The Team behind Air Fuel Synthesis
The AFS directors come from a set of complementary backgrounds ranging from hydrogen generation and storage through chemistry to engineering and electronics.
The research phase is aimed at designing pilot plants for the extraction of atmospheric CO2 and for hydrocarbon synthesis using gas to liquid technology into liquid hydrocarbon fuels and will be led by the following senior management team:
- Prof Tony Marmont- Chairman
- Mr Peter Harrison - CEO
- Dr David Benton - Research and Development Director
- Dr John Barton - Director of Innovation
- Mr Brian Sykes - Company Secretary
Mr Peter Harrison: CEO
Peter is committed to bringing synthetic fuels and chemicals to the UK. He is Project manager / CEO of Air Fuel Synthesis. He is a qualified Civil Engineer with a career spanning civil engineering, offshore developments, and the chemical industry, concentrating on project and business account management.
For the last 8 years Peter has been operating as an independent business consultant, helping businesses with their business projects, and developing his own business projects.
Dr David Benton: Director of Research and Development
David Benton is a chemist with a PhD from Warwick University and an MSc in Renewable Energy and the Environment from Reading University. For 28 years he worked at the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston. Amongst the research programmes that he managed, a major project that he led was investigating the solid storage of hydrogen in metal hydrides. This led to an interest in the Hydrogen Economy and renewable energy in general. He is one of the two originators of the air fuel synthesis route (AFS). His task now will be to manage and direct the research and development stages for AFS and integrate them into a production route.
Dr John Barton: Director of Innovation
John Barton earned his first degree in Mechanical Engineering at Cambridge University, including expertise in thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and electrical engineering. He then worked for Rolls-Royce plc designing jet engines for 11 years. John then returned to education, receiving an MSc and PhD in renewable energy from Loughborough University. Since then John has been a researcher at Loughborough University for 3 years and also a director and consultant at Bryte Energy Ltd. John is now also Director of Technology Transfer at Air Fuel Synthesis Ltd
Brian Sykes: Company Secretary
Brian Sykes worked in the Banking sector for nearly 40 years, for a major UK Clearing Bank, culminating in the position of Regional Manager for a Private Banking subsidiary. Since 2001 he has worked for Beacon Energy Ltd, Renewable Energy Consultants, as Director of Finance. He has also been a member of Advisory Boards in Renewable Energy faculties at the University of Nottingham and at Loughborough University.
