SCCS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chairman in Inorganic Chemistry
Alastair Rennie is a Consultant Engineer with YOenergy Ltd., partly overlapping with 19 years with Amec Foster Wheeler as Project Director leading, bidding and winning work in new areas of scope, all profitably. These included offshore integrated services for 5 Northern North Sea O&G platforms, 500 staff, refurbishment and live operations. Internal strategic work assessed renewable energy options and this led to a UK interest in CCS. Prior experience of 19 years included 3 as head of Public Works for St Helena, with 500 staff providing all utilities and infrastructure support to the Island. Other roles covered North Sea gas field development, subsea contracting, mine construction, design and consulting experience. Since 2000 he has focused primarily on low carbon energy issues, raising company activity and board membership of the CCSA and UKHFCA, instigating actions around value chains for hydrogen and CCS.
Job Titles:
- Civil and Environmental Engineering
Job Titles:
- Professor of Earth Sciences - GeoEnergy, Heriot - Watt University
Andreas Busch integrates flow properties with geochemistry, petrophysics, physical chemistry, geomechanics and geology to understand and de-risk carbon storage, geothermal and hydrogen storage. This involves laboratory, field and analytical/numerical modelling to upscale problems to the reservoir scale. Prior to joining Heriot-Watt University in 2016, he coordinated several large scale research projects combining theoretical, laboratory and field based work within Shell Global Solutions in the Netherlands. Since joining Heriot-Watt in 2016, he is in charge of the GeoEnergy lab, dealing with CCS, unconventional reservoirs, energy storage and geothermal energy.
Chris Bryceland is part of Scottish Enterprise's low carbon transition team where he leads up developing and implementing strategy for CCUS and Subsea Engineering. Chris has worked in the Energy sector for Scottish Enterprise for 10 years, including 2 years working for Shell as part of the Peterhead CCS project team. Chris also sits on the board of Subsea UK and previously ran the Industry leadership group for Thermal Generation and CCS in Scotland.
Job Titles:
- Reader in Geology, University of Aberdeen
Clare Bond is a structural geologists whose research interests span uncertainty in interpretation of geological data through to deformation mechanisms and the interaction of fluids with other crustal processes. She leads an international group of researchers whose work is funded through industry collaborations, research councils and other organisations. Clare also has interests in how society and societal perceptions influence energy choices.
Job Titles:
- Business Development Executive
- Programme Manager
- Management
Philippa Parmiter manages the SCCS project and team and the strategic delivery of key outputs. This involves directing and coordinating the different SCCS activities, including knowledge exchange and dissemination, policy and technical analysis, and business development. She also undertakes financial management and reporting, chairs the regular SCCS Directorate meetings and reports biannually to the SCCS Advisory Board.
Philippa joined SCCS as a Business Development Executive and continues to carry out this function, developing successful bids and building relationships with international businesses, policymakers and researchers. She also contributes to outputs such as analyses and reports on industrial hubs and clusters and CCS business models, and to policy briefings and consultation responses. She has also scoped and delivered targeted knowledge dissemination events.
A Chartered Engineer, Philippa has a MSc in Environmental Protection and Management (Distinction) from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD in Physical Electronics. She has worked for government, academia, an environmental consultancy and for a start-up through to volume manufacturing, resulting in a patent on semiconductor waveguides and an entry in the Guinness Book of Records for the world's smallest TV screen.
Job Titles:
- Business Development & Project Manager
Romain focuses on business development across the carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) value chain; including CO2 capture technologies, transport, utilisation and conversion, power plant integration modelling and engineering, geological storage, measurement and monitoring. He provides the SCCS partnership with industry engagement and identifies research and commercial opportunities in CCUS.
Over the last four years, Romain has established long-lasting strategic relationships with key stakeholders from various sectors, such as Bioenergy, Hydrogen, Food & Drink, Oil & Gas, and Heavy Industries, including Petrochemicals Steel & Cement and with a large number of SMEs. He has organised a number of targeted industry events and technical meetings, and initiated and supported the development of successful research collaborations and large research projects involving industrial partners and multiple stakeholders.
