Martin is Director of Green Energy and Sustainability (GES) for the UK and Nordics within TÜV SÜD, leading the four business lines of hydrogen, CCUS, renewables and sustainability services.  He has been ‘working with hydrogen’ for over two decades, firstly in petrochemicals and refining for a large energy company, and for the last seven years at TÜV SÜD, where he established the hydrogen services business unit in the UK.  With extensive experience in the practical use of hydrogen, its production and use across various industry sectors, he sits on the Hydrogen Regulators Forum, and UK Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard Working Group for DESNZ.

Dr Hanton holds BSc and PhD degrees in Chemistry from the University of Leicester, and an MBA from the Open University with a specialisation in technology management.  He is a Chartered Chemist, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry having been recipient of the RSC's 2011 'Young Industrialist' award, in part for his central role in the development and commercialisation of a new commodity chemical process.  He has over 45 journal papers and patents to his name, and has been industrial supervisor to numerous PhD students.

Martin said, “It is unrealistic to expect the aviation industry to do anything other than continue to grow, and for long haul flights in particular, hydrogen is currently the most promising option for decarbonisation in the medium to long term.  However, for hydrogen to make a positive contribution it must be produced in a way that is low carbon, and preferably using renewables.  At TÜV SÜD we are supporting the Freedom Flight Prize, as we believe it is a great initiative, and with our expertise, we can help make sure that the hydrogen used in any attempts to win the prize, meets the criteria of being both renewably produced and low carbon.”