FPC2024 Steering Group Committee
Alan Tolley
Managing Director @ Advanced Powertrain Technologies Limited
Alan Tolley
Managing Director @ Advanced Powertrain Technologies Limited
Currently Managing Director of Advanced Powertrain Technologies Limited, a technology and strategy consultancy specialising in the medium and heavy duty sector.
Formerly Group Director of Powertrain at J C Bamford Excavators Ltd.
Earlier career included various powertrain product roles with Ford Motor Co; Fiat Group companies; The European Engine Alliance and Perkins Engines Co.
He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in physics from the University of Oxford, and is a fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
David Hudson
Head of EV Business @ ePropelled
David Hudson
Head of EV Business @ ePropelled
David Hudson is Head of EV Business for ePropelled, a Massachusetts-based technology company offering electric propulsion systems for a range of applications. He leads the development and execution of its EV strategy for global eMobility markets.
David has over 40 years of international experience in automotive engineering, starting at Jaguar Cars before moving into automotive consultancy. For the past decade, he worked with India’s Tata Motors on electrification and low-carbon technology.
Dr Francesca Iudicello
Group Leader
Dr Francesca Iudicello
Group Leader
Francesca is leading the Surface Technology Group at the National Physical Laboratory.
She has worked in R&D for over 25 years with a wide range of organizations, including Dana, IHS, Ford and Innovate UK. Before joining NPL, Francesca worked as Head of Engineering at Aeristech and Group Manager at Ceres Power, on the development of e-compressors for fuel cell installations, and hydrogen fuel cells and electrolysers, respectively.
As Programme Manager for Zero Emission Vehicles at Innovate UK, Francesca led the on-vehicle technology programmes (including the IDP Programme) on a significant number of highly-innovative R&D projects that use hydrogen to propel low/zero emission vehicles, whether by means of hydrogen fuel cells or internal combustion engines.
Paul Jarvie
DER IC Lead & Business Development Manager, CSA Catapult
Paul Jarvie
DER IC Lead & Business Development Manager, CSA Catapult
Paul Jarvie received his BSc degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of the West of Scotland in 1985. He gained 16 years’ experience with NEC semiconductors in product engineering for DRAM Memory Devices followed by three years with NXP Semiconductors’ TV Systems Innovation Centre in Southampton. He joined Techworks in 2005 and led the Electronic Product Design/Test and Power Electronics Networks for over seven years.
Paul became Director of AESIN (Automotive Electronic Systems Innovation Network) in 2015, engaging the full automotive electronics supply chain while co-chairing SEMI GAAC (Global Automotive Advisory Council) with Volkswagen.
Paul is now Centre Lead of the Driving the Electric Revolution (DER) Industrialisation Centre - South West and Wales, based at Compound Semiconductor Applications (CSA) Catapult, focusing on PEMD technology scale up for electrification.
Michael Hurwitz
Partner: Energy, Mobility & Innovation; PA Consulting
Michael Hurwitz
Partner: Energy, Mobility & Innovation; PA Consulting
Michael is an internationally recognised leader in the future of mobility, energy and corporate innovation. He brings a rare mix of experience in national government, city leadership, commercial innovation and the cutting edge of rapidly scaling tech. For the UK Government he created and led the UK’s national programmes on low carbon transport, electromobility and autonomous vehicles. At Transport for London he led future mobility policy and operations, a ground-breaking commercial innovation programme, and work on resilience during COVID. Following a period at EV startup Arrival, pursuing a radical mission to deliver sustainable manufacturing and zero-emission solutions for cities, he is now Partner and PA Consulting, specialising in the transition to clean energy and sustainable mobility. He is also a Fellow at LocalGlobe venture capital, providing support and advice to some of Europe’s most exciting tech companies; and was previously Policy Fellow at the Energy Futures Lab, Imperial College London.
Dr Byron Mason
Senior Lecturer in Intelligent Powertrain Systems @ Loughborough University
Dr Byron Mason
Senior Lecturer in Intelligent Powertrain Systems @ Loughborough University
Byron Mason is a Senior Lecturer in Intelligent Powertrain Systems at Loughborough University in the Department of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering. His research interests include machine learning, adaptive and learning control, system identification and model based engineering process improvement. He currently leads the Control and Energy Systems Research Group at Loughborough University working on a range of publicly and privately funded research projects with sponsors and collaborators from across the globe.
Philippa Oldham
Stakeholder Engagement Director @ Advanced Propulsion Centre
Philippa Oldham
Stakeholder Engagement Director @ Advanced Propulsion Centre
A Chartered Engineer with a wealth of experience gain from motorsport, defence, aerospace and policy development. Philippa thrives on working with a wide range of stakeholders from government, industry and academia to create visionary solutions, with the ability to challenge existing silos across the sectors. Her experience allows her to offer oversight into the challenges faced both locally and internationally within the manufacturing and transport realms.
Joining the Advanced Propulsion Centre in January 2018 she uses her experience and knowledge of the UK’s transport modes and infrastructure to support the development of strategies that incubate collaborations. This joining of the dots will help ensure that the UK can develop solutions, and attract the right investment to create, develop and sustain UK supply chains that drive both job creation and exportable products and services to enable the UK to fulfill its net-zero ambition.
Isobel Sheldon OBE
Founder/Principal Consultant @ OakPolyTech Ltd
Isobel Sheldon OBE
Founder/Principal Consultant @ OakPolyTech Ltd
• 20 year veteran of the Lithium Ion battery industry.
