Tobias Reisch

I have been working in green technology for more than 20 years, primarily in PEM fuel cells and batteries. As a researcher and systems engineer, I have run teams developing systems for a variety of uses, including automotive, back-up-power, combined heat and power, drones, and off-highway vehicles including 500 tonne haulage trucks. My involvement has been from cutting edge research through to integration and installation of systems into the final products, as well as the various planning, testing, and documentation required.

• February 2023 – Present – Principal Hydrogen Power Systems Engineer, First Mode
  • Primary subject matter expert for fuel cells and hydrogen systems
  • Consultant to battery team
  • Developing next generation power train for 500 tonne ultra-class haulage trucks
  • Technical liaison for engineering in Europe
  • Forming contacts with FC and balance of plant suppliers globally
  • Developing bespoke FC system from purchased stacks
  • Developing test facilities for large FC system testing

• July 2022 – February 2023 – Head of Hydrogen Systems, Viritech
  • Primary subject matter expert on fuel cells, hydrogen systems, and high-voltage batteries
  • Acting as primary systems engineer for all hydrogen- and battery- related systems

• June 2021 – July 2022 – Lead Engineer Fuel Cell Powerpack Test, Jaguar Land Rover
  • Developing and running validation and testing plans for fuel cell prototype vehicles, and related activities
  • Fuel cell and hydrogen subject matter expert
  • Occasional battery consultant
  • Acting as integration manager for the fuel cell / battery power train
  • Developing facility and capabilities for further FCEV development, including developing the necessary health and safety approaches required

• March 2021 – June 2021 – Battery and Fuel Cell Specialist, FlyZero (Contract)
  • Acting as the resident fuel cell and battery consultant
  • Investigating the current and near future state-of-the-art technology for use in renewable energy-powered aircraft

• May 2020 – March 2021 – Engineering Manager, Piloting and Prototyping, Cummins
  • Primary site-lead for temporary facility
  • Building a new team
  • Developing benchmarking processes
  • Upfitting off-highway vehicles with battery-electric drive trains
  • Benchmarking of competitor vehicles
  • Battery cell/module selection for upfitting vehicles
  • Electrical Safety Coordinator for European area (New Power Business Unit)
  • Closely working with customers to rapidly develop prototype machines
  • Developing safety systems and procedures for temporary site with a view to improving those at a permanent site
  • Worked closely with global health and safety to determine safe protocols and equipment for battery storage

• June 2018 – May 2020 – Systems Engineering Manager, Cummins
  • Building a team from nothing to a total of 13 members
  • Developing processes and procedures for requirements capture, early prototyping, design validation, field trials, battery pilot-line etc
  • Failure and incident investigation – both battery and facility issues, including major incidents in UK and US
  • Consultant for internal fuel cell business
  • Part of cell selection team for new battery designs
  • Partial owner and subject matter expert in DFMEA and FuSa matters
  • Developed requirements and led the team to take on a new testing facility, as well as a new temporary prototyping facility, including all capital expenditure plans
  • Local subject matter expert on standards and regulations for batteries
  • Safety council member
  • Working closely with other sites across the world to develop battery testing capabilities

• February 2018 – June 2018 – Product Engineer, Technical Specialist, Cummins
  • Working as Technical Lead on battery project for commercial vehicles
  • Developing plans for design development and validation

• May 2017 – January 2018 – Senior Engineer, Battery Systems, Ricardo
  • Developing design verification plans for vehicle battery systems for Tier-1 automotive partners
  • Requirements capture and management from both customer requirements, standards, and regulations
  • Consultant for fuel cell programs

• December 2016 – May 2017 – Project Engineer, Battery Technology, Warwick Manufacturing Group (Contractor)
  • Working to improve production speed for high energy lithium-ion batteries
  • Test method development
  • Developing module/pack production line for Tier-1 automotive partners

• August 2012 – May 2016 - Principal Engineer, Design Assurance, Intelligent Energy
  • Developing characterisation and optimisation activities
  • Leading verification and validation activities on a fuel cell platform
  • Mentoring and training of staff in fuel cell operation and development from various departments
  • Management of mixed-specialism engineering team
  • Setup of testing facilities and training for staff of new Japanese joint venture company
  • On- and off-site support and consultancy for testing facilities and fuel cell development with Japanese joint venture company
  • Primary point of contact for fuel cell diagnostics on returned stacks
  • Primary point of contact for test rig issues
  • Primary developer of development and validation tests including environmental, durability, and standards testing

• September 2009 – August 2012 - Research Manager / Technical Lead, AC64, Intelligent Energy
  • In charge of research and development of AC64 stack technology
  • Project manager for research programs
  • Direct line management and mentoring of newer staff
  • Developing and instituting standards for testing protocols of fuel cell stacks
  • Developing and maintaining VBA data analysis macros
  • Primary fuel cell consultant for the Back-Up Power and Suzuki programs
  • Training new staff within Research and other engineering divisions
  • Industrial supervisor for PhD student in conjunction with UCL

• June 2007 – September 2009 - Research Manager / Technical Lead, Air Cooled Stacks, Intelligent Energy
• February 2004 – June 2007 - Research Associate, Intelligent Energy

February 2002 – September 2002, and August 2003 – February 2004, Technician, 3M Healthcare

• 2003 – PGCE Secondary Science (Qualified Teacher Status)
  • Loughborough University
  • NQT level teacher in secondary science specialising in Chemistry and Physics
• 2001 – BSc (Hons) Chemistry with Forensic Analysis
  • Loughborough University
• 1997 – A-Levels (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, General Studies)
  • Hampton School