Tim von Werne has spent 25 years taking novel technologies from invention to high volume manufacturing across UK deep tech startups. He is CEO of Certain Energy, leading the build of a manganese flow battery platform designed to scale like industrial infrastructure, not battery packs, and to store renewable energy for as long as the grid needs it. He was previously Technical Director at Applied Graphene Materials and CTO of Semblant.
Dr Ashkan Kavei
Head of Technology Delivery
Ashkan Kavei is an electrochemical engineer and system designer who has spent his career scaling flow battery technology from lab to deployment. As Head of Technology Delivery at Certain Energy, he makes sure the right engineering gets done at the right pace. One of the company's first researchers, he has delivered multiple flow battery scale up projects and has been central to building the platform from the ground up. He earned his PhD at Imperial College London, working on advanced energy storage devices in the Electrochemical Science and Engineering group. Ashkan is a RAEng awardee and recognised science communicator at the international stage.
Chris Evans
Chief Product Officer
Chris Evans has spent 25 years taking advanced technology from design into volume manufacturing, at Ricardo and Ceres Power. At Ceres he was Director of Engineering and then Director of Product Management, scaling innovative designs to production with global licensees. He is now Chief Product Officer at Certain Energy, responsible for building the right partnerships and the right products to take the platform to market.
Mark Selby
Executive Chair and Founder
Mark Selby has spent over 20 years getting clean energy technologies out of the lab and into the real world. He is Executive Chair of Certain Energy, where he is commercialising a manganese flow battery platform built to be the cheapest way to store renewable energy at grid scale. He previously held senior roles at Ceres Power, driving its SteelCell® platform toward commercialisation. Mark is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and a winner of the MacRobert Award, the UK’s most prestigious engineering prize.
We combine scientific depth with commercial scale-up experience
"Every year the demand for safe, reliable long duration storage is growing. We're attracting collaborators, customers and investors to help bring our scalable, safe, durable and cost-effective technology to the world."
Tim Von Werne, CEO
Founding team
Tim Von Werne
Chief Executive
Chris Evans
Chief Product Officer
Mark Selby
Executive Chairman
Dr Ashkan Kavei
Head of Technology Delivery
Our values
Radical openness and integrity
We choose technical truth and accountability in the face of industry hype and uncertainty.
Pragmatic and restless innovation
We move fast, but stay grounded in the measurable.
Collective impact over individual ego
We keep ego low and learning high.
We’re building a team around a clear vision: take proven UK technology and turn it into a global energy storage business.
from Lab Coats to Hardhats from Beakers to bulk storage tanks from kWh to GWh Get in touch if you've got what it takes to help us on that journey.
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