Universal Hydrogen Hires Mark Cousin and Lauren Sammes in Key Engineering Leadership Roles

Universal Hydrogen Co., the company fueling carbon-free flight, today announced two important engineering hires that come following the closing of a $20.5 million Series A financing round two weeks ago.

Mark Cousin joins Universal Hydrogen as VP of Engineering, responsible for developing and delivering the company’s modular hydrogen capsule and fuel cell powertrain products. A 30-year veteran of Airbus, Mark brings to his new role a wealth of relevant experience. He was the Technical Director for the largest aircraft modification program in Airbus history, converting the A330 into the Beluga XL in less than two years. He led the tiger team responsible for bringing the A380 to initial service with Singapore Airlines. And he spent a decade doing flight and ground testing of the A340-600, A380, and the A350. Most recently, Mark was Senior Vice President of the Flight Demonstrators organization, where he initiated the E-Fan X two-megawatt hybrid-electric aircraft program, and subsequently the CEO of Acubed, Airbus’ Silicon Valley innovation center.

Lauren Sammes is appointed Hydrogen Systems Fellow. In this role, she will be the top subject matter expert on hydrogen technology and hydrogen safety. Lauren was previously the CTO of Low Emissions Research Corporation and Director of Fuel Cell Development at Acumentrics. She has also had a distinguished career in academia, including serving as Distinguished Professor of Ceramic Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, UTC Chair Professor and Founding Director of the Global Fuel Cell Center at the University of Connecticut, and most recently on the faculty of the University of Maine and St. Joseph’s College.

“Mark and Lauren are the very best in the world at what they do,” said Paul Eremenko, co-founder and CEO of Universal Hydrogen. “They represent the caliber of talent that we aim to attract to the company and its important mission. I look forward to working hand-in-hand with the two of them and J.-P. to grow our world-class engineering team and build products that urgently help put aviation on a trajectory to meet Paris Agreement targets.” Mark and Lauren will report to the Universal Hydrogen co-founder and CTO, John-Paul (J.-P.) Clarke.

The Universal Hydrogen team continues to expand rapidly. To learn more and apply to open positions please visit: www.hydrogen.aero/careers

About Universal Hydrogen

Universal Hydrogen is making hydrogen-powered commercial flight a near-term reality. The company takes a flexible, scalable, and capital-light approach to hydrogen logistics by transporting it in modular capsules over the existing freight network from green production sites to airports around the world. To accelerate market adoption, Universal Hydrogen is also developing a conversion kit to retrofit existing regional airplanes with a hydrogen-electric powertrain compatible with its modular capsule technology.

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