Romain joined SCCS to support the commercialisation and deployment of CCS as a climate change mitigation solution after spending 14 years in research, management and commercialisation within the cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food & drink and life science sectors. Romain is a certified Prince2 project manager with a PhD in Chemistry.
Job Titles:
- Environment Manager for Diageo 's European Supply Business
Duncan Wall is an Environment Manager for Diageo's European supply business. He responsible for developing and implementing the strategy to reduce the environmental impact from maltings, distilling, brewing and packaging operations across 60 sites in the UK, Ireland and Italy. Diageo is an industry leader in sustainability with ambitious targets to be reached by 2020 covering water, carbon emissions, sustainable packaging and waste. Duncan has worked for Diageo for 10 years on a number of energy, water and carbon reduction projects, including a significant investment in renewable energy plants. Prior to working for Diageo, Duncan worked in the pharmaceutical and food sectors on similar energy and environment projects. He holds a Masters in Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology from University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology and is a chartered Chemical Engineer. He also represents Diageo and industry interests on Scotch Whisky Association energy & environment committees.
Job Titles:
- Energi Simulation Chair in Reactive Flow Simulation and CCUS, Heriot - Watt University
Eric Mackay holds the Energi Simulation Chair in CCUS & Reactive Flow Simulation in the Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering at Heriot-Watt University, where he has worked since 1990. He is involved in projects identifying methods for calculating secure CO₂ storage potential in saline formations and depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Earth Sciences - GeoEnergy, Heriot - Watt University
Florian Doster Professor of Earth Sciences - GeoEnergy, Heriot-Watt University e.F.Doster@hw.ac.uk t. +44 (0)131 451 4077 Key CCS Research Hydro-chemical-mechanical coupling in CO 2 and hydrogen storage, geothermal energy production as well as in reservoir seals integrity assessment. More info
Job Titles:
- Rankine Chair, Professor of Energy Engineering, University of Glasgow
Gioia Falcone is Rankine Chair, Professor of Energy Engineering at the University of Glasgow and Visiting Professor at Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London. 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 Institute of Petroleum Engineering. Gioia was formerly an Assistant and then Associate Professor in Petroleum Engineering 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, covering both offshore and onshore assignments. She holds a Laurea Summa Cum Laude in Environmental-Georesources 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 has served on several expert review panels, as technical editor/reviewer for several peer-review journals, and as member of several program committees of technical conferences around the world. Along with being actively engaged with the Society of Petroleum Engineers, she is one of the 23 Vice-Chairpersons of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Bureau of the Expert Group on Resource Management. The group has overseen the development of the Specifications for the Application of the UNFC to Injection Projects for the Purpose of Geological Storage.
After a 35-year career at Royal Dutch Shell, which included heading its global renewable business, Graeme Sweeney holds a number of senior positions with organisations working on climate-safe solutions. He is Chairman of the Advisory Council of the European Technology Platform of Zero Emission Fossil Fuels Power Plants, a founder of the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute and a member of the Scottish First Minister's Energy Advisory Board. Graeme is involved in a number of energy start-ups, including the Chopping Company, which provides solutions to improve the affordability and efficiency of home heating. Also, he served on the board of The Institute of Transportation Studies at University of California Davis, a leading academic centre in sustainable transportation. He has a PhD in mathematics from Manchester University.
Job Titles:
- Trading Specialist for INEOS O & P UK
Jacqueline Lobban is the Emissions Trading Specialist for INEOS O&P UK. She is responsible for managing the various businesses' onsite environmental compliance: the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS); the UK Climate Change Agreement (CCA); emission reporting under Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) and the UK Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS). She provides commercial and policy expertise and analysis on the range of emissions trading activities throughout the INEOS community and works closely with our trade association and government on the continued development of environmental regulations. With a B.Eng. (Hons) degree in Chemical and Process Engineering, she has over 20 years of experience in the Petrochemical Industry and has worked in a number of areas, from operational technical support to commercial, and has a strong background in environmental legislation. Her current role has recently been expanded to provide an industry perspective on CCS development and deployment.
