Network Members

The team comprises a directing group and a wider core team of 20+ academics from 14+ universities in the UK and overseas.

Meet The Team

The Reef-UKC network project is a collaborative and interdisciplinary project by a diverse and dedicated team of academics collaborating with industry who bring unique skills, expertise, and perspectives to address the growing demand for cooling in the UK. The team comprises a directing group and a wider core team of 20+ academics from 14+ universities in the UK and overseas.

Core Team

Dr. Ahmed Rezk is the Reef-UKC lead, an academic in Mechanical Engineering and leads the research in sustainable heating, sustainable cooling and thermal systems. His research expertise encompasses enhancing the performance of thermal systems, including material-to-system level development. Ahmed published numerous research articles and contributed significantly to the field of heat transfer, cooling, and heating. Ahmed Leads the sustainable process research group in the Sustainable Development Research Centre in Aston University and EBRI. He attracted research funds as the principal investigator and support other research grants in the field.

He led projects that concern the use of renewable powered cooling technologies and leveraging the utilisation of clean cooling technologies. Ahmed’s research legacy and knowledge enabled him to contribute fulfilling several SDGs: 5) Gender Equality; 7) affordable and clean energy; 11) sustainable cities and communities; 13) climate action.

Professor Thornley is director of the UK’s national bioenergy programme: the Supergen Bioenergy hub. A fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, she has worked in low carbon energy for over 30 years, during which time she led multiple national and international research projects in engineering, physical and biological sciences, with research awards of £28M from UKRI as principal investigator and a further £20M as Co-investigator in the last 12 years.

She has led the >50 person Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute at Aston University for the last 6 years, served as Associated Dean Research for Aston’s College of Engineering and Physical Sciences for 3 years and was editor in chief of the Elsevier journal Biomass and Bioenergy from 2018 to 2024.

Patricia is an appointed member of the UK’s energy working group for its 7th carbon budget, the UK Department for Transport’s Scientific Advisory Council (leading on their low carbon fuels work in 2023), an appointed member of the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero’s Hydrogen Delivery Council production working group, a member of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs tree and woodlands scientific advisory group, steering committee member of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Green Futures Fellowship Fund, appointed member of the Royal Society’s International Strategic Priorities Fund committee for Brazil and South Africa and appointed member of the strategic advisory team for the UKRI energy programme.

She serves on advisory boards for 6 large research and innovation projects and has sat on funding selection panels for the Belgian, Swiss, New Zealand, Irish, Portugese and Central European funding agencies in recent years.

Her main research interests are in the sustainability of low carbon energy and interdisciplinary approaches to sustainability evaluation, particularly at the nexus of energy, water and land, with particular expertise in life cycle assessment and carbon foot printing.

Prof. Graeme Maidment is a leading expert in refrigeration, air conditioning, and sustainable energy systems with over 40 years of experience in the field. He began his career as an apprentice with J & E Hall Ltd., dedicating his career to advancing the sustainability of heating and cooling technologies. At London South Bank University (LSBU), he heads the School of Engineering’s research in heating and cooling, driving innovations in areas such as smart local energy systems, waste heat utilization, ground source energy, and reducing refrigerant emissions.

Prof. Maidment has led over 40 major research projects, securing more than £15 million in funding, including significant awards like the £5M CryoHub and the £4M GreenSCIES projects.

Since 2012, he has expanded his research to focus on integrated heating, cooling, and energy storage systems, adapting his work to align with the UK's Climate Change Act and Net Zero initiatives. This expansion has elevated his team to an internationally recognized position, evidenced by Prof. Maidment's leadership in global workshops on smart heating and cooling.

His research, particularly in refrigerant leakage and combined heating-cooling systems, has earned him numerous accolades, such as the Carbon Trust/ Daily Telegraph "Carbon Innovator of the Year" and the RAC Journal Gold Award. Prof. Maidment has collaborated with industry giants like Tesco and London Underground, created key industry guides, and contributed to policy development, with his work frequently featured in prominent media outlets.

Prof. Maidment also serves on the Executive of the Cool Coalition and co-leads Mission Innovation's International Community on affordable heating and cooling of buildings. He actively contributes to global climate initiatives, including COP26 and COP27, further underscoring his commitment to advancing sustainable energy solutions worldwide.

Dr Xinfang Wang is Member of The Senate, and Group Leader of Resilient Systems for Energy and Cooling (ReSet Cool) in Birmingham Energy Institute. She is also the UK Energy Research Centre’s (UKERC) EDI champion and sits on the UKERC Research Committee, advising on its strategy and priorities of flexible fund.

