EvoPhase named Frontier Tech Champion, as co-founder Professor Kit Windows-Yule wins Tech Leader of the Year.
Co-founders of EvoPhase Professor Kit Windows-Yule, Dr Dominik Werner, and Dr Jack Sykes receiving the awards.
Engineering technology venture EvoPhase is celebrating two wins at the Birmingham Tech Week Awards, held at the ICC in Birmingham.
EvoPhase was named Frontier Tech Champion 2026, recognising its breakthrough technology which optimizes industrial designs and processes using AI. The technology has applications in many industrial sectors, and helps customers improve efficiency, reduce energy and waste, and accelerate design and processing time.
At the same award ceremony, EvoPhase’s co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Professor Kit Windows-Yule won Tech Leader of the Year for his leadership across research, industry and the wider technology community.
The double win follows EvoPhase’s Startup of the Year award at the 2025 Birmingham Tech Week, reflecting the progress of the University-supported venture over the past year.
To be named Frontier Tech Champion just one year after winning Startup of the Year is an incredible achievement for our team. These awards recognise our progress in turning advanced academic research into technology that can address real industrial challenges. Seeing Kit recognised for his leadership on the same evening makes the achievement even more special. His expertise and vision have been instrumental in EvoPhase’s development.
EvoPhase was founded in 2023 by four researchers from the University of Birmingham’s School of Chemical Engineering and School of Physics, and is currently an Operating Division of University of Birmingham Enterprise. The venture uses evolutionary AI and advanced simulation to generate and test thousands of designs and identify the most efficient high-performance solution for real-world conditions.
EvoPhase’s projects include the Birmingham Blade, an AI-designed urban wind turbine developed with Birmingham manufacturer KwikFab. Simulations indicated that its design could be up to seven times more efficient than existing designs in Birmingham’s wind conditions, which feature relatively low wind speeds but high levels of turbulence, caused by surrounding buildings.
Dr Dominik Werner, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of EvoPhase said: “To be named Frontier Tech Champion just one year after winning Startup of the Year is an incredible achievement for our team. These awards recognise our progress in turning advanced academic research into technology that can address real industrial challenges. Seeing Kit recognised for his leadership on the same evening makes the achievement even more special. His expertise and vision have been instrumental in EvoPhase’s development.”
Leadership across the University and industry
Professor Windows-Yule is Professor of Digital Particle Technology and Director of Innovation for the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Birmingham. Alongside his role at EvoPhase, he works to connect researchers, businesses and industry to turn scientific advances into practical solutions.
He is Deputy Director of Baskerville, a major advanced computing facility, and Deputy Director (Innovation) of the Birmingham Plastics Network. In September 2026, he was appointed Deputy Chair of the West Midlands Regional Defence and Security Cluster Advisory Board and was recognised in the Environment 100 awards for his contributions to sustainability.
It’s a tremendous honour to receive Tech Leader of the Year, particularly alongside EvoPhase being recognised as Frontier Tech Champion. My work at the University of Birmingham and EvoPhase has brought me together with exceptional researchers, engineers and industry partners. For me, innovation is about connecting scientific discovery with real-world challenges, and this recognition reflects the collective efforts of those talented colleagues and collaborators.
David Coleman, CEO of University of Birmingham Enterprise, said: “EvoPhase is a venture with huge potential to shorten R&D times in industrial process engineering, deliver efficiencies, and ultimately help make many industrial sectors greener.”
For media information contact Ruth Ashton, University of Birmingham Enterprise, email: r.c.ashton@bham.ac.uk.
About EvoPhase
EvoPhase is an AI-driven engineering technology venture established in 2023 by four University of Birmingham researchers. Using evolutionary algorithms and advanced simulation, the team optimises industrial equipment and processes. EvoPhase operates as an Operating Division within University of Birmingham Enterprise.
The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions. Its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers, teachers and more than 40,000 students from over 150 countries.
England’s first civic university, the University of Birmingham is proud to be rooted in one of the most dynamic and diverse cities in the country. A member of the Russell Group and a founding member of the Universitas 21 global network of research universities, the University of Birmingham has been changing the way the world works for more than a century.
University of Birmingham Enterprise is a venture builder, propelling groundbreaking innovations and transformative services from the University's academic community into high-impact ventures. We help academics realise commercial potential through venture development, proof-of-concept and IP investment, team formation, and investor readiness. We also support venture growth through specialist incubation facilities and ecosystem partnerships, and work across Birmingham and the Midlands to strengthen regional innovation capacity. Our portfolio spans healthcare, AI, quantum technologies, advanced manufacturing and clean growth, and addresses some of society's most pressing challenges. Follow us on LinkedIn and X.
Professor of Digital Particle Technology
Kit Windows-Yule is a Professor of Digital Particle Technology in the School of Chemical Engineering, working jointly with the School of Physics and Astronomy's Positron Imaging Centre.
