Team

Abdulhamid has an MSc in Automation and Control Systems from Newcastle University, specialising in automation, control systems, and power distribution. He has a background in calibration, programming logic controller (PLC) and embedded systems engineering. He is also experienced in validating, maintaining, installing, and testing highly sophisticated electrical systems and equipment. Abdulhamid’s previous roles include working as a Calibration Engineer at Aerospace Metrology & Electromechanical Calibration, and as an Electrical Engineer at Schneider Electric and the General Electricity Company of Libya.

Fatima Bilal is a Senior Project Engineer at C-Capture, where she works to manage the technical development and delivery of projects by developing project procedures, overseeing project budgets and schedules, preparing documentation, ordering materials and managing external contractors. Starting her career as a Process Engineer at C-Capture in 2018, Fatima has developed a solid technical understanding of the technology focusing on the Desorber. An achievement made possible by her strong communication, problem solving and analytical skills. Fatima has attended conferences, including the international PCCC-5 conference in Japan. Prior to joining C-Capture, Fatima successfully completed various industrial placements including one as a Trainee Engineer at the Ministry of Petroleum in Sudan. While there, she was based in PVT labs where she worked with Geologists, Engineers and Chemists to deliver reports. A graduate from University of Strathclyde, Fatima holds a Masters degree in Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.

Ade has a broad range of engineering experience gained across the energy, FMCG and wastewater industries. He is experienced across the different aspects of process plant design – from feasibility studies to commissioning, new process development and plant operations. In his most recent role as a Process Engineering Lead at LAT Water, he led the development of a humidification-dehumidification process – from the design phase to operations and commercialisation – for the treatment of difficult wastewaters. Ade holds a BEng from Aston university in Chemical Engineering.

Alex Fells is a Modelling Engineer at C-Capture. He achieved his MEng in Chemical and Nuclear Engineering at the University of Leeds and has eight years’ experience within nuclear decommissioning, and the oil and gas industry. Most recently, he returned to university to complete a PhD investigating using modelling and simulation to inform the design of solvent extraction columns. He has also published several articles on the design and performance of various solvent extraction equipment.

One of our Process Operators, Daniel began his career at BP's Hull Research and Technology Centre as an Apprentice Research Technician. He worked on pilot plant operations for nine years before moving into the commercial assets team as a Technician and later a Control Room Operator role.

Claudia Hernández has joined C-Capture as a Process Engineer. Claudia graduated in 2020 from IQS School of Engineering in Barcelona and completed her master's thesis in Carbon Capture at Imperial College London, where she studied the impact exerted by degraded amine systems on the process performance. In addition, she worked in Cetaqua Water Technology Centre on initiaves that guide water cycle towards a circular economy. Claudia has also volunteered with Engineers Without Borders where she worked on analysing the quality of the water of Tampico, Mexico, and assisted in the representation of future scenarios of climate change in the country.

Stefan Kostrzewski is a Senior Process Engineer at C-Capture and has over seven years’ experience working across all stages of design and operation in multiple industries. After graduating from the University of Birmingham with an MEng in Chemical Engineering, Stefan joined Johnson Matthey, working in a range of different areas including production engineering, customer technical support and process development. He progressed to a Project Engineer role at this company, working on the overhaul of a manufacturing plant to produce a novel catalyst for a waste to fuels process, taking the design from feasibility through to commissioning. Most recently he worked as a Process Safety Engineer for GSK at a secondary pharmaceutical manufacturing site.

Mick Lee is Senior Modelling Engineer at C-Capture Ltd. He has over 20 years’ experience in process technology development for bp, having developed catalytic processes for fuels and green chemicals at all scales from whiteboard to licence offers, notably so for the Hummingbird® bioethanol to bioethylene process. Mick achieved his MEng in Chemical Engineering at Newcastle University, before joining bp as a simulation specialist in a complex manufacturing asset. He later moved to R&D through roles in technology transfer, process development and project assessment. More recently, he has managed extensive portfolios of intellectual property, agreements, and university projects. Hummingbird is a registered trademark of TechnipFMC.

