Licella Co-Founder Awarded 2020 Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation

Professor Thomas Maschmeyer

Licella’s Co-Founder and Co-Inventor of the Cat-HTR technology, Professor Thomas Maschmeyer, has been awarded the Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation in Science, recognising his work in helping to translate fundamental research into two pioneering technologies. These technologies are poised to transform how we address the need for more efficient commercial waste recycling, and boosting the performance of renewable energy storage.

Licella’s Catalytic Hydrothermal Reactor (Cat-HTR), which Professor Maschmeyer invented alongside Licella CEO Dr Len Humphreys, converts plastics and renewable wastes into high-value distillable liquids for integration into existing (petro)chemical value-chains. While nature takes millions of years to create fossil feedstocks, Licella’s reactor takes 20 minutes or less to make sustainable ones, unlocking the circular economy.

He also founded the battery start-up Gelion and his revolutionary zinc-bromide gel batteries promise to make renewable energy cheaper, safer and deployable. This technology is especially suited to hot and remote environments due to its high temperature capability, low fade and tolerance of complete discharge.