Michael Short
Co-founder @Biofuelai
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WORK HISTORY
Co-founder @Biofuelai
Guildford, GB
BiofuelAi is a British deep tech company accelerating the energy transition through AI-driven solutions for the biofuels sector.We work with biofuel and biogas producers to turn operational data into actionable insights—optimising feedstock selection, enhancing plant performance, and enabling the production of cost-effective, net-carbon negative fuels that compete with unsubsidised fossil alternatives.Our AI-powered tools support decision-making across the full biofuel value chain—from feedstock procurement to gas output—making them suitable for any feedstock type and scalable to all generations of biofuel production.We enable smarter data. Cleaner energy. More resilient operations.
EDUCATION
University of Cape Town
Bachelor of Science (BSc), Chemical Engineering
Rondebosch Boys' High School
Matric, Matric
University of Cape Town
PhD, Chemical Engineering
SKILLS
ABOUT MICHAEL SHORT
I am a Professor of Process Systems Engineering and Associate Head of External Engagement in the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the University of Surrey. I am the co-founder of the British Cleantech Surrey spinout company, BiofuelAi, that develops software for biofuel companies to optimise real-time operational decisions. I am also the Director for Diffusion of the Supergen Bioenergy Hub. I am currently lecturing on the the capstone 3rd-year Process Design course focusing on Sustainability and Economics, as well as teaching Industrial Systems and Computation for Chemical Engineers. My research interests are in optimisation for process synthesis, control, and decision-making. Much of my research has focused on energy efficiency, process integration and process and unit design. My current research interests are in bioenergy, anaerobic digestions, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), distributed energy systems modelling with optimal power flow for decarbonised heating and electricity in the UK, process synthesis, machine learning and real-time optimisation, aquaculture, life cycle assessment, techno-economic assessment, and supply chains. For a more detailed look at my current and past research projects, funding, and opportunities to join my research team, please see my website: completed a postdoctoral fellowship with Prof Lorenz T. Biegler at the Center for Advanced Process Decision-making at Carnegie Mellon University. My work there focused predominantly on working in collaboration with Eli Lilly on an open-source Python-based parameter estimation toolkit (KIPET), among other projects. The package is available for free download and has many useful tools for working with spectra, multiple datasets and direct responses in the form of temperature and concentration. These tools are all based on nonlinear programming. I have also had experience in many process integration and optimisation techniques as well as with biofuel optimisation. I have a special interest in mixed-integer non-linear programming techniques and foresee massive growth in the application of such techniques for process integration and synthesis in the future as solver technology is improved.
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