Thermogeist grew from the belief that renewable energy systems can be more benign and more durable. It was developed by Matthew Marx, a chemical engineer who graduated from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, in 1983.

While working in oil refining for 16 years, Matthew specialised in the design and operation of process unit/equipment, emergency response systems and developed software for system simulations. He also helped to educate and mentor young engineers, and served as an external examiner to the engineering faculties of two universities in Cape Town.

In 2003, Matthew chose to leave full-time employment to try to develop energy and transport systems that follow the precepts, ‘let nature be thy guide’ and ‘first do no harm’.

He likes to imagine that if 19th-century engineers had chosen clean energy over coal and oil, they might have developed something like the Thermogeist system.

Sufficient information exists in the public and legal domain to support Matthew’s status as the originator of Thermogeist, and he is keen to share more details about the innovative features of the system.