Our Team

Hydrogy’s team has almost twenty years of experience in the field of pressure electrolysers based on Zdanski-Lurgi technology. The team  has benefited over the years from a huge know-how transfer from former Lurgi researchers and developers.

Ernest Burkhalter – CEO

Ernest Burkhalter is a Mechanical Engineer who qualified from EPFL in 1990. Thorough his career to date, he held various positions and responsibilities in R&D focusing on Electrolysis and Hydrogen . Ernest has been awarded an innovation acknowledgment in 2015 by local authorities for his work.

Kaniez Croz – President

Kaniez Croz is a qualified accountant and a risk management, internal and external audit expert, with over 25 years in the banking and insurance industry. Having expertise in corporate governance she has been appointed as Head of the Board, previously leading meetings throughout her career. Throughout her life, she has taken a managerial role, focusing on building and maintaining asset funds during which she was also directing various teams behind her. She is ACCA qualified whilst also having a STEP certificate in international trust management. 

  • Hydrogy’s President has immense expertise in risk management which will help to identify, assess and control potential legal and financial issues Hydrogy may face. Her auditing experience means that she has a keen eye for detail, having previously worked for multiple international banks and auditors (EFG, Barclays, Grant Thornton, AIG, etc).
  • Having worked in various firms around the world (UK, Switzerland, France and Belgium) she has delt with many different companies and has seen how they operate in their native countries. Originally moving from the UK, she has developed language skills in French, German, Hindi and Urdu, as well as her native English tongue. 

Experience

  • The team was regularly involved in big size projects dealing with customer companies worldwide (Austria, Sweden, Norway, South-Africa, Zimbabwe, Argentinia, Perú, etc) as well as in different R&D consortiums within the IEA and EU frame programs (ITHER Walqa, IEA Hydrogen Agreement Task 24, Weltemp, etc)
  • As vice-president of the Swiss Hydrogen Association (Hydropole), Hydrogy’s CEO Ernest Burkhalter has acquired an excellent network within the Swiss federal and academic institutions (OFEN, DEFR, EMPA, PSI, ETHZ. EPFL) as well as internationaly (Yokohama Japan, French Hydrogen Association, Fundación Hydrógeno Aragón, etc)
  • Hydrogy’s project « Alkaline high pressure electrolyser plant for island applications or integrated into the valuation chain of the CO2 by methanation » has been awarded with the first price in 2015 by « région Nyon »