Job Titles:
- Chancellor
- Lecturer in Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Strathclyde
Jen is a Chancellor's Fellow in Energy, which is a research-facing Lectureship position. Her research is interdisciplinary and applied, and addresses the social and environmental risk of geological resources - often relating to CCS. These risks vary from the very specific or technical-facing, to broad and societal-facing, and the range of risks and impacts and decision-making processes in-between. Ultimately her work aims to inform how the necessary transition to a net zero carbon future can be implemented in a way that is acceptable to society and to the environment.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Process Engineer
Jonathan Slater is the Principal Process Engineer and Technical Authority for CCUS at Doosan Babcock. He holds a BEng (Hons) degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Nottingham and is a chartered Chemical Engineer. Jonathan has worked for Doosan Babcock for 15 years on a range of projects in the energy sector from consultancy to technology development and project delivery. Jonathan has been involved in carbon capture since 2010 with significant experience gained in both Oxyfuel and Post Combustion technologies through feasibility studies, FEED studies and full EPC. He was a key member of the design and operations team for the Ferrybridge 100 t/day post combustion carbon capture plant (CCPilot100+). Jonathan continues to lead projects and provide technical assurance and direction on low carbon energy projects and technology development.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Membrane Separations, University of Edinburgh
Maria-Chiara Ferrari received her PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Bologna, Italy, in 2009 with a dissertation on mass transport in polymers. Since 2011, she has established her research and experimental facilities for membranes for gas separation at the University of Edinburgh. Her research focuses on pre and post-combustion carbon capture from power plants (sponsored by ScottishPower and Johnson Matthey) and industrial plants and natural gas purification with both experimental and modelling studies. She is University of Edinburgh PI for the H2020 project, NanoMEMC2.
Job Titles:
- Senior Lecturer in Clean Energy With Carbon Capture and Storage, University of Edinburgh
Mathieu has worked on CCS since 2005, first at Imperial College London and since 2010 at the University of Edinburgh. His research at the interface of academia and industry uses a combination of tools and techniques, including advanced process models, techno-economic studies, Computational Fluid Dynamics methods, lab scale prototypes, pilot plant test campaigns and transportable lab facilities deployed at industrial sites. It aims at achieving large cost reductions in CO 2 capture from power stations, heavy industries and directly from the air and at integrating flexible CO 2 capture technologies in low-carbon energy systems with renewables.
Job Titles:
- Geology and Landscape Project Leader, British Geological Survey
Maxine Akhurst is a geologist at the British Geological Survey and leads, manages and contributes to applied geoscience research projects. She has experience in geological survey and 3D modelling, multi-contractor commissioned research, the geology of the Southern Uplands and Midland Valley as well as offshore Scotland. She has led three Scottish CCS studies funded by consortia of industry and government. She leads and manages BGS contributions to CCS research projects funded by the EU and UK research council.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive of the Scottish Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association
Nigel Holmes is Chief Executive of the Scottish Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association (SHFCA), the trade association for development and deployment of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. SHFCA is one of the most active hydrogen and fuel cell industry associations in Europe, with over 75 members mostly based in Scotland and UK but with an increasing number of members based overseas. Nigel also represents SHFCA member interests on the Renewable Industry Advisory Group (RIAG), and is a steering group member for both the Scottish Transport Emissions Partnership and Community Energy Scotland.
Owain Tucker is the Global Deployment Lead for CO₂ Storage at Shell. He leads storage projects, is responsible for technical assurance, integration, and informing the CCS research agenda, along with the development of capability within Shell. Over the past eight years, he worked extensively across Shell's projects, and particularly on maturing Goldeneye in the UK: the candidate store for the former Longannet and Peterhead CCS projects. He also focussed on the wider challenge of developing transport and storage business models, co-chairing the ZEP taskforce. Owain co-chairs the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative work group on CO2 storage capacity and the SPE taskforce on Storage Resource Maturation System, and is a board member of the UKCCSRC. Owain has worked in wide variety of roles, as a reservoir engineer, economist and strategy consultant.