Xinfang has published in top scientific journals and parliamentary POSTNotes in the fields of energy and cooling. She has a strong background in whole systems research for Net Zero energy and the cold chain, especially from behaviour, public perception, economic, business model, innovation system and policy perspectives. Her research covers both developed and developing countries such as Rwanda, Kenya, India, Bangladesh, Mexico, Nepal and China. Xinfang has been PI and co-I on a list of projects with a total value of over £20 million that are funded by EU H2020, EPSRC, GCRF, Newton Fund, Defra, DESNZ (previously BEIS), World Bank, Wellcome Trust, and UKERC etc.

Durga Prasad brings over 18 years of diverse expertise as a Project Manager across higher education, public services, and customer service sectors. His skill set encompasses project management, team leadership, process enhancement, and business expansion in both public and private domains.

With a Master of Business Administration (MBA) specializing in Business Administration and Management, he holds certifications in PRINCE2 and Six Sigma methodologies.

Among his achievements is his role as Project Manager for a substantial £6 million collaborative research endeavor in bioenergy research and UK-Saudi Waste2Energy Project.

Leading coordination efforts among 8 academic partners and numerous industrial collaborators, he demonstrated adept management skills.

Academic Partners

UK Academic Partners

Luciano is Associate Professor (Reader) in Sustainable Operations Management at Aston Business School and the founding Director of the Centre for Circular Economy and Advanced Sustainability (CEAS) at Aston University. He is also member of the SCALE (Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence) group at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and Chartered Member of the Institute of Logistics and Transport.

Luciano is Advisor of the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) of the European Commission. His research focuses on sustainable operations and supply chains, with particular emphasis on industrial and urban transitions to the circular economy. He has guest-edited several special issues on this topic in high-ranked academic journals, and regularly presents his research in leading international conferences around the world.

Dr. Abed Alaswad is a Reader in Mechanical Engineering and an expert in sustainable energy systems at Aston University, where he directs the Engineering for Sustainable Development Research Centre and serves as Deputy Head of the Department of Mechanical, Biomedical, and Design Engineering. With a PhD from Dublin City University, he has held key academic positions across several universities.

Dr. Alaswad has led projects totaling over £3 million in funding, published extensively, and is a recognized leader in integrating sustainable engineering practices into education and industry, including co-leading the £2.93m Business Energy Advice Service Project. He is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA).

Dr. Amiri is a Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering at Aston University and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). With over a decade of expertise in hydrogen and fuel cell R&D, he specializes in process modeling and simulation. Holding a PhD from Curtin University, he developed a computational tool for optimizing fluidized bed reactors, a project awarded the John A Brodie Medal by Engineers Australia.

Since joining Aston in 2016, Dr. Amiri has advanced biofuels and fuel cell integration research, contributing to major UK hydrogen projects like SEND and HyDEX, and representing Aston at key hydrogen research hubs.

Dr Singh is the Professor of Sustainable Energy Technologies at Brunel University of London (UK). His research focusses onto concentrating solar energy technologies, vacuum insulation panels and building/industrial retrofit for improved energy efficiency with over 100 peer reviewed publications in the area. He has secured multi-million research funding from UKRI, Newton Fund (UK-Egypt, UK-India), Horizon2020, Innovate UK (UK-Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Uganda, India), UKIERI-DST (UK-India) and several industrial funders based in USA, Germany and the UK. Research outputs in vacuum insulation and solar energy technologies are currently licensed for commercialisation in India and USA. He was consultant to a project for developing Vaccine Storage Devices funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He was the Chair of the International Vacuum Insulation Symposium (IVIS2021) and is the current President of the IVIS Advisory Board (2022-2024).

Andrew is the Director of the EPSRC Network+ on the Decarbonisation of Heating and Cooling, Co-Director of the EPSRC Network+ on Hydrogen for Transportation (Network-H2), a Fellow of the Durham Energy Institue (DEI) and a Professor in the Department of Engineering.

Dr. Salvador Acha is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London, specializing in the transition towards Net Zero. With over 15 years of experience, he leads the Imperial College – Sainsbury’s Partnership, overseeing over 100 projects focused on enhancing energy systems and evaluating low carbon technologies. His work has significantly contributed to Sainsbury’s sustainability strategy, aiming for full decarbonization by 2035, earning him the President’s Medal for Excellence in External Collaboration in 2022.

Dr. Acha employs a systems-thinking approach to model and analyze new technologies in real-world settings, developing decision-making frameworks that highlight the implications of energy transformation. He is a Chartered Engineer and a senior member of several engineering societies, with over 85 publications in top-tier journals. He holds a BEng in Electronics and Communications from Monterrey Institute of Technology and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Imperial College, focusing on integrating distributed energy sources into existing infrastructures.

