Bruce Woodman co-founded PEP in 1989 and has contributed to the global growth of renewable energy ever since. He has managed many developments from inception through financing, construction, operation and re-powering on both sides of the Atlantic. Joint ventures with a large Japanese corporation and a wind turbine manufacturer, now part of Vestas, saw renewables become a major part of the power market, with ever-decreasing costs worldwide.

The same pathway to scale and economic competitiveness followed in solar PV and more recently battery storage. In recent years he has become heavily involved in novel storage systems and the adoption of green hydrogen in the heat and transport sectors in Europe and North East Asia. In 2021 he helped create the EU-funded Cornwall Marine Hydrogen Centre.

Graeme is a Chartered Engineer with wide experience in the power and gas industries. He has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering (research into three-dimensional fluid flows in turbomachinery). He has held senior positions in British Gas plc and in Rolls-Royce, and has participated in the development and financing of conventional and renewable power projects worldwide. His experience spans the commercial and technical aspects of many power generation technologies. He currently has a strong interest in the development and application of hydrogen systems as a means of addressing the challenges on the road to net zero, with particular emphasis on energy storage, heating systems and transport.

He is a Director of PEP.

Fiona is a qualified Chartered Accountant with over 35 years’ experience. Since co-founding PEP in 1989, she has started multiple companies, often with partners, and supervised their financial and accounting systems and performance. This includes a joint venture between a large Japanese Trading House and a Danish wind turbine manufacturer, with operational bases in San Diego, Montreal, London and Penzance, where her responsibilities included accounting, financial control and Company Secretary roles for group and project companies. She has recruited & managed teams to provide comprehensive budgeting, financial control and accounting functions and currently provides financial control for two Aviva Investor companies operating over 20 low carbon energy projects in the UK.

James, the Senior Project Manager, is an experienced low carbon energy professional with more than 10 years in the sector. He has an MEng in Renewable Energy from the University of Exeter and extensive commercial and technical experience gained throughout the project lifecycle His experience includes technical and regulatory reviews of hundreds of potential projects internationally, plus construction management and monitoring of projects from UK FiT sites to multi-MW international projects. He has conducted technical and commercial due diligence on several GWs of low carbon assets throughout Europe and North America and has undertaken technology reviews of new and emerging energy systems.

Rob is an experienced low carbon energy and heating professional, having worked in the industry since graduating in 2015. He has an MSc in Renewable Energy and Resource Management from the University of South Wales, as well as a BSc in Exploration and Resource Geology from Cardiff University.

His experience includes roles in Project Management and Academia, focused on research into geothermal energy and ground source heat pump technologies. As well as Consultancy and Technical Support roles in the surveying and design of other renewable energy and low carbon heating systems, such as air source heat pumps, solar PV, battery storage and mechanical ventilation and heat recovery.

Prof Richard Cochrane was an experienced engineer of renewable energy technologies with both broad business and academic experience. His work in the energy sector encompassed research and development of a range of energy generation technologies and building energy consultancy. Prof Cochrane was the Principal Investigator on the Hydrogen Boat Centre Project, coordinating the academic input. With experience integrating different technologies and developing test equipment Prof Cochrane oversaw the design of the fuel cell test equipment and the engineering integration of the different technologies before the centre’s launch. He sadly passed away in May 2023.

Prof Philipp Thies has research interests concerning the reliability engineering of renewable energy technologies with a focus on offshore energy. These include analytical system reliability assessment, Bayesian statistical methods, numerical and experimental modelling of operational marine field load conditions and physical component reliability testing (performance, service simulation and accelerated testing). Prof Thies has been principal or co-investigator on numerous marine energy projects and contributed to the development and implementation of a large-scale component test rig, the Dynamic Marine Component test facility (DMaC). Prof Thies’ key work is on reliability in the marine environment and this will be a particularly relevant aspect for the design of the novel propulsion systems to ensure they are robust and have good longevity.

Prof Xiaohong Li has research interests focussing on energy conversion and storage, with an emphasis on battery electrode materials, anion exchange membrane (AEM) water electrolysers for hydrogen production, and nanoscale materials for electrocatalysis. She is currently the principal investigator on two redox flow battery projects and another focusing on the use of renewable electricity in the production of high value chemicals. Prof Li is a member of the Science Board of the EPSRC Energy Storage Supergen Hub, a board member of EPSRC Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Supergen Hub, and also a board member of the British Standards Institution. She will guide the project on the selection of appropriate technologies for both the batteries and the fuel cells and on how these would be managed in operation and demonstrated in the testing.

Prof Lars Johanning has been involved in research on hydrodynamic related topics for marine structures since 1997. He is a leading researcher with international recognition in the field of ocean energy and technology with a focus towards hydrodynamics and station keeping systems. Prof Johanning is leading the Offshore Renewable Energy group at the University of Exeter and has led the development of the Falmouth Bay marine energy test site, which has seen the successful deployment of the Fred Olsen and Polygen wave energy device. He is a member of the Research Advisory Group to the ORE Catapult and currently advises in the development of the EU Ocean Energy Roadmap.

Prof Chris Smith’s work focuses on the use and development of new simulation tools for challenging problems in industry. These include simulation as a driver for cost reduction in design, and better performance of components and systems. This is usually done in collaboration with companies. Prof Smith also leads work, primarily at the Centre for Future Clean Mobility, to optimally design the core elements of clean powertrains, be they entirely battery electric, hybrids with internal combustion engines, turbines or fuel cells providing power. This work extends into wider aspects of whole vehicle/vessel design, the control strategies and systems, and the surrounding infrastructure.

Prof Mohammad Abusara is an expert in electrical engineering with over ten years of industrial experience in the field of research and development of digital control of power electronics for distributed energy resources, hybrid vehicles, and machines and drives. During his years in industry, he significantly contributed to the design and prototyping of a number of commercial products that include grid and parallel connected inverters, MicroGrid, DC/DC converters for hybrid vehicles, and sensorless drives for high speed permanent magnet machines. He will guide the electrical design and motor control systems for the demonstration rig.

Dr Mi Tian has expertise and research interests in the development of porous polymer composites for on-board hydrogen systems, which has a direct impact on light-weight vehicles and the low carbon economy. She has been leading the research on neutron scattering techniques for hydrogen energy materials, which provides the fundamental properties of hydrogen leading to novel hydrogen material designs. Dr Tian’s work contributes to the Centre for Future Clean Mobility and she will provide guidance to the project on hydrogen storage options for the demonstration rig and for vessel deployment.

Dr Ian Ashton is a physical oceanographer, and wave analyst with expertise in wave measurement technology, satellite earth observation, air-sea gas exchange and marine renewable energy. Combining offshore, in-situ field measurements with satellite data and innovative analysis tools, his research is aimed at improving the information available about the physical oceanographic conditions to create better operational and design procedures. Dr Ashton previously worked as principal researcher for the FabTest marine energy test site situated in Falmouth Bay. He will support the project with applications particularly related to the smaller vessels and their propulsion and control options.