About Us

OUR STORY

An idea started over coffee

Mark, James and John met at their local coffee stop. United in their passion to tackle climate change, they founded Wild Hydrogen based on an idea that Mark had been musing on for many years.

Six months, two prototypes and much coffee later, the technology was proven and protected. Collaborating with Cranfield University and Helical Energy, it soon became apparent that the team were well placed to exploit the technology as a force for good.

The story continues with the company well on the way to building a commercial plant, proving that there is a viable and sustainable method for creating negative-emission fuel.


Meet the Wild Hydrogen team

We’re passionate about creating a world where fuel consumption solves climate change, so we have recruited some of the brightest scientists and engineers to help us achieve this.

Chief Executive Officer

James Milner

Chief Technical Officer

Mark Wickham

Chairman

David Gammon

Non-Executive Director

Prof. John Oakey

Investor Director

Jonathan Milner

Finance Director

Roy Phillips

Engineering Programme Manager

Gareth Griffiths

Head of Marketing

Nadia Shahanaz Hussain

R&D Strategist

Ekam Gill

Chemistry Lead

Michael Sims

Control Systems Engineer

Chris Kowalczuk

Health, Safety & Environmental Manager

Andrew Ashman

Workshop Technician

Zoltan Szabo

Workshop Technician

Sam Hemmings

Office Manager

Hannah Watling

Finance Assistant

Rachel Horrocks

Marketing & PR

Rob Gardiner

Placement Project Officer

Dhiya Vipul Mansing

Chief Executive Officer

James Milner

James has previously had the privilege of spearheading the establishment and growth of three remarkable enterprises from scratch. These companies include two engineering and technical consultancy businesses, as well as a luxury high-end eco-leisure business. This has allowed him the honour of creating over 200 highly skilled and diverse job opportunities, whilst simultaneously generating a value exceeding £1 billion to clients.

As the Chief Executive Officer of Wild Hydrogen, he remains resolute in his commitment to pursuing excellence and harnessing innovative strategies to shape a thriving future.

Chief Technical Officer

Mark Wickham

Mark is an accomplished and highly respected engineer, with 40+ years in design and manufacturing of large-scale heat and power plants, and 12 years working specifically with fluid bed gasifiers. He is the inventor of six patents in the energy industry over the last 20 years.

Currently the Managing Director of Helical Energy, Mark is responsible for the design and development of translational energy technologies, particularly hydrogen production from biogenic fuels; supercritical CO2 cycles; and carbon capture.

Chairman

David Gammon

David is CEO and founder of Rockspring, his family office, which provides capital and advice to UK-based disruptive technology companies. From 1985 until 2001, David worked as an investment banker. David is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a member of the Scale-Up Institute and NED on the board of Raspberry Pi Limited.

Non-Executive Director

Prof. John Oakey

John Oakey is Professor of Energy Technology and Head of the Institute for Energy and Resource Technology at Cranfield University. John is engaged in a wide range of research activities in the UK, Europe and on the international scene.

John chairs the EU COST Action 538 Management Committee on ‘High-Temperature Plant Life Extension’ and leads the UK side of a major collaboration programme with the US on ‘Advanced Materials for Low Emission Power Plants’, as well as assisting DECC in the development of further collaborations with the US. Since 1998, he has also been involved in technology transfer projects with China on gas cleaning, underground coal gasification and biomass co-firing.

Investor Director

Jonathan Milner

Jonathan, founder of Abcam PLC which was acquired by Danaher Corporation in 2023, is an experienced entrepreneur and investor and is passionate about supporting UK life science and high-tech start-ups. He has provided considerable investment and support to over 70 companies and has assisted three technology companies to IPO on the London AIM Stock Exchange.

Jonathan also co-founded the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath with Professor Laurence Hurst in 2018 and the Milner Institute for Therapeutics at the University of Cambridge with Professor Tony Kouzarides in 2015. He is Chair of Nuclera Ltd and Investor Director of Healx Ltd, Phoremost Ltd, and Shift Bioscience Ltd. Jonathan is founder and Chair of Sapperton Wilder, a nature recovery project in the Cotswolds using experimental regenerative agriculture.

Finance Director

Roy Phillips

Roy has a breadth of experience across industries and companies, from start-ups to PLCs. He thrives on managing rapid growth and change and has a passion for using financial insights to help drive business decisions. A keen chess player in his spare time, Roy has a forward-looking outlook and an acute analytical mind. He is thrilled to join Wild Hydrogen and be part of the climate change journey.

Engineering Programme Manager

Gareth Griffiths

Gareth is an experienced engineer with a background ranging from Autonomous Underwater Vehicles to Automated Composite Deposition Systems. He possesses extensive experience in product development and prototyping. 