Dr. Marques is a Senior Research Fellow at London South Bank University with 18 years of experience in funded research projects focused on food science, refrigeration, and district heating and cooling. She holds a PhD from LSBU, where her research on domestic refrigerators won the Ted Perry Award from the Institute of Refrigeration in 2012. Dr Marques has successfully bridged industry and academia through an industrial CASE award PhD and two knowledge transfer partnerships with Adande Refrigeration, where she also led the Engineering department and developed award-winning products.

Currently, she serves as Project Director for the Transport, Industrial and Commercial Refrigeration project funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Catarina is also involved in several other significant projects, including GreenSCIES and Bankenergi, focusing on smart local energy systems and energy trading platforms. As President of Careers in Refrigeration, she actively promotes the field to inspire the next generation. A Fellow and trustee of the UK Institute of Refrigeration, she contributes to various committees to advance research and innovation in refrigeration technology.

Henrique is a Research Fellow in the Heating and Cooling Research Group at LSBU. He is an expert in energy modelling for heating and cooling applications, focussing on energy efficiency and decarbonisation of district energy networks and commercial/industrial refrigeration. He is the project manager for the FAST DHC project (funded by the IEA-DHC TCP), and has contributed to several high-profile research projects in this area, such as LOT-NET, Delta-PHI (both funded by the EPSRC), TICR (funded by DESNZ) and GreenSCIES (funded by InnovateUK).

Henrique’s research has led to several publications and many awards over the past few years, including the prestigious Ted Perry Award by the Institute of Refrigeration (IOR), a 1st place award at the 7th DHC+ International Awards by Euroheat and Power, as well as an award for Best Young Energy Efficiency Researcher at the World Sustainable Energy Days 2022.

Dr Christopher Brown is a researcher with a strong expertise in numerical and analytical modelling of heat and fluid flux in the subsurface. Their focus has been on decarbonisation of the heating sector through characterisation and modelling of shallow-to-deep geothermal and underground thermal energy storage systems.

Prof. Bing’s research focuses on banking and investment analytics by modelling the impact of uncertainty on banks’/firms’ performance, their lending/investment and risk-taking behaviours. She is also passionate on scrutinizing the causes of sustainable finance gap, and the consequences of climate-related risks on firms’ performances and access to finance. Another strand of Bing’s research is around the design of multidimensional frameworks (e.g., DEA, multi-criteria decision-making analysis-based approaches) to evaluate energy strategies and prediction models. She also has works around modelling/forecasting oil prices and studying the dynamic impact of oil price shocks on the economy.
Prof Xu has worked on a portfolio of UKRI funded multidisciplinary projects on low carbon fuels, sustainable cold-chains, and circular chemical economy which are recognised as central to achieving net zero. Currently, Bing is working on several UKRI funded projects around business models, sustainable finance, performance analytics, social dynamics, and policy.

Sally is an Associate Professor of Architecture at the School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds. Previously, she was a Lecturer in Environmental Design at Sheffield School of Architecture, University of Sheffield, as well as the Director of Postgraduate Taught Programmes and the Programme Leader of MSc Sustainable Architecture Studies. She was highly commended in the Vice-Chancellor’s Learning and Teaching Award in 2021. Her research interests are Adaptive Thermal Comfort, Dynamic Comfort, Personal Comfort Systems, User Behaviour, and Energy. She collaborates with national and international interdisciplinary researchers from Architecture, Engineering and Psychology backgrounds. She was the Programme Leader and Lecturer in Architectural Technology at the University of Derby, where she received the Vice-Chancellor’s Research Excellence Award in 2017. She was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the University of Leeds. She completed her PhD in Architecture at the University of Edinburgh, where she was the Editor of the Edinburgh Architecture Research (EAR) Journal and received the Edinburgh Award twice.

Professor Judith Evans is a leading expert in food refrigeration operations, focusing on the entire food cold chain from harvest to consumer. With 35 years of experience, her research has spanned various topics, including frozen storage of meat, consumer food handling, and improving the performance of domestic and commercial refrigeration systems. Currently, she is dedicated to reducing energy use and emissions in the food cold chain while optimizing refrigeration processes.

An active member of the engineering community, Professor Evans serves on the EPSRC peer review college and participates in the Institute of Refrigeration (IOR) and the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). She holds key roles in the IOR, including chairing committees and organizing conferences, and represents the UK at the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR). Additionally, she has been an editor of the Journal of Food Engineering since 2005, contributing significantly to the field with her expertise.

