Dr Thomas Niehoff studied mechanical engineering at the technical university RWTH Aachen (Germany) and later made his PhD thesis at the IEHK in Aachen. Dr. Thomas Niehoff has worked for over 30 years in the industrial gas industry. He managed an R&D department in an executive position an R&D department and projects for metallurgical gas applications there. EH&S has always been the highest priority in his work area. He combines decades of experience with expertise in R&D management and melting and combustion technology. Dr. Thomas Niehoff is an inventor or co-inventor of 14 patents. He is the founder and owner of combustion POTENTIAL GmbH in Germany.

AL Circle: What is you background in this industry?

Dr. Thomas Niehoff : I have worked my entire professional career as a combustion specialist and metallurgist for large multinational industrial gas companies. In these 30 years from the first day, we developed applications to reduce specific energy consumption and increase productivity. This was done very successfully and helped many customers get the economics straight and improved. In Europe, energy costs have been high for decades. From my perspective, I can say that the aluminium industry has been highly active and delivered good energy savings and emissions reduction results over the past 30 years.