Justin Hickel

Justin Hickel has a diverse work experience, starting as a Service Technician at Rotating Services in 2004. Justin then spent two years as a Comercial Fisherman in Bristol Bay before becoming a Mechanical Engineering Intern at BP in 2009 and at BP Alternative Energy in 2010. Justin joined BP as a Facility Engineer in 2011, later transitioning to the role of Process Engineer, Project Leader, and Risk Manager. In 2015, they became a Mechanical Engineer and then a Reliability Engineer at BP, where they were responsible for ensuring safe and reliable operations. Justin joined Tesla in 2018, initially working as a Senior Quality and Reliability Engineer and later taking on roles as a Senior Mechanical and Process Engineer, Staff Technical Program Manager, and Staff Construction Manager. At Tesla, they played key roles in the design and construction of Gigafactories in Shanghai and Berlin. Most recently, Justin worked at Rivian as a Manager of Construction, leading a team in the global expansion efforts of the company. Justin has joined H2 Green Steel as a Project Director in 2022.

Justin Hickel earned a Master of Science (MS) degree in Global Energy Management from the University of Colorado Denver Business School from 2018 to 2020. Prior to that, they obtained a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University, which they attended from 2007 to 2011. Before enrolling at Colorado State University, Justin briefly studied Mechanical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute from 2006 to 2007. Justin also holds additional certifications, including Business Acumen from SMU Cox School of Business--MBA Business Leadership Center, obtained in 2018, and Vibration Analyst: Category 1 from ISO 18436-2, obtained in August 2017. Justin is also a licensed Professional Engineer in Mechanical and obtained their certification from the State of Alaska in December 2017.