I am a Reader in Energy Systems at Aston University, with a research focus on the development and deployment of integrated net-zero energy and carbon systems for industry, infrastructure, and climate-vulnerable communities. My work addresses the decarbonisation of energy-intensive sectors through system-level solutions spanning sustainable cooling and heating, waste heat recovery, circular energy systems, and the utilisation of biogenic and captured carbon.

I lead and co-lead major research and innovation programmes funded by UKRI, Innovate UK, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and Horizon Europe. These programmes combine fundamental engineering science with deployment-oriented research, delivering scalable solutions for industrial decarbonisation, resilient cooling and cold-chain systems, and integrated energy–food–waste infrastructures. A defining feature of my research is the translation of modelling and optimisation into real-world demonstrators, supported by techno-economic and life-cycle assessment.

My research portfolio has strong international reach, with active projects across the UK, Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe, often in resource-constrained or climate-exposed contexts. I have published extensively in leading journals in energy systems, thermal sciences, and sustainability, and I serve on editorial boards and national funding and assessment panels.

Through my research, leadership roles, and doctoral supervision, I aim to deliver evidence-based net-zero solutions that reduce embedded carbon, enhance energy resilience, and support a just and inclusive energy transition.

My research focuses on the development and deployment of integrated net-zero energy and carbon systems that enable the decarbonisation of industry, infrastructure, and climate-vulnerable communities. I work at the intersection of energy systems engineering, circular carbon pathways, and sustainable infrastructure, combining fundamental modelling with real-world demonstrators.

My core research interests include:

• Industrial decarbonisation and waste heat recovery, including high-efficiency heat upgrading, cascade heat pumps, and organic Rankine cycle (ORC) systems for energy-intensive sectors.

• Sustainable cooling and heating technologies, with particular emphasis on low-carbon refrigeration, cold-chain systems, and climate-resilient cooling solutions.

• Circular and net-zero energy systems, integrating renewable energy, storage, and energy–food–waste nexus approaches to reduce fossil fuel dependence and embedded carbon.

• Biogenic and captured carbon utilisation, including CO₂ utilisation pathways, carbon-negative materials, and system-level integration of carbon capture and use.

• System-level modelling, optimisation, and digital twins, spanning physics-based modelling, techno-economic analysis, life-cycle assessment, and AI-enabled optimisation.

• Deployment-focused energy innovation, including large-scale demonstrators, industry-led translation, and solutions tailored for resource-constrained and climate-exposed regions.

Across these areas, my work aims to deliver scalable, evidence-based solutions that support a just, resilient, and inclusive transition to net-zero energy and carbon systems.

My research is delivered through large-scale, interdisciplinary programmes that combine fundamental engineering research with industrial translation and international deployment. I lead and collaborate on major UK and international initiatives focused on net-zero energy systems, industrial decarbonisation, sustainable cooling and heating, and circular carbon pathways, working closely with academic, industrial, and policy partners.

I currently lead or co-lead flagship programmes funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI/EPSRC), Innovate UK, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and Horizon Europe, addressing the defossilisation of energy-intensive industries, upgrading and reuse of low-grade waste heat, resilient cooling and cold-chain infrastructure, and integrated energy–food–waste systems. These programmes span laboratory-scale research, digital modelling and optimisation, and full-scale demonstrators.

My collaborations include close partnerships with UK universities and research institutes, as well as international collaborators across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe, often targeting resource-constrained or climate-exposed contexts. Industrial collaboration is a core element of my work, involving manufacturers, energy technology companies, agri-food stakeholders, and infrastructure providers to ensure deployment-ready outcomes and policy relevance.

Through these collaborative programmes, my research integrates physics-based modelling, digital twins, techno-economic and life-cycle assessment, and systems optimisation to deliver scalable, evidence-based net-zero solutions. The overarching aim of these projects is to reduce embedded carbon, enhance energy resilience, and support a just and inclusive transition to net-zero energy and carbon systems.