Prof. Neil Hewitt is recognised as an expert in heat pump technology, particularly in their development and application within energy storage and demand-side management.

Throughout his career, Professor Hewitt has initiated and contributed to numerous significant research projects funded by European and UK Research Councils, collaborating with both academic and public/private sectors. He has authored over 100 publications and is a sought-after speaker at national and international conferences.

In addition to his research and speaking engagements, Professor Hewitt serves on several editorial boards and is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Ambient Energy. He also represents the UK at the International Institute of Refrigeration’s Commission B2 on Refrigerating Machinery, further solidifying his role as a leading figure in the field.

Dr. Moura Mehravar specialises in computational mechanics and experimental modelling in geotechnical engineering, focussing on geo-energy infrastructure, including energy piles and offshore wind turbine foundations. She has significant experience using biomaterials for ground engineering and has worked on innovative solutions for renewable energy projects.

Her interests include smart infrastructure, particularly developing novel sensing technologies and efficient methods for infrastructure condition assessment and sustainable design.

Professor Daniel Friedrich is an applied mathematician specializing in the development and application of mathematical methods to address real-world challenges, particularly in the biotechnology and energy sectors. He has successfully employed modeling, numerical simulation, and optimization technologies across a diverse array of problems, including microfluidic biosensors, diesel engines, carbon capture, and thermal energy storage.

Professor Friedrich earned his Diploma in Technomathematik from the Universität Karlsruhe (TH) in Germany, a Postgraduate Diploma in Science in Mathematics from the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and a PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Southampton in the UK. His work not only contributes to advancing theoretical knowledge but also has practical implications in various industries.

Gioia Falcone holds the Rankine Chair in Energy Engineering at the University of Glasgow, where she is Director of the Glasgow Centre for Sustainable Energy, Associate Director of the Centre for Sustainable Solutions and Head of the Energy and Sustainability Research Group. Until June 2018, she was Professor and Head of the Geo-Energy Engineering Centre at Cranfield University. Between 2011 and early 2016, she held the Endowed Chair and Professorship in Geothermal Energy Systems at Clausthal University of Technology, Germany, where she was also the Director of the now Institute of Subsurface Energy Systems. Gioia was formerly an Assistant and then Associate Professor at Texas A&M University, Chevron Corporation Faculty Fellow and faculty member of the Ocean Drilling and Sustainable Earth Science partnership. Prior to joining academia, she worked with Eni-Agip, Enterprise Oil UK, Shell E&P UK and Total E&P UK.

Gioia holds a Laurea Summa Cum Laude in Environmental Engineering from Sapienza University of Rome, a M.Sc. degree in Petroleum Engineering from Imperial College London and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College London. She is Vice-Chairperson of the Bureau of the Expert Group on Resource Management of the United Nations Commission for Europe (UNECE), Co-Chair of its Renewables Working Group and Chair of its Geothermal Sub-Group. She has served on the BEIS (now DESNZ - Department for Energy Security and Net Zero) Energy Working Group, chaired by the Chief Scientific Advisor to BEIS, advising on the development of Technical Screening Criteria in the energy sector for the UK Green Taxonomy. She serves on the Board of the Energy Technology Partnership (ETP), the Directorate of Scottish Carbon Capture and Sequestration (SCCS), and the Scientific Committee of the International Conference on Multiphase Flow and Heat Transfer (ICMFHT) and of the European Geothermal Congress (EGC). She served on the 2020-2023 Board of Directors of the International Geothermal Association (IGA). Until June 2021, she was Chair of the Academic Panel of Oil and Gas Technology Centre (OGCT) and, following its repositioning, she became Member of the Net Zero Technology Centre Academic Advisory Panel until early 2023. She is Member of the UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research Centre (UKCCSRC) and University liaison for its membership to the Life Cycle Initiative, hosted by UNEP, and the European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC).

Dr. Khoa Le is a Lecturer at University of Leeds, Department of Engineering & Physical Sciences.

Dr. Le was awarded his PhD in Energy and Buildings at University of Ulster in the UK after completing MSc with the first class honour in Manufacturing and Management at National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences in Taiwan, and BSc in Mechatronics at Danang University of Science and Technology in Vietnam. He is the recipient of prestigious international scholarships (e.g. full MSc scholarship from Taiwan Ministry of Education, and full PhD scholarship from Vice-Chancellor’s Research Studentships of University of Ulster), and outstanding research achievements such as the best paper award of the School of Architecture and Built Environment at University of Ulster.

Also, he was selected to be among 35 young professionals across Southeast Asia to attend Energy Economics and Policy seminar funded by the U.S. Department of State to gain knowledge, expand professional networks, and especially, cultivate leadership skills for next leaders in Southeast Asia towards net-zero transition.

