The Dearman Engine Company is strengthening its team as it prepares for its liquid-air engine to begin on-vehicle testing, with the recruitment of Nick Owen to the position of Chief Technology Officer. Nick is currently with E4tech (UK) Ltd, and will join Dearman at the start of June.
Nick has worked at E4tech for the last two years, a leading industry and government consultancy, where he was responsible for the commercial and technical activities in the low carbon vehicles sector. During this period he has worked closely with Dearman on a number of projects including a review of markets and technology development risks and has also provided support for the development of the company’s engineering plans.
Prior to E4tech, Nick spent more than 20 years at Ricardo, including a number of years as project director of research and collaboration, responsible for the planning, execution & exploitation of Ricardo UK’s R&D portfolio. This had a budget of ú10 million a year, attracted ú5 million a year in grants and collaborative funding, involved up to 50 project partners and had a strong focus on low carbon technology.
Nick will begin his new role at the start of June, and will be responsible for the planning and delivery of the company’s engineering research and development activities.
Toby Peters, chief executive of the Dearman Engine Company, said: “Nick’s experience and understanding of the project is second to none, and he was the natural fit to support the development of the technology as we approach the first on-vehicle trials this summer.
“We have had a number of business successes recently, including a grant of almost ú2 million from the Technology Strategy Board’s IDP10 program, and recognition in the ERTRAC report, and having the right team in place has been vital for that. We are looking forward to Nick joining us and are confident he will support us in moving the technology forward as quickly and successfully as possible.”
Nick Owen said: “Having worked with Dearman over the last two years in my current role, I can really appreciate the potential this technology has for producing significantly cleaner, more efficient transport applications for both the UK and global markets. The Dearman Engine Company has a compelling business case and I am looking forward to focusing all my efforts on this project.”
