About Us | Black Bull Biochar

BLACK BULL BIOCHAR

Our Mission

We exist to rapidly scale greenhouse gas removal technologies by bringing together industry and agriculture on a pioneering platform that uses biochar to restore our environment, remove carbon and enrich our industrial and agricultural systems.

BIOCHAR ON YOUR FARM

Our Story

Rising to the Challenge

To ensure global warming remains below 2°C, the world must remove between 3.5 and 5.4 gigatons of carbon dioxide each year by 2030. This means the deployment of carbon removal technologies on a scale never seen before. Biochar is primed for large-scale deployment in the UK to meet this imperative.

Harvesting Carbon

Biochar is a carbon-rich product produced by stabilising the carbon captured in biomass, typically wood, which has been removed from the air by plants. Through tailored biochar solutions, Black Bull Biochar facilitates seamless integration with existing farm management systems, empowering UK farmers to bolster crop yields while minimising on-farm emissions.

The Biochar Network

BBB is scaling carbon removal in the UK by bringing together British industry and agriculture. Through our integrated system partners use biochar to restore our environment, remove carbon and enrich industrial and agricultural systems.

Meet the team

Alex Clarke, Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer

Alex is a pragmatic entrepreneur committed to building systems that enable climate change tackling solutions. He spun out BBB from dss+ in 2022 to build the platform and enable carbon removal on the gigatonne scale.

Alex has an R&D management background, formerly working for the UK’s independent scientific academy, the Royal Society managing projects on carbon capture & utilisation, green hydrogen and green ammonia. Since then, Alex has been in industry managing innovation projects funded by BEIS, UNCDF, Clasp, Factor-E, Shell Foundation, CDC, Mastercard and InnovateUK. Alex was awarded the Horner Foundation Scholarship for a double MSc in Sustainable Development & Energy from the University of St Andrews and Moscow State Institute of International Relations. He also holds a BSc in Environmental Geoscience from Cardiff University.

Hamish Creber, Co-founder & Chief Technology Officer

Hamish is an engaging and innovative biochar researcher dedicated to creating viable biochar systems in response to climate change. His goal – to support wide-scale industry adoption of biochar through system optimisation in agriculture and forestry.

Hamish completed his PhD at the University of Edinburgh in collaboration with Forest Research. His work involved maintaining and assessing large scale biochar field trials and long-term experimental plots, researching the delivery of phosphorus through biochar amendment in forest establishment and developing life cycle analysis models for woodland creation and nursery tree production. Through collaboration with industry partners, Hamish has created a decision support system to optimise carbon storage potential and calculate the net zero year for woodland creation. Prior to his role at the University of Edinburgh, Hamish worked as a Forest Manager at Savills where he was responsible for managing and implementing publicly funded afforestation projects.

Shefali Bagaria, Innovation Manager

Shefali graduated as a design engineer from Imperial College London. She is passionate about using technology and innovation to develop new systems that tackle the climate crisis. Understanding the true impacts of new products like biochar is important to her, and she is working closely with our research partners to develop data-driven methods of validating them. As Innovation Manager at BBB, Shefali manages projects ranging from upgrading Scotland’s biggest farm carbon footprinting tool to include novel biochar impact models, to developing BBB’s own digital strategy for farm impact and carbon tracking. She is a touchpoint for our users and stakeholders, striving to keep their needs at the core of our product development.

Megan Evans, Head of Finance

Meg is a conscientious and astute finance professional committed to scaling financial systems for small companies tackling the multifaceted environmental issues of the 21st century.

After completing her degree in accounting & finance at Leeds University Meg went onto work in a diverse range of sectors such as financial software, estate management and most recently was the Head of Finance at a craft brewery helping them implement their move and expansion out of London. She is on the cusp of completing her Chartered Institute of Management Accounting qualification (CIMA) and is helping BBB to integrate traditional financial models with climate finance, carbon accounting and new environmental taxation systems.

Nicholas Hughes, Head of Pyrolysis Operations

As a Pyrolysis Operations Manager, Nicholas brings a unique blend of hands-on experience and management skills to the table. He is committed to drive innovation and success in BBB, with a personal vision of managing the largest fleet of pyrolysis units in Europe.

With a solid foundation from his service in the Royal Navy submarine service as an engineering technician and operator, Nick honed his ability to work under pressure and solve complex operational challenges. Transitioning to Veolia Energy, he spent eight successful years as an Operation and Maintenance Supervisor overseeing industrial utilities plants. He built himself a reputation for his dedication, quick learning abilities, and tireless work ethic. He is passionate about driving operational excellence and process improvements in biochar manufacturing at BBB.

Darren Foden, Pyrolysis Plant Operator

Darren brings over twenty years of manufacturing experience to his role as a Pyrolysis Plant Operator. With a proven track record at companies like Unilever PG Tips and Northern Foods, Darren excels in managing complex production operations and troubleshooting issues.

Known for his expertise in plant running and operational efficiency, Darren ensures smooth and effective plant operations, maintaining high product quality & safety.

We are excited to have Darren on our team, where his skills will drive success in our pyrolysis operations.

Matt Hamilton, Innovation Manager

Matt is a designer interested in knotty problems. He studied Design Engineering at Imperial College London and has a diverse range of experiences - from building a service that mediates between separated parents to agree on child support payments, to developing product offerings for off-grid solar appliances in sub-Saharan Africa. The common thread through Matt's work is his human-centric approach and his desire to solve problems creatively.

As Innovation Manager, Matt looks after projects which explore new and novel ways that biochar can be used to support farmers and the planet.

Dan Higginson, Founder's Associate

Dan works closely with Black Bull Biochar’s founders, supporting the business across hiring, operations and strategic initiatives as it grows. He is interested in how strong teams and systems enable companies to scale effectively in fast-moving, high-growth environments.

Dan has worked across start-ups, venture capital and digital innovation, supporting founders as they build their businesses, with hands-on experience helping early-stage climate ventures. Much of his experience is rooted in Manchester, where he has worked closely with regional stakeholders including the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Manchester City Council and local universities, and remains actively embedded in the city’s start-up and innovation ecosystem.

Tom Newton, Carbon Manager

As Carbon Manager, Tom is working across all things carbon credits at BBB, and is committed to ensuring we are offering the highest quality biochar credits on the market. Tom is a versatile, multidisciplinary engineer who is committed to deploying his skills in the advancement of solutions to the climate crisis. He holds a master’s degree in Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering from the University of Cambridge, where he also remained as an experimental researcher in Environmental Fluid Dynamics for a number of years post-graduation.

Prior to joining BBB, Tom’s most recent position was with marine CDR startup Seafields, where he worked in a broad role across technology development and market delivery to advance solutions for the utilisation of Sargassum seaweed in a variety of carbon removal pathways.