OUR DEDICATED TEAM.
Our internationally experienced team has a range of diverse backgrounds, but we are united in our goal to reduce the world’s carbon emissions.
BRENT BONADEO
Executive Director - Co-founder
Mr Bonadeo is an experienced executive and finance professional with a career spanning over 30 years in corporate advice, mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt capital markets.
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​He has profound experience in energy, energy infrastructure and resources including bulk materials and base metals (upstream and downstream). His career has included lengthy periods working for investment banking firms, domestic Australian banks and boutique firms, one of which he founded. In addition, he has been involved in start-up businesses in the energy and technology sectors.
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​A co-founder of Hydrobe®, Brent is deeply committed to progressing the company’s technology and ensuring that it becomes the preferred, low-cost process for biomass production. In this regard, and in conjunction with his Hydrobe® colleagues, he is focused on going where the emissions and end markets for Hydrobe product are.
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​Mr Bonadeo holds a Bachelor of Economics degree from the University of Western Australia and Master of Business Administration from the Australian Graduate School of Management at the University of New South Wales.
ANDREW BULLOCK
Director
Andrew Bullock is a Managing Director of Adamantem Capital. He is recognised as one of Australia’s most experienced corporate lawyers specialising in private equity and public market deals and he is also an experienced company director.
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Andrew was previously a Partner at Gilbert + Tobin from 2006 to 2017, serving as head of the firm’s corporate advisory team and its market-leading private equity practice. Prior to Gilbert + Tobin, Andrew was a Partner at Minter Ellison and also spent three years in the London office of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Andrew sits on the boards of Hygain, Legend, Edgezero and Pac Trading and is a current director of Bailador Technology Investments Limited and of the Foundation of the Scots College, Sydney.
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He has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New South Wales.
DR SUFIA HENA
Curtin University – Hydrobe R&D
Dr Sufia Hena is an Environmental Applied Scientist. She earned her M. Phil and PhD in Applied Chemistry from India. Dr Hena joined the School of Industrial Technology, University Sains Malaysia, as postdoctoral research fellow for a year and later, was appointed as a Senior Lecturer for research and teaching in 2009 to teach the course of Environmental Bioprocess Technology and Instrumental Analysis to Undergraduate and postgraduate students. Dr Hena joined Curtin University in 2017 as a research associate.
She has extensive research experience of biological science mainly marine, and freshwater microalgal metabolites in different environmental conditions and their adaptability towards changes in the environment. Dr Hena has worked on the microalgal response towards hazardous chemicals in the environment (i.e. PPCPs; pharmaceutical and personal care products). She also has worked on Industrial Research Project with Water Corporation on “Removal of ammonia from deep groundwater using bio-filtration column” at CWQRC, School of Chemistry.
She has received several research grants as a principal investigator and supervised 16 final year undergraduate and master students as a main supervisor. Dr Hena has published 38 research articles in several high impact Q1 status journals with 2011 citations. Dr Hena and her research team have won the Trailblazer Prize of the 2023 Curtinnovation Award.
Her research interest is on the contribution of microalgae as a One Health Approach Research, including wastewater treatment and sustainable environment such as renewable energy, bio-fertilizer, antimicrobial properties, and sequestration of CO2.
DR SHARMIN QUAZI BONNY
Microbiologist
Dr Sharmin Quazi Bonny is a microbiologist at Hydrobe, bringing over seven years of experience in research, teaching, and laboratory work across Australia, Malaysia, and Bangladesh. She holds a PhD in Microbiology from Monash University, Australia, and an MPhil in Biochemistry from the University of Malaya, Malaysia, both with full scholarships.
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Sharmin has published several research articles in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals and has presented her work at international scientific conferences. She has strong expertise in microbiological techniques, molecular biology methods, and microbial protein expression and purification.
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At Hydrobe, she leverages her research background and technical skills to support microalgae cultivation processes, focusing on detecting and controlling microbial contamination while contributing to the company’s innovative approach to sustainable decarbonization.
HUY HOANG
Bioprocess Engineer
Huy is a dedicated and innovative bioprocessing engineer at Hydrobe with a strong and broad academic background in Chemical Engineering and Pharmaceutical Science. In 2023, his team was awarded the Pratt Prize in Victoria for their achievement in conceptualizing a process to produce nylon 6 and nylon 6,6 from renewable resources. This highlights Huy’s technical skills and his commitment to creating eco-friendly production methods for essential chemicals.
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He is a firm believer in biological carbon-fixing processes to make a significant impact on the environment. At Hydrobe, Huy specializes in optimizing the production of microalgae using Design of Experiment and operating a novel photobioreactor. He continues to innovate and contribute to the advancement of the project, and he believes this project will be a breakthrough in renewable energy technology.
PAUL MILES
Strategy & Business Development
Paul's background is in strategic advising and transformation, with a strong focus on the energy sector and energy transition. With over 15 years of experience in strategy consulting with firms including Booz & Company / Booz Allen, Paul has a proven track record of leading high-impact projects that optimize operations, drive cost efficiencies, and support business growth.
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He has spent considerable time helping businesses navigate political and regulatory challenges and unlocking commercial value through innovative strategies and technologies. His expertise spans both start-ups and large enterprises. Paul holds an MBA and a BSc (Hons) in Earth Sciences and Oceanography from the University of New South Wales.