Malcolm McCulloch is a Professor of Energy Systems and Group Leader of the Energy and Power Group at the University of Oxford. His research focuses on the domestic energy sector, user-centric demand-side management technologies, and behavior change. He co-founded Intelligent Sustainable Energy, which merged into Navetas Energy Management. In the transport sector, he contributed to the development of the Morgan LifeCar, the first hydrogen sports car, and co-founded Oxford Yasa Motors.

Additionally, he is involved in renewable generation projects, including Kepler Energy. Malcolm also develops advanced intelligence technologies for scalable distributed electrification and served as Co-Director of the Institute for Carbon and Energy Reduction in Transport from 2008 to 2013.

Dr. Binjian Nie is a Lecturer at the University of Oxford, where he leads the Energy Storage and Energy Carriers group.

Dr. Nie obtained his PhD in Chemical Engineering in 2019, building on a BSc and MEng in Chemical Engineering and three years of experience in Chemical Process Engineering. Prior to joining Oxford in 2022, he held research fellowships at the Energy Research Accelerator (ERA), including a role as a T-ERA Senior Research Fellow.

Dr. Steven Metcalf is an Associate Professor at the University of Warwick, specializing in sustainable thermal energy technologies. He completed his MEng and PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Warwick, where he has since contributed to numerous EPSRC, EU, BEIS, and industry-funded projects. Dr. Metcalf’s primary research focuses on developing gas-fired heat pumps, aimed at reducing domestic gas consumption by 30-40% as a near-term solution for lowering carbon emissions.

He also represents Warwick in the International Energy Agency (IEA) Annexes on thermally driven heat pumps and serves in the European Heat Pump Association. Additionally, he teaches and leads the module ES3B5: Engines and Heat Pumps.

Dr. Stan Shire is the Stream Leader for Mechanical Engineering at the University of Warwick, where he also serves as the academic lead for Intercalated Year degrees and coordinates the Advanced Mechanical Engineering MSc program. With a background in thermo-fluids, Dr. Shire’s research focuses on thermophysical behaviors in two-phase flows, efficient use of low to medium temperature heat, and thermochemical reactions for heat recovery and storage. His work also spans solar energy systems, phase change materials, and thermally driven cooling technologies.

As the academic thematic lead for Heating & Cooling within Warwick’s Global Research Priority (GRP) on Energy, Dr. Shire contributes to sustainable thermal systems research, including projects like I-STUTE and the LoT-NET program, which advances low-temperature heat networks. Through a recent £2M InnovateUK grant, Warwick’s labs now support enhanced research into low-carbon energy technologies essential for a sustainable built environment.

Professor Faramarzi is a Professor of Civil and Geotechnical Engineering in the School of Engineering. His main research interests are application of computational modelling, and machine learning in geotechnical infrastructure modelling. He also has interest in geophysical sensing, ground engineering, experimental modelling and energy geotechnics. He has published over 100 research papers in prestigious journals and international conferences.

Dr Alexander Harrison (PhD, MEng, MA (Cantab)) joined the Energy Storage and Energy Carriers group at Oxford in 2024 as a PDRA, with his main research work focussing on thermochemical heating and cooling for heat management in solid hydrogen storage systems, with a particular interest in systems for managing renewable power intermittency for electrified industry and chemical production. His other current projects include incorporating thermal energy storage for heat management in data centres, and investigating chemical looping for processes such as ammonia production and CO₂ utilisation.

His doctoral research, performed at the University of Cambridge in the group of Dr Ewa Marek, focussed on the fundamentals and applications of chemical looping catalysis for selective oxidation reactions.

Academic Partners

International Academic Partners

Qiaoqiang Gan is a professor of materials science and applied physics at KAUST, internationally recognized for applying photonics to nanoscale and nanostructured materials to solve critical problems in engineering. He directs the Sustainability and Photonics Energy Research Lab (SuPER), which focuses on enhancing the optical energy harvesting and conversion, sensing capability for disease detection by investigating enhanced light-matter interactions and smart sensing mechanisms. Professor Gan joined KAUST in 2021 from the University at Buffalo, State University of New York, USA, where he taught within the Department of Electrical Engineering. He has published more than 120 papers in peer‐reviewed journals such as Nature Sustainability, Nature Rev Clean Tech, Joule, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Science Advances and Advanced Materials, and received a dozen federal grants totaling more than $7 million, including funding from the National Science Foundation. He holds multiple patents involving solar vapor evaporation and condensation, and hyperspectral spectrometers based on semiconductor nanomembranes.