• Awarded an OBE (2020) from HM the Queen for long service to EV batteries and their development
• Multiple world firsts:
• World's first commercially available PHEV (2004)
• Highest power density battery in automotive on two occasions (Infiniti e-merge and McLaren P1)
• World's first 12 meter EV bus battery
Career History
• Multiple Senior Director positions in battery development:
• Engineering and Technology Director, Johnson Matthey Battery systems
• Engineering and Technology Director, Cummins Electrified Power
• Development Director UK Battery Industrialisation Centre
• Global battery specialist Ricardo Plc Hybrid and Electric Division
• 10 years running own start up business, battery system development
• Board of trustees, The Faraday Institution
• Chair of funding Faraday Institution review panels for UK academic research (battery research)
• Advisory board member, UK National Physical Laboratory on LCA metrology
• UK Automotive Council working group member that established the need for battery eco-systems in 2016
Dr Alistair Barnes CEng CSci
Innovation Lead – Zero Emission Vehicles @ Innovate UK
Dr Alistair Barnes CEng CSci
Innovation Lead – Zero Emission Vehicles @ Innovate UK
Alistair is passionate about sustainability, both in transport and more generally. He is responsible for Zero Emission Vehicles at Innovate UK, the UK’s national innovation agency.
Alistair’s role includes leadership of the Department for Transport’s £200 million ‘Zero Emission Road Freight’ programme which is tackling the decarbonisation of long-haul road freight. He also works closely with the Advanced Propulsion Centre in the delivery of the Automotive Transformation Fund, which is investing up to £1 billion to develop an electrified automotive supply chain in the UK.
Prof Sam Akehurst
Deputy Academic Director of IAAPS and Professor of Advanced Powertrain Systems @ The University of Bath
Prof Sam Akehurst
Deputy Academic Director of IAAPS and Professor of Advanced Powertrain Systems @ The University of Bath
Sam Akehurst is Deputy Academic Director of IAAPS - The Institute for Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems and Professor of Advanced Powertrain Systems at the University of Bath. He has over 25 years of powertrain research experience. He currently leads EPSRC, Innovate UK an APC funded collaborative research programmes on activities ranging from Hydrogen fuelled IC engines to fully electric powertrain systems. He has published more than 130 peer reviewed publications and is also theme lead for Digital Systems, Optimisation and Integration within the EPSRC funded Centre for Doctoral Training in Advanced Propulsion Systems.
Anna Wise
Head of Strategic Programmes @ Nyobolt Ltd
Anna Wise
Head of Strategic Programmes @ Nyobolt Ltd
Anna is Head of Strategic Programmes at Nyobolt Ltd. Prior to joining Nyobolt, Anna held the role of Head of Battery Technology at Innovate UK where she led the innovation programme and technical direction of the UK Government’s £330m Faraday Battery Challenge. Anna has a background in battery research and was based in the USA at Stanford University and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Anna holds a Ph.D. in electrochemistry from the University of Southampton.
James Gaade C.Eng FIMechE
Research Programme Director @ The Faraday Institution
James Gaade C.Eng FIMechE
Research Programme Director @ The Faraday Institution
James Gaade is Head of Programme Management at The Faraday Institution, the UK’s independent institute for electrochemical energy storage research, skills development, market analysis and early stage commercialisation, with responsibilities across the research programme portfolio, bringing together research scientists and industry partners on battery research projects with commercial potential.
Prior to joining The Faraday Institution, James led an independent consultancy, working with clients across electrified propulsion systems in research and technology delivery and previously worked for Jaguar Land Rover for 20 years on vehicle propulsion systems in various leadership roles, with his last role as the Head of Powertrain Research and Technology.
A Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, James is also a member of the Department for Transport Science Advisory Council, providing strategic level scientific advice and challenge to the DfT.
Jon Caine
Technical Director @ AVL Powertrain (UK)
Jon Caine
Technical Director @ AVL Powertrain (UK)
Jon Caine believes in the importance of green transportation for the future. He has been working in the automotive industry for over 30 years in the field of propulsion systems, working initially for Rover and then Ford. The bulk of his career has been the selection and implementation of new technology.
For the last 2 years he has been working at AVL UK as the design department manager involved a wide range of projects most notably in battery and fuel cells.
He has a BSc in electrical and electronic engineering and an MSc in engineering business management. A keen advocate of a broad range of solutions to the environmental challenge, he embraces the change and is excited about the future.
Bernhard H. Biermann
Senior Vice President Region Europe and North Africa @ FEV Europe GmbH
Bernhard H. Biermann
Senior Vice President Region Europe and North Africa @ FEV Europe GmbH
Bernhard Biermann is Senior Vice President Region Europe and North Africa of FEV Europe GmbH and is responsible for the business development of the entire FEV portfolio in these regions.
Bernhard graduated in Mechanical Engineering from RWTH Aachen University in 1987.
He has been with FEV for over 34 years, starting in 1990 as a project engineer in the field of gasoline engine combustion development. Throughout his career, he has held various positions of responsibility including gasoline thermodynamics, benchmarking, project management, production and business development.
He has been instrumental in the growth of several European subsidiaries over the last sixteen years.
In 2022 he was promoted to his current position and today he is also Managing Director of FEV Sweden AB, Chairman of FEV UK Ltd and has been appointed Visiting Professor at Coventry University.
James Eaton
CEO & Founder @ IONETIC
James Eaton
CEO & Founder @ IONETIC
James has spent the last 6 years working in the battery sector helping academia and industry develop better battery solutions to accelerate electrification. He has a wide array of experience across simulation, design, testing, and manufacturing. He holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Imperial College London specialising in battery system design and is now the CEO & Co-Founder at IONETIC.
IONETIC has developed a new approach to battery pack development, using its proprietary Arc system of software, hardware, and manufacturing technologies which allows them to develop tailored battery systems at a significantly lower cost, time, and risk versus the existing solutions today.