Principal Investigator

• 03/2026 - 02/2028: Waste Heat Recovery Forging (WHARF) funded by Department for Energy Security and Net Zero – Budget: £623,452 (Aston share £116,177)
• 01/2026 - 12/2027:  High-Efficiency Compressed Air Energy Storage to Power Ukraine’s Recovery (AeroVault) funded by funded by Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office – Budget: £1,972,225 (Aston share £496,960)
• 01/2026 - 12/2027: Decentralized Energy-Food-Waste Innovation for Crisis-Affected Settlements (BioSolar Nexus) funded by Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office – Budget: £1,493,803 (Aston share £518,825)
• 08/2025 - 03/2026: Waste To Energy Network Extension funded by Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office – Budget: £135,686 (Aston share £135,686)
• 01/2025 - 12/2027: Super-efficient Sustainable Cooling Solution for All Applications (S2Cool) funded by  funded by UK Research and Innovation (EPSRC) – Budget: £2,815,645 (Aston share £202,661)
• 06/2024 - 07/2026: CoolRun Malawi funded by UK Research and Innovation (Innovate UK) –  Budget: £1,328,740 (Aston share £307,912)
• 04/2024 - 06/2026: Dual Heat Pump for Residential Buildings in Ukraine funded by Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office – Budget: £890,670 (Aston FEC £329,214)
• 04/2024 - 06/2026: An Advance Molecular Distortion Technique for Textile Wastewater Treatment and Solar Water Heating funded by Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office – Budget: £587,301 (Aston share £63,591)
• 09/2023 - 08/2024: Field demonstration of smart irrigation system powered by hybrid energy funded by UK knowledge Transfer Network – KTN (Innovate UK) –  Budget: £ 40,000 (Aston share £19,860)
• 09/2023 - 08/2024: Improving the livestock value chain through hybrid energy powered cold storage unit funded by hybrid energy funded by UK knowledge Transfer Network – KTN (Innovate UK) –  Budget: £ 40,000 (Aston share £18,390)
• 07/2023 - 12/2025: To deliver reliable cocoa production throughout the year using an optimised cocoa-pod breaker with intelligent design processes, IoT control and optimised monitoring systems – funded by UK Research and Innovation (Innovate UK) – Budget: £263,564 (Aston share £124,630)
• 07/2023 - 12/2025: To develop a sustainable, efficient, carbon-free and cost effective digital platform for vegetable cultivation using hydroponics, integrated with a novel solar PV powered evaporative cooling system funded by UK Research and Innovation (Innovate UK) – Budget: £260,314 (Aston share £123,510)
• 06/2023 - 12/2023: 3D Printed Housing Unit for PEM Fuel Cell Bi-Polar Plates funded by UK Research and Innovation (Engineering and Physical Research Council) – Budget: £50,000 (Aston share £6,999)
• 06/2023 - 03/2025: Waste To Energy Network funded by Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office – Budget: £314,589 (Aston share £314,589)
• 04/2023 ~ 03/2024: Hybrid Energy Powered Smart Irrigation System for Smallholder Farmers funded by UK Research and Innovation (Innovate UK) –  Budget: £299,484 (Aston share £159,755)
• 03/2023 - 09/2024: To develop a carbon free irrigation system for use in Kenya and that is powered by renewable energy - Africa Agrifood KTP with SolarGen Ltd funded by UK Research and Innovation (Innovate UK) –  Budget: £282,048 (Aston share £64,544)
• 09/2022 - 03/2025: To develop state of the art, low emission and low carbon fuel, gas fired burners for process heating applications with newly developed, innovative burner Design Software; KTP with Lanemark Combustion Ltd funded by UK Research and Innovation (Innovate UK) –  Budget: £376,864 (Aston share £376,864)
• 11/2022 - 12/2023: REAP Reduced Energy Asphalt Production funded by Department for Energy Security and Net Zero – Budget: £ 389, 467 (Aston share £59,771)
• 10/2022 - 03/2023: Hybrid-energy based irrigation system for Africa  funded by UK knowledge Transfer Network – KTN (Innovate UK) –  Budget: £ 49,443 (Aston share £49,443)
• 10/2022 - 03/2023: Artificial Intelligence driven Emission Tracking Platform funded by UK Research and Innovation (Innovate UK) –  Budget: £49,975 (Aston share £10,757)
• 11/2021 - 03/2022: Waste heat recovery and reuse in foundation industries (WHR-FIND) funded by UK Research and Innovation (Innovate UK) –  Budget: £ 99,414 (Aston share £99,414)
• 11/2021 - 02/2023: ColdHubs development of local cool / cold storage installation for rural food production in Nigeria; Africa Agrifood KTP with ColdHubs Ltd funded by UK Research and Innovation (Innovate UK) –  Budget: £255,508 (Aston share £255,508)
• 03/2020 - 09/2021: Mapping and development of geographic information system of biomass potential in Sub-Saharan Africa funded by Academy of Medical Sciences - Budget: £ 24,917 (Aston share £24,917)
• 03/2022 – 02/2023: Solar to Alternative Fuel Economy Research Consortia and Capacity Building Platform (SAFECONOMY) funded by British Council – Budget: £ 40,000 (Aston share £1,080).

Co_Investigator

• 12/2025 - 11/2026: Circular Hemp Agroforestry for Biochar & Energy (CHABE) funded by UK Research and Innovation (Innovate UK) – Budget: £99,931 (Aston share £44,903)
• 04/2023 - 03/2026: Business Energy Advice Service with the West Midlands Combined Authority to support Energy Intensive Industries in the region (UKSPF), funded by West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) –  Budget: £2,937,115 (Aston share £2,937,115)
• 04/2023 - 09/2024: Off-grid modular cold rooms and pre-coolers for remote and dry areas in Ethiopia funded by UK Research and Innovation (Innovate UK) –  Budget: £279,851 (Aston share £137,125)
• 03/2023 - 09/2025: Rice-straw powered biowaste to energy funded by UK Research and Innovation (Innovate UK) – Budget: £1,499,910 (Aston share £326,320)
• 03/2023 - 09/2025: To develop energy efficient aluminium recycling solutions; KTP with Mechatherm International funded by UK Research and Innovation (Innovate UK) –  Budget: £382,048 (Aston share £382,048)
• 11/2022 - 06/2024  - To improve productivity and efficiency in the manufacture of steel forgings by recovering energy and improving operational processes; KTP with Brockhouse Group funded by UK Research and Innovation (Innovate UK) –  Budget: £384,974 (Aston share £384,974)