Low Carbon Hub

Barbara is CEO of the Low Carbon Hub, Executive Director and sits on the Audit Committee, Nomination and Governance Committee and Remuneration Committee. Founder and CEO of Low Carbon Hub since 2012, she drives the sustainability initiatives, pioneering community energy and leading Low Carbon Hub.
From 2000 until 2010, Dr Barbara Hammond was in Government, heading up the UK’s renewable energy programme and then, as International Director for Sir David King, supporting him on international climate change policy influencing. Since 2008 Barbara has been involved in starting up community energy businesses in her own neighbourhood, as Director of Osney Lock Hydro and West Oxfordshire Community Renewables. Then in 2011, she founded the Low Carbon Hub. Not only has Barbara led the Low Carbon Hub in its development of a significant portfolio of renewable energy projects, she has also led on developing critical relationships with many partner organisations that are fundamental to the Hub’s continuing success. Highlights include: • Oxford City Council’s Revolving Construction Fund – a £2.3m facility that allows the Hub to develop new projects in advance of raising share equity.
• OxFutures – a £4.2 million project boosting low carbon economic development in Oxfordshire in partnership with both our universities and three of our local authorities.
• Project LEO – a £40 million project trialling local energy solutions to accelerate the transition to a zero carbon energy system in partnership with 9 other organisations including our distribution network operator, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks.
• Cosy Homes Oxfordshire – a home retrofit service to improve energy efficiency in homes, reducing carbon emissions and improving comfort.
• Energy Solutions Oxfordshire (ESOx) – a complete energy efficiency service helping organisations lower their energy use while saving time and money. She was awarded an MBE in the 2015 New Year’s Honours List for services to community energy development, particularly in Oxfordshire.

Mairi is the Smart Energy Systems Director for Low Carbon Hub and sits on the Strategy Committee. She has 16 years of policy development, project delivery and strategy experience in the world of sustainability including non-domestic energy efficiency, electricity market reform, community energy and electric vehicle infrastructure. Mairi was the Sustainable City Manager at Oxford City Council and worked closely with Low Carbon Hub when it was starting up. In a previous career she worked at NASA researching the cosmological evolution of supermassive black holes. She is motivated by tackling big challenges and enabling others to achieve things they never thought possible. She wants to answer the question: what is the role that community energy and Low Carbon Hub can play to enable the decarbonisation at the grid edge. In her spare time, Mairi likes to race road bikes and take her dog Freddie for walks.

Beth has over 14 years of experience in Communications and Marketing. Her experience ranges from a large global publisher to a grassroots climate organisation. She joined the Low Carbon Hub in 2017 and her role is to develop and implement communications and marketing strategies for the Low Carbon Hub’s work. She is energised by encouraging people to take action on climate change. She lives in Oxford with her partner and two children.

Steve Drummond is Chair of the Low Carbon Hub combined board. Steve has been associated with the Low Carbon Hub since the early days and has also served as Investment Committee Chair and independent Board Member of The Low Carbon Hub IPS. Steve has extensive experience in the energy sector. Starting as an engineer and then moving into finance, he has spent nearly 40 years working in nuclear, conventional and renewable energy power generation. Roles include power station design, operations and development in the Central Electricity Generating Board and its successors, Partner of Corporate Finance at PwC, and emissions trading, finance and global project development at Cantor Fitzgerald. Steve is now CEO of Electrogenic Ltd., which develops EV technology that is deployed both in new production cars and the conversion of beautiful classic vehicles. Back in Oxford, he was one of the founding directors of Oxford North Community Renewables (or ONCORE) and developed the structure of the enterprise and the financial model to install community renewable projects in North Oxford.

Sam is responsible for the management of Low Carbon Hub’s
finances and investor relationships.