Throughout his career, he has acquired a diverse set of skills, including mechanical design, electrical design, Structured Text, Python, Linux, and electronics. He is particularly interested in exciting new technologies and their potential to enhance productivity in the UK and reduce environmental impact.

Head of Marketing

Nadia Shahanaz Hussain

Nadia spent a decade working for an award-winning luxury tour operator, including several years as their head of marketing. During this time, she guided the brand through the challenges of the pandemic and successfully launched a six-figure website and was instrumental in guiding their ESG strategy. She is a self-confessed generalist but specialises in brand marketing and strategy – helping businesses to find their identity and establish a clear path forwards.

Passionate about building a more sustainable future, she’s proud to be working for Wild Hydrogen as they lead the way in creating a clean, affordable, carbon-negative fuel.

R&D Strategist

Ekam Gill

Ekam is a research scientist specialising in feedstock analysis and technology development at Wild Hydrogen. With a strong focus on innovation, her role involves designing and facilitating the execution of prototype test plans. She enjoys analysing prototype-generated data to uncover invaluable insights that will guide our research direction.

She also has a keen interest in conducting feedstock-related experiments to identify the optimal biogenic materials for our technology, as well as exploring their associated environmental, carbon sequestration and socioeconomic benefits. Ekam is committed to ensuring the acquisition of our feedstocks aligns with environmentally responsible and sustainable practices as well as food security.

Chemistry Lead

Michael Sims

Michael joins Wild Hydrogen as its research chemist, tasked with investigating the purity of our produced gases. His role entails the development of our sample collection, extraction and analysis methodologies. He also manages our in-house organic chemistry laboratory, ensuring our gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is calibrated and operational for whatever analysis the team requires.

Michael’s background is from the Imperial College, London where he specialised in organic geochemistry. His research focussed on determining the effects of thermal maturation on organic matter, comparing laboratory rates to geologic ones using a combination of pyrolysis and GC-MS techniques. He looks forward to applying his insight into developing methods and understanding whilst at Wild Hydrogen, making a substantial difference in the UK energy market.

Control Systems Engineer

Chris Kowalczuk

A highly motivated Control Systems Engineer, Chris has over 20 years of experience in industrial automation and maintenance procedures. With a proven ability to work on developed code for PLCs such as Siemens, Allen Bradley, Mitsubishi, he has experience in diagnostics for electrical and mechanical faults, as well as implementing continuous improvement projects. He is skilled in working with multi-axis CNC machines, robots, and various highly regulated automation systems. Despite extensive knowledge of industrial systems he is always interested in latest developments in automation, OT systems and machine learning.

Health, Safety & Environmental Manager

Andrew Ashman

Andrew brings a wealth of experience in risk control and legal compliance across the public, private, and voluntary sectors, both in the UK and internationally. Dedicated to protecting the business and its people, he is passionate about ensuring a safe and compliant work environment.

His extensive background equips him to navigate the complexities of health and safety, contributing to the company’s mission to shape a more sustainable future. Excited to be part of a young, innovative company, Andrew is eager to help steer Wild Hydrogen towards success.

Workshop Technician

Zoltan Szabo

Zoltan is a versatile lab researcher with a degree in petroleum engineering. He can turn his hand to anything; being pivotal in setting up the apparatus, conducting experiments, and maintaining rigorous scientific techniques. Zoltan brings a strong analytical perspective to mechanical, electrical, and software-related challenges, coupled with an in-depth understanding of diverse control systems.

His speciality lies in rapidly diagnosing and rectifying faults or malfunctions, restoring them to optimal functionality to keep production unimpeded. With his unique combination of skills, he’s a crucial asset to our team, consistently fostering an environment of efficiency and innovation.

Workshop Technician

Sam Hemmings

Sam assists with operating, maintaining and refining our series of prototypes, helping to keep them running smoothly during the testing process. With a background spanning several industries, he brings versatility to the team, as well as several years of experience working with high-precision CNC machinery.

Office Manager

Hannah Watling

As Office Manager at Wild Hydrogen, Hannah boasts a diverse background and extensive experience. Originally trained as a psychologist, she ventured into education, obtaining a postgraduate degree and transitioning into primary school teaching. Her career led her to international schools in Hong Kong and Germany, where she merged work with her passion for travel, expanding her professional and cultural horizons. As a mother of four, she’s adept at multitasking and prioritising, and in her leisure time, Hannah finds solace in simple joys like walking her dog and practising pilates. 

Finance Assistant

Rachel Horrocks

Rachel holds a bookkeeping qualification from the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) and is currently pursuing an advanced certification in accounting. She has experience in various sectors, including finance, healthcare, and travel.