Job Titles:
- Policy & Research Officer
Rebecca Bell is responsible for policy and advocacy for the SCCS research partnership, monitoring and analysing Scottish, UK, EU and international CCS policy formulation. She develops evidence-based SCCS policy positions and translates these into consultation responses, committee evidence and media releases.
Rebecca engages with politicians from all parties, as well as industry groups, public bodies and non-governmental organisations to build support for CCS in Scotland. She advises on policy areas, including industrial decarbonisation, oil and gas decommissioning, and net zero emissions ambitions.
Rebecca has over 12 years' experience in policy development, analysis, and advocacy. A former chair of the Sustainable Scotland Network, editor of Scotland's State of the Environment report and a political campaigner, Rebecca has worked in local government and the NGO sector, building and strengthening partnerships to embed climate change and sustainability in decision-making, and developing projects to deliver a step change in climate action.
Richard Stevenson is responsible for providing data management, analysis and dissemination and knowledge exchange support across the SCCS partnership and for multiple international CCUS projects. More specifically, this includes analysis and dissemination of Scottish industrial and power emissions, monitoring the progress of CCUS projects around the world, management of the SCCS Global Map, and responding to North Sea infrastructure decommissioning consultations on behalf of SCCS.
Richard provides advice to SCCS and EU project partners and key stakeholders, such as Scottish Government and other industry and academic groups, and also contributes to the wider SCCS partnership in terms of knowledge dissemination, events organisation and publicising successful projects & grant awards.
Richard previously taught Japanese at UK undergraduate level and worked as a translator and proofreader in Japan and the UK. He holds an MSc in Translation Studies and an MSc in Carbon Management (both The University of Edinburgh). He joined SCCS in 2014.
Job Titles:
- Digital Communications Officer
Richard Lo Bianco is responsible for managing and delivering digital media communications for the SCCS partnership and multiple CCUS Projects across Europe, to promote their research and translate findings into formats accessible to different audiences. This involves recording and post-production of audio and video content and other digital media for dissemination through online and social media channels. He also assists with technical input and support in organising and managing conferences, online meetings, webinars and events.
Richard joined SCCS in 2020, bringing his creative and technology background to the team. He has over 10 years of expertise in IT sales and training, organising and facilitating events, and engaging with a variety of audiences including youth groups, schools, professionals, and businesses.
Richard has an MSc in Sound Design from the University of Edinburgh. He has collaborated in multidisciplinary projects and worked providing consultative AV advice, audio engineering, post-production services, and broadcasting support for films, animations, theatre, published apps, and independent media producers.
Job Titles:
- Senior Development Manager at Crown Estate Scotland
Sian Wilson is Senior Development Manager at Crown Estate Scotland, the public body which manages Scotland's seabed and around half the foreshore, with the revenue profit being returned to The Scottish Government. Sian is responsible for infrastructure development and asset management, which includes gas storage and transportation. Sian has a BSc in Environmental Science, a Masters in Offshore Technology from Cranfield University and, after more than 10 years working in the offshore technology sphere, she obtained an MBA in 2019. Crown Estate Scotland works with people and organisations to ensure that assets are managed in a sustainable way that creates prosperity and lasting value for Scotland and its communities. Scotland's carbon dioxide storage capacity holds huge potential to help achieve Scotland's net zero targets, support other countries to achieve theirs by offering trusted and secure carbon management, and create wider opportunity for sustainable businesses and clean living that society now, rightly, demands. As a part of the transition to a low carbon economy CSS will, we believe, be core to that success and lasting value.
Job Titles:
- Energy Technology Partnership
- Executive Director of the Energy Technology Partnership
Stephen-Mark Williams is Executive Director of the Energy Technology Partnership, an alliance of 12 Scottish universities providing world-class R&D in the energy sector. He has worked in a number of locations around the world, being involved in high-technology innovation companies in France, Germany, and the US. As Sales & Marketing Director for a Scottish SME, he experienced the complete funding landscape, applying for and winning PDF, SMART, SPUR, RDF and Framework contracts. More recently, he has been involved in commercial negotiating and training. Now he aims to galvanise all ETP energy researchers in developing collaborative activity that will attract increased European and global interest, and augment the R&D capacity of the Scottish energy industry.