Dr Hasila Jarimi is a Marie Curie Research Fellow at the Department of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Nottingham, and a Senior Lecturer at the Solar Energy Research Institute, National University of Malaysia. Her research centres on sustainable energy technologies, with a particular focus on solar energy systems for buildings, sustainable cooling solutions, and advanced thermal storage technologies. Driven by a commitment to solving real-world challenges, she works to improve access to cooling for underserved communities while addressing gender disparities in cooling accessibility, particularly in rural areas. Dr Hasila’s work integrates technology, sustainability, and social equity, aiming to deliver meaningful benefits for both people and the environment.

Non Academic Partners – UK & International

Mr. Ure started his career in 1981 as a mechanical engineer and since than served in number companies like Karbogaz (Turkey), J&E Hall (UK) in the refrigeration field and worked as Building Services Consultant for a number of UK based consultancy firms as well as marketing in York International as a Sales Manager. Mr. Ure used to be the Chairman of CIBSE Thermal Storage Group in the UK

Mr. Ure is the founder and Managing Director of PCM Products Ltd. specialised in PCM based Thermal Energy Storage products and associated low energy cooling / heating technologies.

Mr. Ure takes a special interest in the promotion of alternative energy efficient and environmentally friendly technologies and overall load shifting / site demand management practices for practical HVAC & Refrigeration applications.

Dave is group Sustainable Development Director for Star Refrigeration Ltd. He is a visiting professor at Royal Academy of Engineering, Edinburgh Napier University. Dave is also a Director of Star Renewable Energy.

David Horsfall is the Director of Property and Sustainability at Tyseley Energy Park within the Webster & Horsfall Group. A Chartered Surveyor specializing in Planning and Development, David is dedicated to creating sustainable, high-quality spaces. He currently leads the development of Tyseley Energy Park (TEP) in central Birmingham, a pioneering project that partners with academia, government, and industry to advance infrastructure for renewable energy, energy storage, clean transport fuels, and advanced waste processing.

Through TEP, David is helping to shape Birmingham’s sustainable future in energy and environmental innovation.

Derrick Taylor is the Principal Carbon Policy Officer at Birmingham City Council, where he leads carbon policy and sustainability initiatives to help Birmingham meet its carbon reduction targets. In this role, he supports the Birmingham City Council Carbon Management Board, overseeing the creation and implementation of the Council’s Carbon Management Plan and fulfilling obligations under the Carbon Reduction Commitment.

Derrick also ensures the development, approval, and review of sustainable development policies and guidance, driving Birmingham’s transition toward a sustainable future.

Tonia is Finance and Bids Officer in the Net Zero Team at Birmingham City Council. She is a Chartered Management Accountant who has worked predominately in the voluntary and public sectors in Finance Manager roles.

Tonia has worked on successful multi-million pound tenders for service delivery and has written successful grant applications for over £26 million. She has also managed finance, IT, estate and human resources teams.

She is a Carbon Literacy trainer and enjoys public speaking and is passionate about the environment. She doesn’t own a car and cycles around Birmingham.

Debbie Caldwell is the Climate Commissioner for Belfast City Council. She is an experienced climate change specialist with over 20 years’ experience working in international development in countries including Bangladesh, Nigeria and Rwanda. She leads the Council’s climate work and co-chairs the Belfast Resilience and Sustainability Board and the Belfast Climate Commission.

Prior to joining the Council, Debbie led the design and delivery of climate investments in Asia and Africa. In Bangladesh, Debbie led a £5m development project supporting vulnerable communities living in the coastal zone and a series of scoping studies to support the design of a planned £200 million climate programme. She also advised the Government of Rwanda for several years on its national climate fund (now the largest national climate fund in Africa) and the Green City pilot project in Kigali. Debbie moved to Belfast in 2018 after 17 years living and working in Africa and Asia.

With a progressive career in leadership roles, Beecham currently serve as the Director at Unitech Synergies. Here, he leverages his expertise in driving strategic growth and fostering a culture of innovation. His extensive background in law, compliance, risk management, operations, and the energy sector allows him to effectively navigate regulatory landscapes and ensure adherence to industry standards. At the heart of his professional philosophy is a commitment to advancing the company’s mission through forward-thinking approaches and collaborative leadership.

Unitech has developed a patented cooling system that does not rely on refrigerants, compressors, or traditional cooling methods. Their technology enhances venturi vacuum efficiency by connecting multiple systems, which increases the mass flow rate and air density. Compressed air from the venturi vacuum enters a vortex tube, separating it into hot and cold streams without any moving parts. The cold air is then redirected to the system that requires cooling, while the hot air is converted into electricity instead of being discarded. This process maximizes energy efficiency by utilizing recoverable thermal energy.

