The Atmonia Team
Guðbjörg Rist
CEO
Guðbjörg joined the Atmonia team in 2018, fist focusing on business development. She has previously worked in multiple sectors ranging from manufacturing to banking, concentrating on business- and product development.
Guðbjörg has a MSc in Production Engineering from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden
Egill Skúlason
Chairman of the board, CSO & Co-Founder
Egill is a professor at the department of Engineering at the University of Iceland. His research projects at the university led to the founding of Atmonia, and is the university still an important player in the company’s research efforts.
Egill has a PhD in Engineering Physics from the Technical University of Denmark
Helga Dögg Flosadóttir
CRO & Co-Founder
Helga led the experimental part of the research project that finally led to the foundation of Atmonia in late 2016. She has previously served as the Head of R&D of Chemical Analysis Department at Innovation Center Iceland, as well as a project manager for environmental monitoring.
Helga has a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of Iceland
Arnar Sveinbjörnsson
CTO & CO-founder
Arnar designed the experimental setup used to test the Atmonia catalysts for nitrogen reduction, when working on his MSc thesis. He had previously worked at the Innovation Center Iceland performing chemical analysis.
Arnar has a MSc in Engineering Physics from the University of Iceland
Hákon Örn Birgisson
CBO
Hakon joined Atmonia in 2019 to carry out business development activities for the company. His previous positions include business development, marketing and sales, mergers & acquisitions, investment banking and scientific research.
Hakon has a PhD in Biotechnology from the University of Lund, Sweden and an Executive MBA from Reykjavik University.
Magnús Már Guðnason
Development Engineer
Magnús joined the Atmonia team in 2018, focusing on product development and prototyping. He has previously worked as development engineer on electrochemical cells and equipment.
Magnús has a MSc in Materials and Manufacturing Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark
James Edward McDaniel
Horticulturist
James is carrying out trials on the Atmonia fertilizer in vertical horticulture. He specializes in sustainable production and emerging technologies, with previous projects on the subject in China, USA and Iceland.
James is a student of Horticulture at the Agricultural University of Iceland
Camila Pía Canales
Research Scientist
Camila is a researcher at the University of Iceland. Her expertise is related to the study of carbon-based electro-catalysts and their performance. Her current work involves the electrochemical analysis of the Atmonia catalyst.
Camila has a PhD in Chemistry from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Amanda
Luther
Microbiologist
Amanda joined Atmonia in 2020 and is involved in process and technology development and integration. She has expertise in resource recovery and environmental microbial technologies.
Amanda has a PhD in Environmental Sciences from Rutgers University in the United States.
Wang
Jinchao
PHD STUDENT
Wang Jinchao is currently a PhD student at the University of Iceland, engaged in research on electrocatalytic ammonia synthesis.
He earned his Msc in chemical engineering from Zhejiang University of Technology in China.
The Atmonia Board
Örn Valdimarsson
Örn is the Managing Director at Eyrir Venture Investment. He has led numerous investments on behalf of Eyrir and serves on the Board of Directors in several companies on behalf of Eyrir. Prior to joining Eyrir, Valdimarsson was CEO and Editor in Chief of Viðskiptablaðið, an Icelandic business newspaper
Viktoría Valdimarsdóttir
Viktoria has over three decades of experience focusing on international marketing and business development, as well as corporate social responsibility with organizations in Iceland and Luxembourg. Viktoria teaches Sustainability Reporting at the University of Luxembourg and is a co-founder of Ábyrgar lausnir.
The Atmonia Advisory Board
Ron Witherspoon
Ron has 40 years of experience from investments in agriculture, started a number of companies, held board positions and has brought in a number of foreign investments. Ron has held four senior positions with Farm Credit Corporation. Ron also managed an agricultural venture capital fund, and as a result gained extensive experience with start-ups.
Dan Donner
Dan is currently an independent strategic investor in agribusiness and renewable energy, with a strong focus on sustainable agriculture. Previously working in the agriculture sector for 33 years, Dan has led business development and operations teams in North America, Brazil and Europe.
Robin Woodward
Robin is the Principal of RW Consulting, a Regina-based consulting firm focussed on alternative energy development and agriculture. Robin has 20+ years’ experience in managing companies through innovation & commercialization processes, business planning, policy development, stakeholder involvement, forestry and farm management.
Dave Eastham
Dave is a chemical engineer with over 40 years of experience in both petrochemicals and agricultural chemicals on development and commercialization of new technologies. Until recently, he led efforts to reduce energy use and improve operations sustainability in ammonia and urea plants across North America.
Ray Dowbenko
Ray is a former (retired) Senior Agronomist for Nutrien, with over 30 years of industry experience. Ray works with research scientists, academics, retailers, growers, industry groups and regulatory agencies in the areas of fertilizer and agricultural research, policy, environment and sustainability issues.