Who are we

..working with the organisations and individuals who are delivering innovative, low carbon energy solutions

Photo of Mike Colechin, founder of Cultivate Innovation

Dr Mike Colechin is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer with over 30 years’ experience of innovation in the transport and energy sectors.

He is well recognised for his facilitation skills and his understanding and experience of innovation in energy and decarbonisation, and is deeply engaged in the UK’s journey towards net zero.  As co-investigator on ‘Delivering Net Zero’, a project funded by the EPSRC, Mike worked alongside Prof John Barrett from the University of Leeds and Prof Nick Pidgeon from Cardiff University to build an understanding of the narratives that are driving the transition towards a low carbon future.

Mike sits on a range of advisory boards including those for the UK Energy Research Centre and the Welsh Government’s Deep Dive on Renewable Energy.  Until recently, Mike chaired UKRI’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Energy and Decarbonisation and he is also a member of UKRI’s Peer Review College, often being called upon to chair peer review panels for the Research Councils.  He currently holds the post of Honorary Professor of Low Carbon Energy at the University of Nottingham.

Prior to setting up Cultivate, Mike was Partnership Manager at the Energy Technologies Institute – a £400M public-private partnership between UK government and six large private sector companies. He directly supported the organisations delivering low carbon energy innovation, communicating outputs to inform policy makers and building investor and industry confidence in these new approaches.
When he was with the ETI Mike was responsible for a number of key publications including an insight into ‘Accelerating low carbon energy innovation in the UK’ and a report on ‘What we know about Local Authority Engagement in UK Energy Systems’ (produced in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh).

Earlier in his career Mike spent fifteen years at E.ON, the last five years of this in the role of R&D Partnership Manager. Mike had responsibility for the development of a network of external relationships with industry, the public sector and academics who acted as partners and suppliers for internal R&D Programmes. For his first ten years at E.ON, Mike was a combustion engineer, providing technical support for electricity generation assets.

Mike holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nottingham. He still lives in Nottingham and alongside his work in the Energy Sector he makes large format photographs.

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Associates

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Nic Lancashire

Associate – Graphics and Administration

Visual Communications Specialist

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Specialising in visual communications media and brand design, Nic holds a Bachelor of Arts with honours degree awarded by Nottingham Trent University. Having worked predominantly with third-sector charitable organisations, Nic is experienced in digital and print media covering a range of communications and marketing channels.

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Andy Boston

Associate – Energy Systems, Modelling

Energy Consultant, Systems Modeller and Business Game Developer

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Andy is Director of Red Vector, an independent energy consultancy specialising in modelling energy systems and delivering interactive learning. Prior to this, Andy was Head of Analysis at Energy Research Partnership. He is a Chartered Engineer with many years’ experience in leadership roles within the energy sector.

Clare-Quigley

Clare Quigley

Associate – Information and Knowledge Management, Marketing

Information and Knowledge Management Specialist

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An information and knowledge management specialist who also has communications and marketing skills. Clare’s many years of experience are predominantly in the public, charities and renewable energy sectors, which include consultancy work for the Energy Technologies Institute. Clare holds a BA Hons degree in Creative Arts (Art and Music) and an MSc in Information and Knowledge Management.

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Zak Brown

Associate – Researcher

EPSRC CDT Sponsored Student

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With Cultivate Innovation as his industry sponsor, Zak has embarked on a 4-year engineering doctorate in Resilient Decarbonised Fuel Energy Systems, part-funded by the EPSRC. Zak holds a Master and Bachelor of Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Leeds.