What CEAD does

CEAD is an engineering analysis and design consultancy specialising in thermofluids, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), and Finite Element Analysis (FEA), headquartered at the ideaSpace facility in Cambridge, UK. Founded in 2008 by States Chiwanga as a trading company of Charmstar Cambridge Limited, the firm operates with 5 full-time employees and delivers project-based engineering consulting to clients ranging from individuals and startups to large multinational enterprises. Its core service lines are Thermofluids & FEA Consulting (fluid flow and thermal analysis, airflow and thermal verification experiments, dynamics and structural analysis), Electronics Cooling & Thermal Management (electronics packaging thermal design, cooling fan blade design), and Thermofluids R&D Technology Innovation (heat pipe, coldplate, loop thermo-syphon, and bespoke heatsink development). Documented enterprise client work spans telecommunications (Synectics, low-noise block downconverter manufacturer), electronics and optics (Compound Photonics), industrial process equipment (SCREEN GP IJC Ltd), and rail systems. Measurable outcomes include a 40% reduction in fans required for a blade server cooling solution and a 15.5g mass saving on a satellite dish heat sink without thermal performance loss.

The firm's product and R&D portfolio extends beyond consulting into proprietary technology. CoERCe is CEAD's proprietary carbon capture technology using novel polymer-based materials for biogas upgrading and post-combustion applications; invented in 2014, it is currently at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6-7 and supported by £1.5 million in cumulative competitive grant funding from the EU KEEP programme, Innovate UK / Strategic Technology Board, and BEIS. The CoERCe programme is delivered with a network of three UK university research partners and European verification and validation test houses. PolyCapture is a nanoMIPs-based sensor sub-brand targeting food safety, medical, and security applications, with Dr Roberta D'Aurelio working across both CEAD and PolyCapture entities. Other product lines include bespoke heat pipe R&D for high-temperature and electronics cooling applications, LED luminaire thermal management design, and an in-house low-cost sorbent gas adsorption performance testing system.

CEAD's business model is sales-led professional services billing — clients approach CEAD directly with technical challenges and projects are scoped and quoted individually; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company augments fee revenue with competitive public-sector grants that fund R&D rather than operating margin. The firm is family-owned, with no evidence of external private equity or venture capital ownership; control resides with the founder and Charmstar Cambridge Limited (registered in England, company number 5549740). CEAD has nine registered patents associated with its founder and operates across the UK and Europe with partners, without a broader global footprint.

Name

CEAD

Legal name

Charmstar Cambridge Limited

Website

https://ceadltd.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CEAD is a Cambridge, UK-based engineering consultancy specialising in thermofluids, CFD/FEA simulation, electronics cooling, and thermal management consulting for enterprise clients. It separately develops proprietary polymer-based CO2 capture (CoERCe) and nanoMIP sensor (PolyCapture) technologies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Engineering Consulting Services: Provides engineering analysis and simulation consulting services to solve client thermofluids, heat transfer, and structural engineering challenges. Services delivered from first concept through to final completion.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

CEAD is an engineering, thermo-fluids and CFD consultancy based in Cambridge, UK that delivers engineering analysis and design services — including Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Finite Element Analysis (FEA), thermofluids analysis, electronics cooling, thermal management, and bespoke heat pipe/coldplate design — from first concept through to mature product optimisation. Alongside consulting, the firm develops proprietary technologies such as the CoERCe polymer-based CO2 capture system and an in-house low-cost sorbent gas adsorption performance testing system.

Product overview

CEAD is an engineering, thermo-fluids and CFD consultancy based in Cambridge, UK, offering specialized engineering analysis and design services alongside proprietary technology products. Their product portfolio includes CO2 Capture Technology (polymer-based sorbent materials for biogas upgrading), Heat Pipe Technology R&D services, LED Thermal Management Design solutions, and the internally developed CoERCe Technology. The consultancy services encompass Thermofluids & FEA Consulting, Electronics Cooling & Thermal Management, and Thermofluids R&D Technology Innovation. The company operates across diverse sectors including electronics cooling, medical devices, telecommunications, rail systems, and green technology/sustainability solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CoERCe: CO2 capture technology using novel polymer-based materials for biogas upgrading and post-combustion applications.
• PolyCapture

