Committed to creating solutions to the climate crisis
Developing technologies which leave the world in a better place.
At OXCCU we have built a team who are motivated to address the climate crisis
This shared mission unifies the team, extending beyond work and creating a cohesive company identity.
Our Leadership Team
Discover the expertise and passion driving us towards our goals
Andrew Symes
Climate Tech investor and entrepreneur focussed on the technologies key to net zero. Andrew helped spin the company out and led the first investment round from IP Group in 2021 before joining as CEO in 2022. Experience includes Investment Director at IP Group (now Kiko Ventures), Associate BP Ventures and commercial roles in BP’s commodity trading business. Andrew has a first-class MChem degree in Chemistry from the University of Oxford.
Dr Jane Jin
Jane was the ex-ClimateTech Lead at Oxford University Innovation with over ten years’ experience in IP commercialisation and innovation management. She helped the academic founders to set up the spinout and served on the board for one year before joining OXCCU. Jane completed her PhD in Chemistry from Cambridge University on organocatalysis in flow in 2010.
Dr Tiancun Xiao
World-renowned catalyst expert with over 30-years of experience in commercialisation and industrial application. More than 300 publications and more than 50 patents filed and/or applied to industry. Previously co-founder of Oxford Catalysts (now Velocys) which floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2006.
Dr Naomi Wise
Naomi has ten years’ experience working within the fields of renewable energy and sustainability, combining her academic interest in clean-tech innovation, research, and development with her practical knowledge of business and finance management. DPhil Engineering Science, University of Oxford.
Dr Benzhen Yao
20-years’ experience across academia and industry in the fields of catalyst preparation and process design. Previously Post-Doctoral Research Assistant at Oxford working on CO₂ catalysts. Previously engineer and then senior engineer in the Fine Chemical Division at SINOPEC. PhD from East China University of Science and Technology.
James Hutchings
James has an audit background in group accounts as well as experience in preparing consolidations of significant groups. His role is to improve financial reporting clarity and reinforce systems and controls. Recent developments have been to be the accounting point of contact on a financing and restructure due diligence process, and the scoping and beginning of implementation of a new ERP solution (SAP).
Andrew Waters
Andrew is the Head of Commercial for OXCCU with over 10 years experience in the chemicals and fuels sector. He holds an MEng in Chemical Engineering from The University of Bath and is a chartered member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE). Prior to joining OXCCU, he worked for 10 years at Johnson Matthey in a variety of technical and commercial roles, including managing a portfolio of licensed technologies and catalysts. He also worked for the UK Government as the Head of Chemicals for the Department for Business and Trade (previously DIT) promoting investment into the UK chemicals sector and helping UK chemical companies to export.
Board members
Alan Aubrey
Experienced entrepreneur, angel investor and non-executive director. CEO of IP Group from 2006 to 2021 a FTSE 250 company focussed on the commercialisation of intellectual property. Previously non-executive chair, non-executive and/or investor in Oxford Nanopore and Ceres Power, both of which are now worth in excess of £1 billion.
Craig Goodfellow
Experienced entrepreneur, investor and non-executive director. Founder and CEO of Coryton Advanced Fuels from 2010 to 2015 growing the business to achieve Fast Track 100 and SME Export Track recognition with primary exit to Horizon Capital and secondary exit to Lantmannen Aspen. CEO of Aero Truck Ltd, non-executive director of Emteq Labs and Advisory Board director of E2E. DPhil chemistry, University of Oxford
Daniel Goldman
Daniel Goldman has been a pioneer in clean energy and climate investing sector since the early 2000s creating a strong track record of investing over multiple decades. He co-founded Clean Energy Ventures (CEV) in 2016 with the intention to fund early-stage companies commercializing disruptive, advanced energy technologies that can achieve both financial success and address global climate disruption. Mr. Goldman has over 25 years of diverse operational and investment experience in the energy sector and has been investing at the project and venture stages for most of his career with over $4 billion of transactions completed. He serves on the board of directors of CEV portfolio companies such as Nth Cycle, Carbon UpCycling, ClearTrace, Electrified Thermal Solutions and OXCCU. Mr. Goldman frequently speaks at conferences and is quoted in mainstreammedia, and is an active advocate for expanding the climate tech ecosystem and improving the policy environment. He is a co-founder and serves as member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Browning the Green Space as well as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Northeast Clean Energy Council. He served as a member of the Advisory Board of the Atkinson Center for Sustainability at Cornell University from 2015 to 2023. Prior to his role at CEV, he held leadership positions in clean energy technology company, GreatPointEnergy; Bechtel-Shell JV power developer, InterGen; and consulting firm, Arthur D. Little. Mr. Goldman holds an MSc from the London School of Economics and a BS from Cornell University.
Our values
Safety as the first priority in everything we do
Teamwork, kindness and respect for each other’s capabilities
A belief in hard work, innovation and thinking big, whilst always remaining humble
Passion for making an impact in the fight against climate change, developing technologies which leave the world in a better place
Pathway to scale-up
Our Journey: Milestones, Achievements and Future Plans
Catalyst R&D
Early research starts
EPSRC research funding
Catalyst IP filed
Patent filed and paper published
£2m Spin out & Seed
Shape Catalyst
3,000 hours stability test in shaped form
£18m Series A
Demo plant
FOAK plant
Commercial plant
License
Technology package licensed globally
Want to be a catalyst for positive change in our society and environment?
Find out about OXCCU careers here
"Every year the demand for sustainable fuels and chemicals grows. At OXCCU we’re attracting the world’s leading chemists and chemical engineers to help bring products with low carbon intensity to the world."
Andrew Symes, CEO
We are proud to be supported by
Our sustainability commitments
We have developed a platform catalytic technology for CO2 to aviation fuel, chemicals or biodegradable plastics. In the next three years, we will focus on aviation fuel production technology and help to decarbonise air transportation, before moving to the other sectors.
OXCCU were awarded a £2.8 million government grant to fast-track decarbonisation of the aviation sector. With this investment we will continue to scale our plants and build our aviation customer base.
Repurposing waste CO2
Produce valuable materials and products
Deliver SAF to decarbonise the aviation industry
Interested in finding out more about OXCCU and our technologies?
