• Syrie Crouch, carbon management professional with 30 years of experience at Shell pioneering carbon capture and storage projects, and C-level chemical industry executive Maurits van Tol with a proven track record in innovation in sustainable technology, fortify the Board per January 2024.
• Early visionary directors Dr. Rainer Rueppel und Christoph Bechtler relinquish their mandates after 13 years of strategic support for Climeworks to provide opportunity for different expertise to the next phase of growth.

Climeworks continues to expand its carbon management and technology leadership with two globally established leaders in energy transition: Syrie Crouch and Maurits van Tol. 

Syrie Crouch and Maurits van Tol will join Climeworks' Board of Directors in January 2024

Syrie Crouch: institution for energy transition projects

Syrie Crouch has over 30 years of experience in the international energy sector including governing capital investment for global projects. She brings a unique skillset into Climeworks’ Board of Directors having recently retired as the VP Carbon Capture and Storage for Shell where she managed their global CCS portfolio. In this role she managed Shell’s position in some of the world’s largest CCS hubs Aramis, Porthos, Northern Lights, Cathedral, among others. In addition, she was at the helm for one of the world’s largest carbon capture & storage projects known as Quest in Canada, which has injected over 8 million tons of CO₂ to date. Syrie Crouch studied Geology at the University of Exeter and has a Masters in Mineral Exploration from Imperial College London.

Co-CEO and Co-founder Christoph Gebald acknowledges: "Syrie Crouch is an industry institution when it comes to the transition to net zero. We will greatly not only benefit from her expertise in subject matter from carbon capture and storage but also from her experience having dealt with multiple government and regulatory bodies around the world to deliver those energy transition projects."

Maurits van Tol: sustainable technology innovator

Maurits van Tol looks back on 30 years of leadership in the chemical industry. The CEO of Catalyst Technologies and former Group CTO at Johnson Matthey has long-standing experience in R&D and innovation management. He further has a strong personal affinity to Cleantech, and a strong in-depth knowledge of sustainable and circular economy solutions from his previous innovation and technology leadership positions at multinational chemical companies like Borealis and DSM. He studied chemistry at Leiden University, UC Berkeley, and the University of East Anglia and holds a PhD in chemistry from Leiden University.

Co-CEO and Co-founder Jan Wurzbacher says:
"Maurits van Tol's experience as a senior executive in the chemical industry will be of enormous value when Climeworks tackles the next steps in driving innovation and building up global supply chains in materials for direct air capture. In working across the innovation value chain from R&D to industrial-scale operations he will support us in further opening up our ecosystem globally and generating more impact on our journey to net zero. We share the same firm belief in the vital role of technology to provide solutions for climate change and will rely on Maurits drive towards the commercialization of cleantech.”

Gratitude to visionary early investors

With the appointment of the two industry experts, Rainer Rueppel and Christoph Bechtler are handing over their seats on the Board of Directors. Christoph Gebald, Co-CEO and Co-founder of Climeworks says: "We are very grateful to Rainer Rueppel and Christoph Bechtler. In our early start-up phase in 2010, they believed in our vision, courageously took money in hand and invested in us. They played a pivotal role in shaping our strategy resulting in continuous leadership of our company and served as a bridge to the shareholders in their role as investment directors." Climeworks can continue to build on their know-how and network. Rainer Rueppel and Christoph Bechtler will continue to accompany the company on the Advisory Board.

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