Experienced Innovative Product & Business Developer with over a decade of driving sustainable business growth across consumer electronics (Panasonic), energy markets (Mitsubishi Corporation), investment advisory (Flux Limited), cold chain infrastructure (Eja-Ice), sustainability advisory for companies and Respiratory care solutions (Shifa Tech). Exceptional understanding of sector value chains, business operations and analytics tools for effective analysis of data.

Yusuf’s products and innovative business solutions have been recognised by the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Africa Prize where he won “One to Watch Award” , the Leicestershire Innovation Awards and the World Economic Forum’s UpLink Blue Ocean Innovator Awards etc. Yusuf develops, implements, and leads new business & project initiatives to advance investments in clean energy. Led teams, managed workforce training and skills development of team members. Responsibilities include; financial management, resource management, customer interaction, technical support and project execution with technicians.

Dr. Vibha Bhardwaj is a distinguished environmental scientist with 20 years of experience, currently serving as the Director of Environment Laboratories at Ras Al Khaimah Municipality in the UAE. Holding a Ph.D. in Microbiology and completing multiple prestigious postdoctoral fellowships internationally, she is a leading expert in her field. Dr. Bhardwaj is also an Honorary Professor at SBS Medical University in India and a prolific author, having co-authored 12 textbooks and published 65 research papers and numerous book chapters focusing on microbial ecology, environmental biotechnology, and climate change.

Dr. Bhardwaj’s contributions to the scientific community have been widely recognized. She has received 41 prestigious awards, including Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Bhartiya Ratan Samman, the 200 Global women Leader award, Dubai. Women Leader Award in Leadership by the Women Leader Forum UK/India, the Green Medal Award of Biodiversity for Life and World Peace FUNEMA Columbia, and the International Outstanding Scientist Award in Engineering, Science, and Medicine by INSO, USA. Her accolades also include the Gold Medal from UNES for her achievements in science and technology.

Alex has extensive experience leading geospatial data collection projects across Europe, the UK, and the USA. He is the co-founder of Skilled Mapping and Carto AI, companies specialising in geospatial analysis and innovative applications of mapping technologies. Their current research focuses on leveraging advanced scientific imaging, such as thermography, and artificial intelligence—particularly computer vision—to detect heat loss in residential and commercial buildings. This work spans from vulnerability assessment to targeted heat loss identification, with the goal of supporting energy recovery, improving building performance, and advancing sustainability

Steve Molloy, With more than 25 years’ experience in the HVAC industry, Steve has built a wealth ofknowledge through working closely with the whole supply chain of the built environment. AsDaikin UK’s Sustainability and Commercial Solutions Manager, Steve has a passion forassisting with the design and delivery of HVAC solutions with the emphasis on deliveringreduction in whole life carbon.

With nearly two decades of experience in commercial refrigeration, Jordan has developed deep expertise through a diverse career at Epta. His journey has spanned designing innovative display cases, leading technical marketing initiatives, and driving commercial management strategies. Now, as he embarks on an exciting new chapter with Epta Technica, Jordan is leveraging his expertise to drive consultancy and spearhead innovation.

By actively collaborating with industry partners and academic stakeholders, Jordan is committed to fostering meaningful advancements that support the decarbonisation of the cooling industry. He firmly believes that true innovation, grounded in practical experience and open collaboration, can deliver real, measurable impact in the pursuit of a more sustainable future.

With 28 years in the refrigeration industry, Matt is recognised for his hands-on expertise, technical leadership, and passion for developing others. Over two decades at Epta, he has been a driving force behind the advancement of CO₂ refrigeration technologies, helping to shape both the company’s technical direction and the wider industry. Matt’s career is defined not just by innovation, but by a genuine commitment to sharing knowledge and supporting the next generation of engineers. His blend of practical experience and forward-thinking vision continues to make a lasting impact on Epta and the refrigeration sector.

Jakub is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer specialising in energy access and efficient appliances designed for off- and weak-grid areas. He leads the energy access research portfolio at Energy Saving Trust, primarily working on the Low Energy Inclusive Appliances programme as part of Efficiency for Access. Jakub’s cooling research portfolio includes field testing of solar-powered refrigerators, designing low-carbon cold storage solutions and developing a technical guide for walk-in cold room practitioners. Prior to that, he worked as a renewable energy consultant in the private sector and a researcher in the public sector and academia. Jakub holds an MSc in Renewable Energy Systems & the Environment from the University of Strathclyde and a BEng in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University of Liberec.