As part of the Research and Development team, Rose conducts research in solvent development and process optimization. She provides chemistry support for pilot projects and activities. She also forms a key part of the wider technical team, collaborating with the process engineering and operations functions. Rose joined the company in 2018 after graduating from the University of Nottingham with a Masters degree in Chemistry. She completed her Masters research project in carbon capture, synthesising activated carbons for use as solid adsorbents for CO₂. She also completed an internship as part of her degree working in the deuteration laboratory at ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, which is based at the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire.

Yngrid Machado is a Senior Process Engineer at C-Capture. Yngrid has over 16 years’ engineering experience working within the oil and gas industry, mainly in refining. She began her career at the Venezuelan petroleum company PDVSA, researching and developing catalyst technology for heavy crude oil conversion. She then joined their engineering projects team as a Process Leader, working with customers and third parties to deliver proposals, feasibility studies and FEED packages. Yngrid has a Masters degree in Chemical Engineering and a Diploma in Project Management from the Los Andes University in Venezuela. In 2021 she was awarded a British Council Scholarship for Women in STEM to complete the MSc New and Renewable Energy programme at Durham University and achieved a Masters with distinction. Her research focused on the characterisation of desiccant solutions for temperature and humidity control application using absorption technology.

Anush is a Process Engineer at C-Capture. She holds a Masters degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Edinburgh where her research focused on Blue Hydrogen, production of Hydrogen coupled with Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) using adsorption technology. Prior to joining C-Capture, Anush has interned at multinational companies such as AkzoNobel in the Netherlands and Veolia in Armenia. She has also worked on a water defluoridation project at the University of Edinburgh, focusing on water treatment options in the region of Lake Turkana, Kenya.

With several years of industry experience, Seb is passionate about sharing his knowledge and expertise with his colleagues at C Capture. Blending technical skills with creativity, Seb enjoys a challenge and has a plethora of ideas to help shape C-Capture’s future from an IT perspective.

Lucy O'Dwyer joined the team as a Carbon Capture Chemist after graduating from the University of Leeds with a first class master’s degree in Chemistry. She works in the Chemistry lab, striving to constantly develop and build upon our innovative technology.   Lucy’s masters project was in the carbon capture field, involving research into amine free compounds to capture CO₂. Additionally, she has a year’s industrial experience at a multinational company, AkzoNobel, working within the development team.

Simon is a Process Operator at C-Capture. He supports the construction, commissioning, and ongoing operations of C-Capture’s pilot plant. Simon is a highly experienced technologist with a background of over 40 years in the chemical industry. His experience includes working across chemical laboratory and research operations for companies such as Rentokil, Unilever and bp.

Rebecca is C-Capture’s Financial Analyst. As Financial Analyst, Rebecca works with the Financial Controller to complete the monthly management accounts, cashflows and budgets as well as working on Government grants. Rebecca has accounting experience in both practice and industry including four years within a start-up technology firm.

Emma Steel is C-Capture’s HR Officer and joined the team in July 2022. Her role includes recruitment, people data management and supporting the HR Manager in all people-related matters. With 20 years’ HR experience Emma has worked for finance and manufacturing companies, including 13 years in HR roles at Lloyds Banking Group. Emma gained her postgraduate qualification in Personnel Management at Leeds Metropolitan University (Leeds Beckett).

Tom started his career in scientific research and development at the University of Manchester’s Chemical Engineering Department. Here he gained 11 years’ experience, operating and supporting the chemical engineering and biotechnology laboratories as well as a large-scale pilot plant facility. His most recent role was at the University of Leeds in the field of radiation protection. He developed and managed ionising and non-ionising radiation safety, ran a radiological lab to support statutory testing and investigation, and provided specialist advice and knowledge. He has worked across a range of large-scale scientific projects and experiments, delivering new experimental concepts and designs, alongside researchers, students and industrial partners such as Shell, Unilever and Cameron.

