Our story

Our clean technology company transforms biomass wastes and residues into advanced second generation (2G) ethanol and biochar. We license our proprietary and patented continuous process technology, called REFNOVA®, and combine it with technical and commercial expertise for biomass producers and for end-commercial customers. Headquartered at Wilton International, Redcar, UK, we have completed and commissioned our end-to-end demonstration plant and are actively pursuing commercial opportunities with a number of international partners.

REFNOVA®, a second generation (2G – made from biomass wastes) technology process, converts woody and non-food derived agricultural biomass into high value products such as 2G ethanol and biochar. The 2G ethanol can be utilised through the alcohol to jet (AtJ) pathway to enable the production of advanced 2G biofuels such as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The biochar, a natural carbon removal product, can deliver an immediate decarbonisation impact through sequestration and enable a negative CO2 emissions profile. It can also be used for soil improvement and as a filler in cement and asphalt.

NPT is in partnership with British Airways and LanzaJet to deliver Project Speedbird, a commercial plant that will produce 102 million litres of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) per year. This reduces CO2 emissions by 230,000 tonnes per annum on a net lifecycle basis.​ Project Speedbird secured Government funding through the Advanced Fuels Fund of £9 million.

History   Milestones   Vision & Mission   Executive & Board

History

The technology is comprised of several parts and the original founders Peter North and John Nicholas in 2008 assembled it to create the overall REFNOVA® idea. Their aim was to use a sequential set of process steps to separate the various components of cellulosic biomass. Initial discussions were with a New Zealand technology company exploring the use of steam and hydrolysis. The New Zealand team introduced NPT to the Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry (LSIWC) in Riga who were engaged in technological developments. NPT subsequently approached LSIWC to undertake trials on their behalf and over the years fine-tuned the technology and established the patented SARP® stage of the NPT process.

At the end of 2020, a technical breakthrough on the preparation of the biomass for the SARP® stage resulted in an extremely efficient process.

The technology has been developed to allow the next stage of commercialisation and to date the company has continued to enhance the functionality of its technology and the demonstration facility. NPT continues to attract investment and partnership opportunities, including the advancement of Project Speedbird with British Airways and LanzaJet.

Milestones

2015

NPT is one of three selected by the Department for Transport’s ‘Advanced Biofuels Demonstration Competition’ (ABDC) and subsequently awarded a grant of £4.7m.

2016

Installation of the pre-treatment pilot plant and demonstration plant is completed on the NPT site.

Installation and commissioning of NPT’s pilot scale thermolysis reactor at LSIWC’s facilities in Riga is successfully completed and trials commence.

2017

Installation of REFNOVA®‘s pre-treatment demonstration plant is completed at Wilton International.

2018

NPT is awarded Innovate UK’s Newton Fund, as part of a collaborative group, consisting of both industrial and academic partners. The 3-year project integrates REFNOVA® technology into sugar mills throughout India valorising their substantial bagasse waste stream.

2019

Installation of REFNOVA® third and final phase, consisting of the SARP® (steam assisted rapid pyrolysis) reactor, superheater and condenser is constructed and completed.

2020

NPT operates safely during COVID and restarts REFNOVA® commissioning.

Technical breakthrough in the preparation of the hemicellulose sugars for the SARP® stage resulting in an extremely efficient process step reduction.

NPT secures first customer for feedstock trials at Wilton International.

2021

NPT continues to operate and commission safely during COVID.

NPT concluded one hundred (100) hours running on SARP® which completed the Department for Transport ADBC project.

Project Speedbird, a partnership between NPT, British Airways and LanzaJet, receives Green Fuels Green Skies grant funding from the Department for Transport to complete a FEL1 study to develop a sustainable aviation project in the UK.

The year ended with over 330 online operational hours on SARP® and in-feed operational hours of over 200 hours.

2022

The company completes front end loading (FEL1 study) for its first customer.

JDA signed with British Airways and LanzaJet to progress Project Speedbird.