Motivated by a strong sense of purpose, Rachel was drawn to Wild Hydrogen’s forward-thinking mission. As a mother of two, the company’s vision of creating a better future deeply resonates with her.

Marketing & PR

Rob Gardiner

After nearly 10 years working in the travel industry, Rob now splits his time between running a successful multi-faceted cycling business and consulting for several young companies. Although happy to be pigeonholed as a web designer, Rob’s experience spans a wide variety of areas, from copywriting and online advertising to photography and branding.

Placement Project Officer

Dhiya Vipul Mansing

Dhiya is currently in her industrial placement year at Wild Hydrogen, having successfully completed three years of Chemical Engineering at the University of Bath. She is eager to expand her skill set and gain valuable experience during her time at Wild Hydrogen. She is also keen to apply the knowledge she has acquired at university to real-world engineering challenges, contributing to innovative solutions and advancing her career in the field.


Wild Hydrogen on LinkedIn


The Wild Hydrogen journey so far

October 2021

The beginning

Mark, James and John met at their local coffee shop, united in their passion to tackle climate change.

October 2021
February 2022

Wild Hydrogen founded

Together, they founded Wild Hydrogen based on an idea that Mark had been musing on for many years.

February 2022
February 2022

Millie prototype

Millie was our first working prototype. Built in collaboration with Helical Energy, it simply provided the proof of concept we needed.

February 2022
November 2022

Nano prototype

Our next step was Nano, which was similar in size to Millie but allowed us to begin to target specific performance.

November 2022
January 2023

Micro prototype

Taking a big step forward, Micro was substantially larger than its predecessors.

January 2023
September 2023

Mini prototype

Our largest prototype to date, Mini is the final step before we begin work on a commercial demonstrator.

September 2023
March 2024

Third seed round

We’re currently raising £6 million in our third seed round, with £2 already million secured

March 2024
July 2024

Commercial demonstrator site acquired

Acquired our site in Gloucestershire; the next step is to achieve full planning permission.

July 2024
October 2024

Micro V2.0 is live

We’ve made significant upgrades to our Micro prototype, enhancing its capacity, automation, and safety features.

October 2024

Our partners

/* BACKGROUND IMAGE*/ /*LINES*/ /*DOTS ON MAP*//*NCC*/ /*Hydrogen SW*/ /*Bath Uni*/ /*Cranfield*/ /*Helical*/ /*EXPLAINER BOXES*/

Our partnership with the NCC involves an innovative approach toward our materials and design processes. Such materials include lighter and more sustainable alternatives to steel, incorporating streamlined design and manufacture, allowing a rapid speed to market for our technology.

Regular summits with Hydrogen South West, and countless other innovative companies, keep those at the forefront of hydrogen production and distribution at our fingertips. This enables us to develop our technology pragmatically with those who will distribute and use our technology in the hydrogen revolution.

We’ve partnered with the University of Bath to offer placement positions to their brightest students. This collaboration allows us to harness the skills and intellect of the next generation of engineers, whilst they gain a vital understanding of how the fast-growing hydrogen industry works.

Partnering with Cranfield University allows us access to researchers at the forefront of the energy generation and carbon capture fields. Whilst enabling us to run innovative models and optimise our design processes, this expertise allows us to avoid many of the problems that often stump lesser technologies.

Helical Energy are world leaders in combustion and gasification systems for biomass and waste fuels based on fluidised bed technology. We work with them hand in glove and they are instrumental in the design and build of our prototypes.


Our partners

/* BACKGROUND IMAGE*/
/*LINES*/ /*DOTS ON MAP*//*NCC*/ /*Hydrogen SW*/ /*Bath Uni*/ /*Cranfield*/ /*Helical*/

Our partnership with the NCC involves an innovative approach toward our materials and design processes. Such materials include lighter and more sustainable alternatives to steel, incorporating streamlined design and manufacture, allowing a rapid speed to market for our technology.

Regular summits with Hydrogen South West, and countless other innovative companies, keep those at the forefront of hydrogen production and distribution at our fingertips. This enables us to develop our technology pragmatically with those who will distribute and use our technology in the hydrogen revolution.

We’ve partnered with the University of Bath to offer placement positions to their brightest students. This collaboration allows us to harness the skills and intellect of the next generation of engineers, whilst they gain a vital understanding of how the fast-growing hydrogen industry works.

Partnering with Cranfield University allows us access to researchers at the forefront of the energy generation and carbon capture fields. Whilst enabling us to run innovative models and optimise our design processes, this expertise allows us to avoid many of the problems that often stump lesser technologies.

Helical Energy are world leaders in combustion and gasification systems for biomass and waste fuels based on fluidised bed technology. We work with them hand in glove and they are instrumental in the design and build of our prototypes.