Lindsey is C-Capture’s Finance and Facilities Officer. She joined the team in November 2020, though had worked with C-Capture via a third party for several years prior to that. Over the past 12 years, Lindsey has worked for multiple companies on purchase and sales ledgers, supporting start-ups with all financial and administration needs. As Finance and Facilities Officer, Lindsey maintains the purchase and sales ledger and supports the Financial Controller along with looking after all the facilities at the Leeds site.

C-Capture’s Analytical Development Chemist, Linda develops the company’s analytical testing methods. Linda graduated from the University of Leeds in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in Chemistry. Since then, she has worked in the environmental and speciality chemicals sectors as an analytical chemist, specialising in method development within gas- and liquid-chromatography and mass-spectrometry.

Jake is C-Capture’s Apprentice Fabricator and joined the team in October 2022. Achieving six GCSEs at grades A-C, he went on to study at Rochdale Training College straight after leaving school. He is currently working towards a General Welder apprenticeship standard at the college while working as part of C-Capture’s fabrication and welding team, supporting the company’s Lead Fabricator, Thomas White.

James Wheatley is Senior Chemist within C-Capture’s chemistry team, and is responsible for the advanced chemical analysis needed to explore and optimise the performance of C-Capture’s novel solvents, from feasibility through to process plant monitoring.   James received his PhD from the University of Leeds in 2016, specializing in the fundamental chemistry of carbon dioxide capture and developing some of the theoretical underpinnings for C-Capture’s current work. He also holds an MChem in Chemistry with Professional Experience from the University of Warwick, where he was awarded the university’s Andrew McCamley Prize for his outstanding final-year research project. Before joining C-Capture, James worked as a highly successful lead consultant for Granted Consultancy, delivering over £4m in grant funding for a wide variety of innovative R&D projects.

Thomas is the lead Fabricator and Welder at C-Capture, with almost 10 years’ experience in welding and fabrication alongside pipe system installation. His role involves constructing the technology to completion within the C-Capture process.   Thomas’ career started in heating and ventilation/plumbing before moving onto fabrication and welding, fabricating a wide range of products from technical drawings to precision detail. He has since become proficient in TIG, MIG and ARC welding, obtaining over 10 different TIG and MIG Codings on various materials, and able to utilise his skills across different mediums used within welding such as stainless steel, aluminium, titanium, and other materials. He has extensive experience in fabrication and welding and pipe work brought from working in past UK wide companies such as Orange Bikes, Halifax Fan, BJ Stainless Fabrication, MNR Sports Cars, Sidhil, Denso and Sayes & Co., and brings this to the construction and building of the C-Capture technology.

George Wright is the Process Technology Transfer Engineer at C-Capture, working within the commercialisation team to deliver C-Capture technology solutions for industry. He originally joined C-Capture as a Process Engineer, working for two and a half years on technology development before moving into his current role. George graduated from Imperial College London with an MEng in Chemical Engineering. Throughout his degree, George obtained a breadth of experience in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), working with Imperial's amine-based CCS pilot plant and undertaking his master's project in post combustion CCS using solid adsorbents.

Douglas Barnes is C-Capture’s Head of Chemistry and a member of the senior management team with over a decade of R&D experience. He leads the chemistry team in all aspects of solvent development and supporting the engineering activities to scale up our technology.   Douglas earned his first class MChem degree in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Leeds and went on to complete his PhD studies in the utilisation of high and low pressure CO­₂ in organic transformations. Douglas has worked for C-Capture since 2011 and was heavily involved in the initial discovery of our unique carbon capture technology.

Jannice Dye is our HR Manager and joined the team in January 2022. Her role involves leading our HR function, providing support to the team on people related matters and developing our People Strategy. Prior to that, Jannice had an extensive career with Lloyds Banking Group spanning 23 years, undertaking both HR and people management roles. She has a breadth of experience managing large operational teams, often in complex and challenging environments, together with vast experience of people related initiatives. Jannice studied for her HR qualifications at Leeds City College and Huddersfield University and is now a Chartered Member of CiPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development).