Mary is a Chartered Energy Manager with a career that started over 17 years ago in energy efficiency and management which has transitioned to strategy development and change management, Mary has used her technical, strategic and programme management experience to help large public sector organisations to decarbonise their estate.

Mary adopts a visionary approach to scale the pace of decarbonisation including utilizing data-driven insights to drive whole system decarbonisation. In this role, Mary is focused on developing solutions to blockers that impact delivery of the net zero target and provides technical leadership on energy efficiency and carbon reduction interventions. This includes providing strategic leadership and collaborating with the system to ensure trusts are supported to develop a programme that aligns with the NHS’s net zero target and evolve the NHS’s technical standards to respond to the net zero carbon challenge.

Steve is the founder and CEO of Arriba Technologies Ltd, a manufacturer of commercial HVAC
machinery, including heat pumps and chillers than are built for connection to DC microgrids.
Arriba’s DC connected heat pumps and chillers leverage solarised power systems and solar reactive
control algorithms to achieve vastly improved levels of PV self sufficiency in commercial and
industrial buildings.
The optimisation of control systems for dual temperature refrigerating machines which provide
cooling and heating separately or simultaneously is central to the company’s solarised HVAC
technology. And as such a major part of the company’s R&D effort is directed at edge computing
solutions capable of getting HVAC machinery to adapt appropriately to changes in building
utilisation and solar intensity.
After four decades as a designer of refrigeration and heat pump systems Steve believes that recent
developments in power electronics, edge computing and robot manufacturing are set to push the
cost of owning and running a cooling or heating plant significantly downwards. By offering cheaper
and greener products the HVAC and Refrigeration sector can open up large, as yet untapped
markets around the world.

Having joined SMI in 2019, Ross supports the business development of SMI, which includes sales and marketing, and is always available to support both new and existing customers, including over 200 coldroom contractor businesses. He has the knowledge to identify areas of a customer’s site or within vehicles, to recommend the best solution from SMI’s vast and proven product range, to ensure customers can make the energy savings achieved from them, which also gives the best temperature retention and ensures food and pharmaceutical products are stored or transported at the correct temperatures.

Michael spent 20 years in new product development in various industries culminating in managing £10m+ projects for a GE subsidiary. He then set up his own NPD consultancy and has helped numerous businesses develop and launch new products. He has also founded several sustainable startups and now runs a solar thermal company and holds board positions in three other businesses including as NED. He also mentors sustainable startups as an Entrepreneur in Residence at a successful accelerator programme.

Jagadish Rao Raghavendra is a visionary entrepreneur and CEO pioneering marine‑safe, bladeless tidal turbines for continuous clean energy. He blends engineering rigor with creative storytelling, driving systems‑level innovation across renewable energy, climate resilience, and sustainable infrastructure. His work advances equitable energy access and transformative global impact.

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Meet The Team

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Core Team

Dr. Ahmed Rezk

Prof. Patricia Thornley

Prof. Graeme Maidment

Dr. Xinfang Wang

Durga Prasad

Academic Partners

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Dr. Luciano Batista

Dr. Abed Alaswad

Dr. Amir Amiri

Prof. Harjit Singh

Prof. Andrew Smallbone

Dr. Salvador Acha Izquierdo

Dr. Catarina Marques

Dr. Henrique Lagoeiro

Dr. Christopher Brown

Prof. Bing Xu

Dr Sally Shahzad (Wyville)

Prof. Judith Evans

Prof. Neil Hewitt

Dr. Moura Mehravar

Prof. Daniel Friedrich

Prof. Gioia Falcone

Dr. Khoa Le

Prof. Malcolm McCulloch

Dr. Binjian Nie

Dr. Steven Metcalf

Dr. Stan Shire

Prof. Asaad Faramarzi

Dr. Alexander Harrison

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Dr. Yosr Allouche

Dr. Satyanarayanan Seshadri

Dr. Rajesekar Erlangan

Dr. Adil Nour

Dr. Yanzhao An

Dr. Mohammad Faisal

Prof. Qiaoqiang Gan

Dr. Hasila Jarimi

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Zafer URE

Dave Pearson

David Horsfall

Derrick Taylor

Tonia Clark

Debbie Caldwell

Beecham Koonjah

Yusuf Bilesanmi

Dr. Vibha Bhardwaj

Alex Wrigglesworth

Steve Molloy

Jordan Tomes

Matt Crolla

Jakub Vrba

Mary Aladegbola

Steve Connolly

Ross Clarke

Michael Reid

Jagadish Rao Raghavendra

Simon Shackley

Paul Kerby

Tommy Allsopp

Paul Humphries

Daniel Cartter

Paul Humphries

Tim Hordley

Connor Smith

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