The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) is responsible for the development of Scotland's further and higher education institutions. In his present role, Stuart Fancey is responsible for SFC's research funding policy, knowledge exchange and innovation policy, SFC's contribution to the development of the Research Excellence Framework and various other liaison activities across the Scottish and UK university and innovation landscape. His team are closely engaged with Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to find opportunities to better exploit the excellence of Scotland's university research base for economic and societal benefit.
Job Titles:
- Director and Professor of Carbon Capture & Storage, University of Edinburgh
Stuart Haszeldine is the current Director of SCCS and the worlds first Professor of CCS, he is one of the key driving forces behind establishing CCS as a new industry in the UK, EU and worldwide. Stuart has over 35 years research experience in energy and environment; innovating new approaches to oil and gas extraction, radioactive waste disposal, carbon capture and storage, and biochar in soils. Stuart provides advice to both UK and Scottish governments. He was elected FRSE in 2002, awarded the Geological Society William Smith Medal in 2011 and in 2012 was appointed OBE for services to climate change technologies.
Job Titles:
- Head of Carbon - Capture - Storage
Stuart Mckay is Head of Carbon-Capture-Storage policy in the Scottish Government. Stuart comes from a background of project and operational management in air, rail and road freight transport logistics. He has a Masters Degree in Business Administration and spent several years lecturing in project management, business policy and operations management. He joined the Scottish Government in 2005 to manage major rail projects then moved into Energy Consents. Stuart then spent time as Private Secretary to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth before returning to the Scottish Government Energy Directorate as Head of CCS policy. Stuart now leads a small team within the Scottish Government, which covers the energy policy areas of hydrogen, geo-thermal and CCS policy.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Chemical and Process Engineering, Heriot - Watt University
Susana García is Professor of Chemical and Process Engineering and Deputy Head of the Institute of Mechanical, Process and Energy Engineering at Heriot-Watt University, which she joined in May 2014. She is also the Associate Director in Carbon Capture and Storage at the Research Centre for Carbon Solutions (RCCS), an interdisciplinary world leading engineering centre, inspiring and delivering innovation for the wider deployment of technologies needed to meet necessary carbon targets. Her current research focuses on advancing materials and separation processes for energy, industrial and environmental applications. She ambitions to change the paradigm on how novel processes based on advanced materials are developed through the integration of process engineering and basic science.
Job Titles:
- Communications & Knowledge Exchange Executive
Virginia oversees communications and knowledge exchange for SCCS. She manages and delivers communications for the SCCS partnership and for several CCS/CCUS and hydrogen projects across Europe, helping promote research in accessible, engaging formats for different audiences. This includes creating and populating project websites; managing social media accounts; writing articles, press releases and other content; media and stakeholder engagement; planning and delivering webinars and other events, including the SCCS annual conference; and developing SCCS's communications strategy.
Virginia joined SCCS on a part-time basis in 2020 before taking on her present role mid-2022. She previously divided her time between SCCS and ClimateXChange, Scotland's Centre of Expertise for Climate Change, which is also based at ECCI. She joined ECCI after a career as an international journalist and communications consultant, including for the Financial Times, The Economist, the Global Fund to fight Aids, TB and Malaria, and for UK government and academic organisations.
Virginia has a post-graduate MA in International Journalism from City, University of London and an MA in History from the University of Edinburgh.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of WG Sustainable Decisions Limited
Ward Goldthorpe is Managing Director of WG Sustainable Decisions Limited and currently an adviser to The Crown Estate, which owns the storage rights on the UK continental shelf. In 2010 he set up the Carbon Capture and Storage and Natural Gas Storage programmes at The Crown Estate and led these until the end of 2015. His role involved managing the leasing of storage sites and commercialising the CO₂ storage resource. Ward has 35 years' technical, commercial and business development experience in the petroleum and energy industries, a large part of which has been in developing upstream and midstream natural gas and LNG projects in Australia, South America, South Asia and the Middle East. He has spent the last eight years working in Australia and the UK on deployment issues for transportation and geological storage of CO₂.