Vicky Elliott is C-Capture’s Quality Manager, working to devise and enhance the company’s quality procedures and standards. As well as qualifications in quality and Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Vicky has a degree in Applied Chemistry and extensive leadership experience within the chemical industry. She has significant experience in the syngas industry and in automotive emission controls at Johnson Matthey, where she worked in research and development, operations, and in a technical support capacity for commercial teams. Prior to joining C-Capture, Vicky was a Quality Manager at Johnson Matthey at one of the world’s largest automotive catalyst manufacturing plants. In this role she had overall responsibility for ensuring that automotive quality management systems were aligned to international industry requirements.

Duncan Holdsworth is Head of Engineering at C-Capture Ltd. He has a breadth of experience covering world scale process plant design, from feasibility study to commissioning and start-up, and skill in new process development from lab scale to industrially operational plant. Duncan achieved his MEng in Chemical Engineering at the University of Sheffield and started his industrial career at Davy Process Technology Ltd where he specialised in SNG (Substitute Natural Gas) process design and commissioning, in addition to other synthesis gas (Syngas) based technologies. He then joined Johnson Matthey where he led the engineering group of the Water Technologies business where he managed the design and development of advanced ion exchange process from lab scale to industrial deployment.

Rachael joined the C-Capture team as Company Secretarial Manager in late 2021. Immediately prior to this, she headed up a team of Business Support Managers within a legal firm offering company secretarial and professional services to a portfolio of clients within the cleantech and healthcare sectors. Rachael is also experienced within the financial industry having previously worked for an investment firm that funded innovative new technologies, and as an operations manager for an incubation space working with SMEs to support their growth. Rachael’s role involves supporting the Board and the company in corporate governance, compliance and corporate administration.

Greg Searle is the Commercial Manager at C-Capture. He works directly with our customers to fully understand their technical and commercial requirements to ensure a smooth delivery of C-Capture’s advanced carbon capture technology. With a BSc in Chemistry, Greg started his science-based career working for the BP Research Centre in Sunbury. He later moved into a broad range of commercial roles within BP Chemicals before his passion for science led him into the new technology space. Here, he had the privilege of heading up the team that delivered BP’s Hummingbird technology. Greg led the Hummingbird team from the technology’s initial inception to a commercial demonstration unit. Following this he moved to China to establish a joint development laboratory with the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Dalian – a collaboration that is still going strong.

Caspar Schoolderman is the COO and Director of Engineering at C-Capture. He is a chemical process engineer, with over 18 years’ experience in designing, building and operating pilot production/research rigs for determining the feasibility of chemistries, processes and parameters for scaling up. Caspar’s career started with TNO, the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research. During his first 7 years at TNO, Caspar was project leader of various projects for the Defence and Space markets and responsible for a research pilot production line for various energetic materials. After this Caspar worked for Hexion, now Momentive Specialty Chemicals, for 3 years as a process research team leader. The focus of the work here was to determine mass transfer and reaction kinetics of various gas-liquid reaction systems using custom built reaction set-up. After this Caspar was general manager at Dispersia Ltd. for 1 year. Here he was responsible for designing, building and operating of a pilot production line for nano-dispersions.

Tom Scrope is C-Capture’s Chief Financial Officer. Tom joined C-Capture from Reaction Engines, another deep tech start-up, where he spent 9 years transforming what started as an academic project into an enterprise of over 200 employees. There he raised over £180m, to deliver advanced heat-exchange technology across Europe and North America to the aerospace, motor sport, EV, and energy sectors. He is a Chartered accountant, with a degree in Natural Sciences from Durham University, an MBA from INSEAD and 30 years of commercial experience.

Tom White is CEO of C-Capture, developers of next generation, world-leading carbon capture technology. His breadth of experience extends internationally across the energy, defence, infrastructure and industrial sectors. This includes a technical, early-career foundation in carbon dioxide capture utilisation and storage. Tom has held numerous international business leadership roles including CEO of an Enhanced Oil Recovery service company in Oman; Regional Business Development Director for a multi-national UK PLC engineering organisation; and General Manager of a 500-person engineering and project management organisation. The latter incorporated supervising teams working across 4 continents and a $10bn capital project portfolio. A former British Army Officer, he worked in emergency civil construction units supporting the Gurkhas and Royal Marine Commandos. He holds a B.Eng from University College London and served for 3 years on the board of the Institution of Chemical Engineers as Vice-President Regions, with responsibility for UK and international local member groups.