DUNCAN ANDERSON
Executive Chair - Co-founder
Mr Anderson has 25 years’ experience in new technology development and commercialization across the USA, Brazil, Indonesia and Australia. He spent most of the past decade in executive and directorship roles with listed and private companies operating in the technology, energy and process manufacturing sectors.
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Mr Anderson is co-inventor of the Hydrobe® technology and co-founder of Hydrobe®. The discoveries at the heart of the Hydrobe® patent family were made while testing his idea that microbial ecosystems could be industrialized to solve the thermodynamic challenge of carbon emissions in energy generation.
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Prior to his role with Hydrobe®, Duncan co-founded, commercialized and successfully exited a finance and governance technology business that operated across the USA and Brazil, holding CEO and non-executive director roles in that business before it was acquired by Avalara Inc (NYSE: AVLR) in 2016. Earlier, he led technology development projects for military application with companies including Embraer and large-scale mission-critical application development for fortune 500 companies, including Cargill Ltd.
His functional expertise in process design was developed through early career roles that included leading USA supply chain and distribution functions for the Rockwood Holdings Inc pigments business and managing the onsite logistics function at Freeport McMoRan mining and mineral processing operations in Irian Jaya.
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​Mr Anderson holds a Bachelor of Business Degree in Economics and Finance from Curtin University.
DR TEJAS BHATELIA
Curtin University:
Senior and Long Term Advisor
Associate Professor Bhatelia is Deputy Head of School (Chemical Engineering) at Curtin University, Western Australia.
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Dr Bhatelia is an established Research Academic working on several demand-driven, high impact research projects in the area of decarbonization, energy transition, process intensification, process modelling and simulation.
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He has over 15 years of research experience with over 50 scientific contributions. He has received several awards, including the 2020 Research Engagement and Impact Award, finalist for STEM Award 2019, finalist for Premiers Science Award 2021, and he was also an overall winner of Curtin Innovation Award 2019.
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​Dr Bhatelia earned his Bachelors Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pune and PhD in Chemical Engineering from Curtin University. He has a reputation for developing novel technological solutions for process engineering sectors in Australia and internationally.
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​Dr Bhatelia has contributed to several national and international competitive research grants with total valuation of approximately $5 million dollars to GIL, ARC, IMCRC, Australia China Strategic Research fund and industrial research funding from major oil and gas companies such as Woodside, BP, SOR, and Coogee Chemicals. Dr Bhatelia also has experience working with medium and small industrial processes and businesses, including start-ups. Dr Bhatelia has patented three technologies over the past 24 months which are currently being commercialized by CSIRO and Curtin University.
DR NADIA R LEINECKER
Curtin University: Hydrobe R&D
Dr. Nadia Leinecker is a biochemist and food scientist. She holds an extensive academic background from the University of Cordoba, Argentina, and a PhD from the National University of Jujuy, Argentina and the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain. With over twelve years of experience in biochemistry, Dr. Leinecker specialises in bacteria-related areas, including fermented foods, probiotics, and microbiology-influenced corrosion in the oil, gas, and mining sectors. Her commitment to environmental sustainability is evident in her work on carbon dioxide capture using microalgae. Dr. Leinecker is a postdoctoral researcher at the WA School of Mines at Curtin University. She has collaborated with Hydrobe over the last 2 years, with a particular focus on upscaling the production of microalgae.
KAREN CAMPOS
Bioprocess Engineer
Karen Campos is a Chemical Engineer from the Industrial University of Santander, Colombia. She was part of the Center for Research on Sustainable Development in Industry and Energy (CIDES), where she worked on projects focused on renewable energy technologies, contributing to advancement of sustainable industrial practices.
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She also holds a certificate and diploma in Laboratory Technology, strengthening her skill in experimental analysis and process optimization.
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Before joining Hydrobe, she worked as an Engineer in charge of the operation and management of a drinking water treatment plant. In this role, she gained experience in water purification processes, quality control, regulatory compliance, and infrastructure optimization.
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Currently, she is part of the Hydrobe team, working on microalgae production and photobioreactor management, contributing to the development of biotechnological solutions for sustainability.
DR MD SHAHRUK NUR-A-TOMAL
Lead Biological Engineer
Dr Nur-A-Tomal ("Tomal") leads the biological and bio-engineering team at Hydrobe's pilot facility in Victoria, Australia. A materials Engineer with expertise in bacterial fermentation, he has a rich history of research in bacterial recycling solutions for the circular economy and sustainability.
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Tomal earned his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering on full scholarship from the University of New South Wales. He has numerous cited publications and prior to joining Hydrobe was an adjunct Research Fellow at Monash University.
DALE DE KRETSER
Principle Process Engineer
Dale de Kretser is a Chemical Engineer with more than 35 years’ experience in the water and wastewater treatment industries, which share technical similarities with the Hydrobe process.
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Dale has a Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) from the University of Melbourne and is seconded to Hydrobe from the engineering services firm, GHD. He has been leading the process engineering design to upscale the Hydrobe process from its initial lab-scale batch process to the continuous flow pilot plant currently being installed.
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He is GHD’s Technical Director for wastewater treatment at GHD’s Melbourne office. He has had extensive experience in all aspects of wastewater treatment throughout Australia, Indonesia, India, and Russia. This includes all facets from initial option studies; pilot plant design and supervision; concept, functional and detailed design of water and wastewater treatment plants; as well as commissioning and providing ongoing advice to optimise the performance of treatment plants. He is a specialist in the use of the BioWin performance modelling software for the design, upgrading and optimisation of wastewater treatment plants.