Spiritus, the company enabling growth-without-carbon-compromise using direct air capture (DAC), today announced the addition of Brian Higgins, PhD as Vice President of Technology Innovation, and Scott Kongkitisupchai, PhD as Senior Director of Engineering. These seasoned experts are known for converting novel clean-tech approaches into full commercial operations, experiences that will facilitate Spirtus’ accelerated development of its New Mexico pilot and build out the nation’s first megaton-scale Carbon Orchard in Wyoming.
Higgins joins Spiritus following a tenure as Chief Strategy and Climate Officer at Babcock & Wilcox, a 150-year-old industrial leader in power generation and environmental technologies where he advanced B&W’s carbon capture, oxycombustion, and carbon-negative hydrogen initiatives. Previously, he drove innovation at GreenFire Energy, EnviroCare International, SBB Energy, and Nalco Mobotec, scaling multiple pilot concepts to global deployment. Higgins holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and was a professor at California Polytechnic State University, focusing on thermal and pollution control processes.
Kongkitisupchai was most recently Senior Director of Engineering and Development at LanzaTech, where he headed a multidisciplinary team of engineers and scientists, and oversaw both commercialization and technology development strategies worldwide on carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). His prior roles at LyondellBasell, Merichem Company, UOP Honeywell, and the Brain Group involved guiding chemical process design, technology licensing, and global engineering and R&D teams. Kongkitisupchai holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology, with a research focus on reactor engineering and catalytic processes that reduce industrial emissions.
“Bringing in people who’ve repeatedly taken clean-tech solutions from lab-bench prototypes to full commercial rollouts is important for our next steps,” said Charles Cadieu, Spiritus co-founder and CEO. “Brian and Scott have led projects that jump the typical pilot-phase pitfalls, exactly what is needed to ensure our DAC technology rapidly scales, meets industrial demands, and drives down costs.“
Spiritus’ New Mexico pilot facility, a 1000-ton/year site set to begin operation in late 2025, and the upcoming megaton-scale Carbon Orchard in Wyoming target the CO2 footprints of data centers, aviation, and other energy-intensive sectors that cannot fully rely on renewables or electrification alone. Higgins and Kongkitisupchai will help expedite technology integration, reduce operational overhead, and surface new paths for large scale adoption in hard-to-abate industries.
“Spiritus has an ingenious and incredibly pragmatic approach to DAC carbon removal at scale,” said Higgins. “I’ve seen how tough it is to move from a prototype to industrial execution. Spiritus’ sorbent technology and Carbon Orchard go beyond theory, offering a cost structure that finally makes DAC compelling for large-scale emitters.”
“There’s a real sense of both urgency and optimism about getting affordable DAC solutions to the market right now,” said Kongkitisupchai. “Having built commercial systems at LanzaTech, I know success hinges on crossing the pilot-stage finish line quickly. Spiritus recognizes the urgency and has the backing to do it right: turning carbon removal into a viable pillar of industrial growth, not a niche project.”