Arabella Freeman is a Director at Drax Group responsible for delivering their biomass strategy. Prior to that she was the Head of M&A at Drax and led the investment into C-Capture. Prior to joining Drax in 2016, Arabella worked in the upstream oil & gas industry for 20 years, working for BG Group, Shell and BP. She started her career as a petroleum engineer in the North Sea and US, and then spent 15 years at BG as a business analyst and M&A manager. Arabella is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer with an M.Eng from Oxford.

Charlotte Hill is the Head of Innovation Solutions for Drax Group, where she is responsible for assessing emerging technologies that have potential to add value and keep Drax at the forefront of the evolving energy industry. Before joining Drax in 2017, Charlotte spent 10 years working in research and development of medical diagnostics instrumentation and recyclable polymer products, taking concepts through prototype iterations to delivering first commercial products. Charlotte holds a Masters degree in Physics and Astronomy from Durham University and a postgraduate Masters in Photonics and Optoelectronics.

Nick Kendall is a principal at bp ventures, based in London, UK. He is responsible for origination, commercial analysis and execution of new investment opportunities, as well as portfolio management. Nick has experience as commercial lead across a range of deals globally, and his work spans various tech sectors. With a background in chemical engineering, Nick started his career at bp in drilling engineering and offshore operations roles, before helping shape bp’s strategy and participation in electrification and advanced mobility. Having seen the value of bringing external innovation and technology into bp to help accelerate its journey to net zero, Nick decided to undertake a career at bp ventures. Nick is a chartered chemical engineer with a MEng degree from the University of Nottingham. Outside of work, Nick is a father, and a keen sportsman and runner who loves the outdoors.

Ben Murphy holds the IP Group seat on the C-Capture board, representing the company’s biggest shareholder. He is an Investment Director at IP Group, holding three other board positions, all in cleantech. Ben has spent over ten years working in low carbon technology. Including helping the UK Government to prioritise its CCS innovation funding, writing the UK’s national bioenergy innovation strategy and advising major corporates on how to fund CCS projects. Earlier in his career he worked for Google screening low carbon investments in Europe. Ben has a first class degree in physics and mathematics as well as a masters in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London. As well as working in England he has also worked in Italy, Spain and Germany.

Andrew is an Investment Director at Northern Gritstone. He has 24 years’ experience growing science-based companies as an investor, advisor, CEO and Non-Executive Director. Previous roles include the CEO of Nottingham Technology Ventures Ltd, where Andrew managed the University of Nottingham’s spin-out portfolio and associated investment funds. As well as Head of Physical Sciences at IP Group Plc, where he was responsible for creating and investing in IP-rich businesses. Andrew holds a first-class honours degree and PhD in Physics from the University of Nottingham.

Chris Rayner is Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Leeds. He is a synthetic organic chemist and has over 15 years’ experience in alternative solvent technology/green chemistry, particularly the utilisation of CO­₂ as a reaction medium and in post reaction processing. Particularly noteworthy contributions include the development of solvent tuning for optimization of reactions in supercritical CO­₂, and the development of new materials and systems capable of reversible capture of CO­₂, which are being commercialised through C-Capture. In addition to his academic interests, Chris also has substantial commercial expertise.

Johnathan is a principal at bp ventures, based in London, UK where he focuses on investments in both gas and low carbon, and production and operations. Johnathan has 15 years’ experience with bp in subsurface and innovation, beginning his career in North Africa and the Middle East before moving into technical leadership roles based in both Indonesia and the UK. Inspired by the need to accelerate solutions to achieve a net zero, low-carbon world, Johnathan pursued a career in venture capital. He has a degree in environmental geology and a master’s in geophysics from the University of Leeds. Outside of work, Johnathan spends as much free time as possible in the outdoors with his wife and young children.