Products and services

• Thermofluids & FEA Consulting Engineering analysis and design service covering fluid flow and thermal analysis using analytical and CFD techniques, airflow and thermal verification experiments, and dynamics and structural analysis using analytical and FEA methods, delivered to clients facing thermofluids and structural engineering challenges.
• Electronics Cooling & Thermal Management Specialist consulting for electronics packaging architectural and detailed thermal management design, thermal-solutions technology search and R&D, and cooling fan blade design, development and verification testing for consumer electronics, medical equipment, electric vehicle, and telecommunications applications.
• Thermofluids R&D Technology Innovation R&D service spanning fluid flow and thermal technology innovation including heat pipe, coldplate and loop thermo-syphon design and development, plus bespoke heat sink design and development for client-specific target applications.
• CoERCe CO2 Capture Technology Proprietary CO2 capture technology using novel polymer-based sorbent materials developed by CEAD for biogas upgrading, post-combustion, and other environmental applications, offering advantages over existing capture technologies.
• LED Thermal Management Design Design of LED luminaires integrating high-efficiency power supplies with optimised thermal design to deliver long LED life expectancy and high colour quality for commercial and industrial applications, including rail signal lamps.
• Sorbent Gas Adsorption Performance Testing System Low-cost, in-house-developed sorbent gas adsorption performance test equipment that enables rapid prototyping and testing of solid sorbents with repeatable data, validated against leading sorbent gas analysis machines, to support CEAD's CO2 capture sorbent development.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40% reduction in number of fans required in blade server cooling solution
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UK University Partners (3 leading universities)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of three leading UK university partners collaborating on CoERCe technology development. Universities work on solving chemical element challenges of the CoERCe invention and research partnerships.
• European Specialist Verification and Validation Test HousescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean specialist test houses providing verification and validation testing for CoERCe technology development.
• European Thermodynamics LimitedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStates Chiwanga served as part-time Chief Engineer, building and leading engineering team developing automotive waste heat energy recovery systems in Innovate UK and EU funded programs (VIPER I, VIPER II, PowerDriver).
• Rolls RoyceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDelivered thermal management research programs for Rolls Royce's ATI funded SAMULET I and SAMULET II programs.
• PolyCapturecoreOthersDr Roberta D'Aurelio works at both CEAD and PolyCapture, using multidisciplinary approach to find strategic project solutions and drive green-tech transition.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Climeworks: Swiss-headquartered leader in direct air and point-source CO2 capture technology; representative well-funded competitor in the broader carbon capture market where CEAD's CoERCe seeks to commercialize.
• Carbon Clean: Carbon capture technology company developing proprietary solvent-based CO2 capture systems for industrial and biogas applications; competes in the same end markets (biogas upgrading, post-combustion) that CEAD's CoERCe technology targets.
• C-Capture: Leeds-based carbon capture technology developer using proprietary solvent chemistry for industrial CO2 capture; a UK peer in the same emerging carbon capture market where CEAD's CoERCe technology is positioned.

Direct peers

• Cambridge Consultants: Cambridge-headquartered technology and engineering consultancy that develops deep-tech products and provides advanced engineering design services for enterprise clients, closely mirroring CEAD's model of combining fee-for-service consulting with proprietary technology development.
• PDD Group: London-based product design and innovation consultancy where founder States Chiwanga previously led engineering; comparable in offering multidisciplinary engineering, design, and technology development to enterprise clients across sectors.
• European Thermodynamics Limited: UK-based thermal management and energy recovery specialist where the CEAD founder previously served as part-time Chief Engineer; overlaps directly in heat pipe, thermo-fluids, and automotive waste-heat-recovery R&D.

Broad incumbents

• ANSYS: Global leader in engineering simulation software (CFD/FEA) used by the same enterprise engineering audiences CEAD serves; a broad incumbent whose tools and services compete for the same thermo-fluids and structural analysis wallet.
• Ricardo: Established global engineering consultancy with deep automotive, thermal management, and clean-energy practices; provides comparable thermo-fluids, electronics cooling, and waste-heat recovery engineering services to enterprise clients.
• Mott MacDonald: Large global engineering, management, and development consultancy with significant energy, environment, and infrastructure practices; competes for the same enterprise and public-sector engineering mandates that CEAD's thermo-fluids team addresses.

Regional players

• TWI: Cambridge-headquartered engineering R&D organization providing materials joining, testing, and technology development services; shares CEAD's Cambridge base, university-linked R&D model, and enterprise engineering client base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CEAD