2023

Project Speedbird secures a total of £9 million from the Department for Transport’s Advanced Fuels Fund (AFF) competition.

JDA for phase 3 of Project Speedbird signed with British Airways and LanzaJet.

2024

Executed feedstock Heads of Terms for First of a Kind with AW Jenkinson.

Vision & Mission

Vision

To enable our customers to replace fossil-based products by providing sustainable alternatives.

Mission

We accelerate global decarbonisation by providing a patented and proprietary process which is sustainable, repeatable and scalable.

Value proposition

We derive value from a patented and proprietary process which is sustainable, scalable, flexible and competitive. With our expertise and know-how, we create value for our customers, partners and investors. Our technology is financially viable, reliable and the first of its kind.

Executive

NPT is led by a successful team that combines extensive technical, commercial and global business experience across broad industries including renewables, chemicals, manufacturing, energy, natural resources and operational excellence.

Sarah Ellerby

Chief Executive Officer

Sarah has over 20 years’ international experience from micro-cap, scale-up, to Forbes Global 2000 companies. She has held CEO roles across energy, natural resources, construction and manufacturing sectors in North America. She was an associate partner at Hanson Family Holdings (formerly Hanson Plc) for over 12 years and has a track record of creating exponential growth and transformation within high growth and turnaround situations. Sarah has expertise in successfully leading exit strategies more than >5X multiple. She has led a number of strategic partnerships, financing, commercials, M&A, and cross border transactions upward of £1Bn. Sarah studied leadership & management at the University of Pennsylvania and has an MBA from Bradford University School of Management.

Gary Bowdler

Interim Finance Director

Gary has 25 years experience in finance and in a commercial capacity. His industry and international expertise spans various sectors with 10 years at Venator Materials, a global chemical company. Gary’s career reflects senior finance leadership roles, including significant experience in change management to enhance cash and profitability performance. Gary is CIMA qualified.

Jonathan Wood

Chief Commercial Officer

Jonathan has extensive c-suite level experience in renewable fuels and the energy industry. He has a track record of developing and transforming international businesses, acquisitions, and investments in assets and new technologies. Prior to joining Nova Pangaea Technologies as Chief Commercial Officer, Jonathan was Vice President at Neste for the Sustainable Aviation Fuel business, where he led most of the key activities that have enabled it to grow to be the global market leader, including commercial and business development. Jonathan has also held commercial leadership roles at BP, where he was responsible for growing the aviation and road transport fuels businesses.

Jonathan graduated in Economics from London University and completed an Executive MBA programme at Harvard Business School.

Neil Hindle

Chief Innovation Officer

Neil has vast experience in the chemical industry with ICI, Croda International, Centre for Process Innovation and Applied Graphene Materials, holding roles in the UK and overseas. His recent focus has been the scale-up of the REFNOVA® process from demonstration to commercial production. He has a DPhil from the University of Oxford, an MBA from Open University, and is a Chartered Chemist and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

David Potter

Chief Programme and Procurement Officer

David is a highly experienced leadership professional with 24 years at EY with a career in delivering major projects across a diverse range of sectors in operational and organisational transformation and performance improvement consulting. He has extensive experience in delivering complex programmes and procuring key suppliers and partnerships. David holds in-depth knowledge of advanced manufacturing having led operating model redesign, strategic scale-up and supply chain transformation. During his time at EY, he directed and supported various UK Government departments including BEIS, Ministry of Defence and the Home Office, and worked with Shell Gas and Power on a financial process and controls improvement programme. David has a MSc in Industrial Logistics and a BEng (Hons) in Combined Engineering.

Board

NPT Board of Directors combines extensive global business, technical, and investment experience across broad industries.

Lucy Armstrong

Chair

Lucy joins NPT as Chair of the Board. Her expertise spanning over thirty years in mid-corporate organisations aligns with NPT’s business offering and growth trajectory. Her experience lies in accelerating progress with a focus on stakeholder and management development, and succession. Lucy’s know how ranges from funding start-up and early-stage manufacturing businesses through to mergers and exit strategies of international operations. She is currently CEO of The Alchemists, a consultancy supporting the business needs of fast growing entrepreneurs including Holker Estates, Mobeus VCT plc and Cyberhawk Innovations.

