Maria Stefania Nowacka
Development Engineer
Alfa Laval Aalborg
For decades, Alfa Laval has developed boiler solutions for a wide range of industries. Today’s Aalborg boilers encompass the most efficient features we have pioneered over the years, along with the latest advances. I am currently working on Marine Energy Systems. For maritime projects, I work with a team on concept, review, testing, and data analysis together with results reporting. For fuel cell systems, I am responsible for project management, testing, analysis, and reporting. Form marine fuel cells, I write guidelines preparation and provide tech support. As a project tech lead, I develop concept preparation for the maritime market, create techno-economical assessments of available and emerging technologies, write research study papers, and test proposal preparation. For Business Development support, I am responsible for feasibility, TEAs, technical and research inquiries.
I love to learn about new exciting ideas and see the purpose of my work. Contributing to energy sector development can help us all find a new way to protect our home planet Earth and sustain constantly growing energy demand in an unharmful way, so we can live peacefully and in harmony with nature.
I graduated from Warsaw University of Technology with BSc in Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Engineering, which is an electro-mechanical degree related to the automotive sector. My thesis was elaborating on fuel cell powertrain and its immense influence on the future market. During my last year and after graduation, I worked for different companies in the e-mobility sector, like Volkswagen and Accenture. I further learned about the energy gap that would be so easily filled by fuel cells and hydrogen technologies. I decided I wanted to devote my career to this specific topic and moved abroad to gain expertise. I have earned a Master's of Science degree in Energy Engineering, Fuel Cells, and Hydrogen Technology from Aalborg University, Denmark in 2022. My master thesis was the performance comparison of the maritime systems on methanol: HT PEMFC vs SOFC through a project-oriented internship at Alfa Laval Aalborg. This is where I now work.
I would like to make hydrogen technologies more common and better understandable for society. A dream would be to work with energy systems and powertrains where fuel cells are standardized solutions. I want to further explore further possibilities of alternative fuels and emerging green technologies that could power our future. I want to expand my expertise in power systems which include fuel cells as a main source of energy. My other mission is to motivate women to engage in science and engineering paths. I see myself supporting others for the better future ahead of us, especially women who hold incredible power and resilience in achieving great things, together.
I am an active person. I enjoy spending my leisure time with friends, exploring new places, traveling, doing yoga, and experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen. I am allegedly a great cook, and I absolutely adore to share a tasty meal with others. :)
"The distance between dreams and reality is action." - Ben Francia