Simon Virley joins Energy Systems Catapult board

UK – Energy Systems Catapult has appointed former senior government energy official Simon Virley CB as a Non-Executive Director, bringing more than 35 years of public and private-sector energy experience to its board.

Virley joined the board on 1 October and has spent the past 12 years leading KPMG’s Energy and Natural Resources practice in the UK. He became a Vice Chair at KPMG in 2021.

Energy Systems Catapult is an independent research and technology organisation launched by Innovate UK in 2015. Based in Birmingham, it works with businesses, government and the energy sector to test, trial and scale new technologies and services as part of the transition to a lower-carbon energy system.

Government and energy experience

Before joining KPMG, Virley spent 24 years in UK Government, latterly serving as Director General for Energy at the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the predecessor to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

His government career included roles across six departments, including HM Treasury, No 10, the Cabinet Office and the business and transport departments.

Virley was recognised for his work on energy issues in the 2014 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

He is also Vice Chair and Fellow of the Energy Institute, Chair of the Advisory Board for UCL’s Centre for Net Zero Market Design and a member of NESO’s Electricity Market Advisory Council.

Supporting energy innovation

Energy Systems Catapult Chair Tony Cocker said Virley’s experience across government and industry would support the organisation’s work to accelerate the scaling of energy innovators.

The Catapult has a team of more than 250 people working across technical, engineering, consumer, commercial, digital and policy disciplines, supported by test facilities, modelling tools and data from more than 500 research projects.