Lucy has chaired Port of Tyne since 2017 and is a member of the Maritime Skills Commission. Her early career was in private equity, corporate development and headhunting with 3i plc, Courtaulds Textiles and Tyzack. She is a former chair of the National Enterprise Research Centre, focused on the study of growth in private and family businesses and Northumbria University.

Lucy was educated at Oxford University and holds an MBA and an MSc in forensic psychology and criminology.

Sarah Ellerby

Chief Executive Officer

Sarah has over 20 years’ international experience from micro-cap, scale-up, to Forbes Global 2000 companies. She has held CEO roles across energy, natural resources, construction and manufacturing sectors in North America. She was an associate partner at Hanson Family Holdings (formerly Hanson Plc) for over 12 years and has a track record of creating exponential growth and transformation within high growth and turnaround situations. Sarah has expertise in successfully leading exit strategies more than >5X multiple. She has led a number of strategic partnerships, financing, commercials, M&A, and cross border transactions upward of £1Bn. Sarah studied leadership & management at the University of Pennsylvania and has an MBA from Bradford University School of Management.

Jim Davies

Non-executive

Jim joined British Airways as an engineering graduate and was a flight test engineer.  Thereafter, he held a number of senior technical positions within Engineering and Flight Operations, mainly related to the safe and fuel-efficient performance of BA’s aircraft.  He transitioned to fuel supply with responsibility for fuel operations, procurement, supply risk, bulk supply chain development, strategy and the introduction of more sustainable aviation fuels. As part of IAG, Jim was Head of Fuel and led the transformation of its supply chain business in the UK, Spain and Ireland. Jim recently became IAG Programme Director – Sustainable Flight leading the focus on SAF to deliver the Group’s ambition of Net Zero by 2050. Jim has a degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Southampton University.

James Sitter

Non-executive

James specialises in engineering, project management and digital transformation leadership, including project recovery and risk management.  He is currently a Managing Director in the Construction, Projects, and Assets practice at FTI Consulting, with a focus on advisory & transformation.  Prior to this, James gained over 20 years of experience in the energy and process sectors, with senior leadership roles held across operations, engineering, and projects. 

He has also supported over 30 early-phase companies as mentor and investor.  James is a Canadian registered professional engineer, with an MBA from the University of Warwick and an MSc in construction law and dispute resolution from King’s College London. 

David Best

Non-executive

David has wide experience at board level across a range of early stage private equity backed businesses; latterly working with Mercia Ventures he was previously NED and subsequently  Chair of Rights and Issues Investment Trust PLC. Prior to that  he was Group Finance Director at Peterhouse Group PLC where he had a pivotal role in growing the business from £12m to £400m market capitalisation over a 6 year period. He was also a Managing Director of YFM Venture Finance, successfully investing £100m AUM into SMEs across the North. 

David Braben

Non-executive

David has been a professional software engineer for 42 years, beginning when he co-wrote the best-selling computer game “Elite” while at Cambridge University. He later founded Frontier Developments plc in January 1994, which floated in 2013 (FDEV.L). Frontier is famous for many successful games, including Elite: Dangerous, Planet Coaster, Jurassic World Evolution 1 & 2, Planet Zoo, and the F1 Manager series of games.

David is one of six founders of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a charity that sells small educational computers worldwide for as little as $5, and a VP of Special Effect, a charity working with the Games industry supporting disabled people playing games. He supports start-ups through his membership of Cambridge Angels. He has both an arts and a science fellowship – he was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2012, and a Fellowship of BAFTA in 2015 (one of only 98, since the first was given to Alfred Hitchcock in 1971). He also has honorary doctorates from Abertay University, the Open University, and York University, and an OBE in 2014. He also is a member of Cambridge Angels, and supports start-up companies, particularly in the green energy space.