Photo source: Belinda Fewings

Welcoming in the new year with a bang, TownRock has taken on seven new employees. This has been enabled by generous support from Scottish Enterprise (SE) through their Green Jobs Fund. They have agreed to support the expansion of TownRock through a programme of R&D activities which will underpin the company’s aim to rapidly expand its minewater geothermal services: these cover the full spectrum of development, optimisation, and Operations and Maintenance (O&M) services.

Barbora Hovorkova has come on board as TownRock’s Finance Assistant. A qualified accountant, with several years’ experience in operations and accounts management, Barbora is excited to be part of TownRock’s mission to provide clean energy.

David Walls and Hester Claridge, both Geothermal Geologists, have also joined the team. David, nearing completion of his PhD research into minewater geothermal energy at Strathclyde University, has already had some involvement in project work for TownRock, positioning him well to lead the company’s minewater energy department.

Hester recently completed an MSc in Subsurface Energy Systems at Heriot Watt University. From her Cornish roots, she brings knowledge of deep geothermal energy as well as valuable experience from working for a geothermal lithium mining company. She is leading TownRock’s deep geothermal department and is thrilled to be back in Edinburgh.

Hannah Jukes joins to lead the drive to bring BODYHEAT global, after spending a year mapping crime scenes for the police and, prior to that, completing an MSc in Structural Geology at the University of Leeds.

Hester and Hannah are both committee members for WING UK, a fantastic organisation that supports gender balance across the geothermal industry.

Michael Schiltz is completing his PhD at the University of Strathclyde on fracture systems, and will be applying his geological skillset to a variety of activities, both in the office and the field.

Sachin Patel is joining TownRock for a 12 month internship from the University of Heriot Watt, and will lead development of the company’s export strategy, as well as leveraging his Electrical Engineering degree to support the minewater geothermal control systems R&D project.

Last, but by no means least, Conor McKenna starts as TownRock’s Social Media & Admin Assistant. With a passion for creative media, Conor is excited about growing TownRock’s social media presence.

Jake Diamond has been with the company for a year and SE’s funding support package has enabled TownRock to confirm his role as lead on the development of the company’s minewater O&M services. This will be a world first service: developing a team that can provide the expertise required to ensure that the many new minewater geothermal projects meet technical, commercial and regulatory targets, operate smoothly and are optimised for performance.

David Townsend, CEO and founder of TownRock, commenting on the new appointments and TownRock’s expansion, said: 
“I am so excited to have built such a strong, dynamic team to carry out invaluable R&D to develop new products and services for the rapidly growing geothermal sector. The new employees all share my passion for geothermal energy: this team, which we anticipate will continue to grow as demand for our services accelerates, forms a very strong foundation for TownRock. The geothermal decade is firmly underway, and it’s going to be really fun to perfect all the ways of utilising this valuable natural resource to achieve net-zero in time to avoid catastrophic climate chaos.”

KeyFacts Renewable Energy Directory: TownRock Energy   l   KeyFacts Energy news: People on the Move