Meet the team behind Brill Power’s world-leading research and innovation


Team
Founding members

Christoph Birkl DPhil
CEO and Co-Founder

Christoph is an expert in energy storage and conversion with seven years of research experience in lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells. He holds a DPhil in Engineering from Oxford University and an MSc in Sustainable Energy Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark.

LinkedIn: Christoph

 

Carolyn Hicks MASc, MBA
CFO/COO and Co-Founder

Carolyn is Brill Power’s CFO/COO and co-founder. She is a Professional Engineer with degrees in engineering (BASc, MASc) and business (MBA). Prior to Brill Power, Carolyn worked in infrastructure finance and economics in both Canada and the UK. Outside of Brill Power, Carolyn is a Director for Oxford Mutual Aid and is a 2x Ironman finisher.

LinkedIn: Carolyn

Damien Frost DPhil
CTO and Co-Founder

Damien is a power electronics engineer and serial entrepreneur. With over ten years’ experience bringing ideas from paper to product, and the grey hair to prove it. Damien has a DPhil in Engineering from Oxford University and a BASc and MASc from the University of Toronto. Far from his local Ice Hockey club in Canada, Damien is forced to row in his spare time.

LinkedIn: Damien

Adrien Bizeray DPhil
Chief Data Scientist and Co-Founder

Adrien leads all aspects of our battery modelling and state estimation. He focuses on advanced control algorithms, data-driven techniques, and Cloud-based battery data platforms. He holds a DPhil in Engineering Science from the University of Oxford and an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College London.

LinkedIn: Adrien


Team
BrillCore

 

The BrillCore team

The BrillCore team brings together experts in electrical engineering, industrial design and electronic engineering and project management. The team is responsible for the design, development and testing of the power electronics hardware and software, completing rapid prototyping and testing.

 


Team
BrillOS

The BrillOS team

The BrillOS team leads the design and development of new and existing firmware features and user documentation. The team has experts in AI and specialists in embedded systems for creating new and existing firmware features and user documentation.

 


Team
BrillAnalytics

 

The BrillAnalytics team

The Brill Analytics team are experts in improving battery management with data analytics, helping to use data analysis to create a front-end system for our customers to effectively manage their Battery Intelligence Platform.

 


Team
Non-executive directors and advisors

Thomas Capon

Thomas is an Investment Manager at Oxford Science Enterprises. He is also a Chartered Accountant and experienced M&A professional. Thomas sits on the board of multiple Oxford tech businesses.

Nicola Daly

Nicola is an Investment Director at Legal & General Capital. She has over 10 years’ investment and advisory experience in the clean energy technology and infrastructure sectors.

Andy Challis

Andy is Co-Head of Principal Investments at Barclays, with 14 years of experience investing in venture and high-growth technology businesses. His team is responsible for the bank’s Sustainable Impact Capital portfolio and he sits on a number of boards in the fintech and greentech ecosystems.

Frederick Hamilton

Frederick works with Oxford Investment Consultants. Focusing on Digital Tech, Cleantech and Chemical & Industrial spaces.

Chris Miles

Chris is an experienced entrepreneur in the clean energy sector. He led and exited the renewable heat business Econergy to Centrica (British Gas). He also helped deliver 112MW of battery storage.

Dave Howey

Dave advises Brill Power on the latest developments in energy storage. He is a Professor of Engineering Science at Oxford University with a focus on modelling and control of batteries. Christoph, Damien, and Adrien all completed their doctoral research within Dave’s group, leading to the founding of Brill Power.