CURA Expands Technology Team with Six Key Hires

Calgary, Canada – CURA continues its rapid growth trajectory with the hiring of several key technology employees, building out its research and development team. This marks a major milestone in the company’s journey from breakthrough concept to commercial deployment.
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Following the successful close of its pre-seed financing round, CURA has rapidly built a foundational technical team to accelerate development of its electrochemical precalcination technology for low-carbon cement production. As of March, the company has grown to six full-time employees supporting an ambitious development roadmap that includes ASTM testing of CURA-produced cement products and engineering the 100 tonne-per-annum pilot.

The newly formed team brings deep technical expertise spanning chloro-alkali systems, electrolyzer design, energy, mining, and cement manufacturing. Together, they unite around a shared mission: to decarbonize cement manufacturing, today.

Welcoming CURA’s Founding Technical Team

Andrew Jewlal, Research Scientist
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Andrew completed his PhD at the University of British Columbia under the supervision of CURA co-founder Curtis Berlinguette. During his doctoral research, he developed advanced CO₂ electrolyzers and now applies his expertise in electrochemical acid-base production to advance CURA’s core technology platform.
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Shivali Chourasia, Process Engineer
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Shivali holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering and is a licensed Professional Engineer. She began her career in the cement industry, commissioning more than $200 million in equipment across multiple plant sites in India. Most recently, she worked alongside CURA’s CEO and Co-Founder at Aurora Hydrogen, where she played a key role in developing the company’s pilot system.
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Rihanna Vanin, Project Engineer
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Rihanna brings nearly 20 years of experience delivering complex industrial, energy, and materials projects. Her work includes leading preliminary engineering for a bankable feasibility study on vanadium recovery from steel slag and advancing carbon-rich by-products for use in cement applications. A licensed Chemical Engineer, Rihanna contributes deep expertise in industrial decarbonization and large-scale project execution.
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Anna Roberts, Process Specialist
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Anna is a PhD-trained Process Engineer with more than three years of experience in refinery and gas processing operations, specializing in hydrogen production, SMR units, and hydroprocessing. Proficient in Aspen HYSYS and HTRI, she has hands-on experience developing and validating PFDs, P&IDs, and equipment data sheets in compliance with ASME and API standards, working closely with operations teams and vendors. At CURA, Anna applies her rigorous analytical background and scale-up expertise to support the engineering and deployment of low-carbon cement infrastructure.
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Daniel Sikstrom, R&D Specialist
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Daniel recently completed his MSc at the University of Calgary, where he focused on solid oxide fuel cells. His research included collaboration with Nissan Technical Center North America, equipping him with hands-on experience in advanced electrochemical systems and applied industrial R&D.
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Sannan Toor, Electrolyzer Specialist
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Sannan holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo and brings more than seven years of experience in electrolyzer design and scale-up. His previous roles at battery and electrolyzer startups provided direct, hands-on experience designing, optimizing, and deploying electrochemical systems for real-world impact.

CURA is building a diverse team of engineers, scientists, and specialists committed to transforming one of the world’s most carbon-intensive industries.

Please join us in welcoming CURA’s first team members and congratulating them on dedicating their expertise to tackling one of climate’s greatest challenges: cement.