamlines plant module transportation.

With four patents and his expertise in refining and chemical plant equipment, Russell is a recognized subject matter expert. He is also the Co-Founder of Woven Integration, a private investment company that holds investments across several sectors and is consistently evaluating new opportunities.
Russell holds a degree in Entrepreneurial Business from Baylor University and resides in the Houston area with his wife and two children.

Jeffrey Kloosterman

At Large Member of GSTC
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.

Karsten Radtke

At Large Member of GSTC
thyssenkrupp

Karsten Radtke has a Master’s Degree (“Dipl.-Ing.”) in mechanical engineering and energy and environmental technologies from the Ruhr University in Bochum/Germany and started with the engineering and technology company Uhde over 28 years ago, today part of the thyssenkrupp group.

He began his career in process engineering in the field of oil and coal gasification, worked as an operating engineer in a syngas generation plant for oxo chemicals at Hoechst AG, before he was assigned to work in the U.S. from 1996-97 for Molten Metal Technology in Waltham near Boston, where he acted as Uhde’s Resident Engineer.

From 2005 to 2013, Karsten headed the Gas Technologies Division within Uhde with a global business responsibility for gasification technologies and the related syngas applications including Methanol-to-Gasoline (MTG), Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. During his time, Karsten initiated international alliances, such as the foundation of a gasification JV in Korea, KEPCO-Uhde Inc. and the realization of the BioTfueL consortium in France for the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) based on biomass.

From 2013-2018, Karsten was expatriated to Denver, where he worked for 5 years as President and Officer of Uhde Corporation of America, which then became thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions (USA), Inc.

Karsten returned back to Germany, and is now heading the global business development, sales and strategy for the Business Unit Uhde at thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions. Karsten represents the entire process portfolio of Uhde on a global basis, including the fast growing green chemicals technologies market, such as green ammonia, green methanol, e-fuels, biomass gasification, and more.

Karsten is married and has 3 children.