The programme for the IFRF 2025 Conference on 17-19 June in Sheffield, UK is now complete, including the confirmation of Sean O’Reagain as the keynote speaker for the final day session covering significant EU demonstration projects. Sean is Senior Adviser ‘Human Centricity’, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission and his presentation is entitled ‘Industry 5.0: Towards a Sustainable, Human-Centric and Resilient Industrial Transition’. 

As a brief background on Sean, he has wide experience of the industrial dimension of European research and innovation policy and programmes. At the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD), he has managed the industrial technologies programme under Horizon Europe and has had responsibility for policy in relation to the digital dimension of industrial research and innovation. Previously, he oversaw the development of the first public-private partnerships with industry at European level and, most recently, has guided the setting up of the Processes4Planet and Made in Europe partnerships. He has also had responsibility for initiatives in relation to the European Research Area and managed the evaluation of the Seventh Framework Programme. Prior to joining DG RTD, he managed the benchmarking for competitiveness and innovation programme in the Commission’s DG GROW. Seán O’Reagain is currently Senior Adviser for Human Centricity and leads the initiative to embed human centricity in the European industrial research and innovation landscape.

Sponsorship:

Since the last edition of MNM when we announced SunTech Industries as our first conference sponsors, I am delighted to announce three further world-leading industrial sponsors for the conference as follows:

Sulzer Chemtech –  a global leader in critical applications for core infrastructure and processes for large essential industries around the world. The company ensures the security, quality and durability of critical goods and services by supporting energy security, natural resource management and efficiencies in process industries. The integrated solutions offered add significant value by enabling energy efficiency, carbon emissions and pollution reduction, and process efficiency improvements. Customers benefit from the commitment to innovation, performance and quality through a responsive network of 160 world-class manufacturing facilities and service centres across the globe. Sulzer has been headquartered in Winterthur, Switzerland, since 1834.

Rina – a trusted global company that offers a wide range of services across the Energy, Marine, Infrastructure & Mobility, Industry, Research & Development, Certification and Real Estate sectors. With over 200 offices in 70 countries and a team of 6,200 talented professionals, RINA is a knowledge-based company built on the highly specialised expertise of its people. Its multidisciplinary capabilities support clients in managing complexity and addressing technical, regulatory and sustainability challenges.

Air Liquide – a world leader in gases, technologies and services for industry and health. Oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen are essential small molecules for life, matter and energy. They embody Air Liquide’s scientific territory and have been at the core of the company’s activities since its creation in 1902. It is present in 75 countries with approximately 66,400 employees and serves more than 3.8 million customers and patients. Its ambition is to deliver long term performance and to contribute to a more sustainable world facing today’s and tomorrow’s challenges: energy and environmental transition, transformation of healthcare and technological progress. Air Liquide are also a Preferred Research Partner within the IFRF PRP network.    

On behalf of the IFRF, I would like to thank our sponsors for their generous support of the 2025 Conference.