Latest news with #NickThomas
BBC News
9 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Lock Thomas back for Wales U20s against Argentina
Wales head coach Richard Whiffin has recalled fit-again lock Nick Thomas to start in their World Rugby Under-20 Championship opener against Argentina in Verona on Sunday (19:30 BST).Dragons lock Thomas missed most of the U20 Six Nations in which Wales beat England in Cardiff to deny them a Grand Tom Bowen started that game, but is on the bench at Payanini Center, where Jack Woods will be wing Harry Rees-Weldon was ruled out by injury so Elijah Evans switches to wing, while Harri Ford starts at fly-half with Harri Wilde on the bench. "It was tough job getting the squad down to 30 and even tougher to get it down to 23 for the match against Argentina," said Whiffin."We spoke to the boys and told them everyone is going to play in the first three games, and everyone has got to be ready."The seven boys who have missed out still have a crucial role to play – their job is to help prepare the team and be good team men."Whiffin expects Argentina to pose their traditional physical threat with the added threat of full-back Pascal Senillosa, who starred in the U20 Rugby Championship this year."Their 10 and 15 control the game very well so they will be a couple of guys we need to make sure we apply pressure to, and we have to be smart how we manage our energy levels in what will be a daunting proposition in the heat of Italy," added Whiffin. Wales: Jack Woods; Elijah Evans, Osian Roberts, Steffan Emanuel, Aidan Boshoff; Harri Ford, Sion Davies; Ioan Emanuel, Harry Thomas, Sam Scott, Kenzie Jenkins, Nick Thomas, Deian Gwynne, Harry Beddall (capt), Evan Saul Hurley, Louie Trevett, Owain James, Dan Gemine, Caio James, Ellis Lewis, Harri Wilde, Tom Bowen.
South Wales Argus
5 days ago
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
Teen Dragons lock Nick Thomas prepared to be patient in URC
The 19-year-old is currently preparing for the World Rugby U20 Championship after winning his fitness race to be named in the Wales squad. Thomas will be a key figure after a successful return from a freak injury suffered in the Six Nations opener against France. The timing was especially cruel after he had grasped his chances with the Dragons, who were suffering a lock shortage. Thomas impressed after being called on for a debut in the early stages of the Challenge Cup win at Newcastle and then kept his place for festive fixtures against Cardiff and the Scarlets. DEBUT: Nick Thomas came on for the Dragons in Newcastle (Image: Richard Sellers) 'It was a whirlwind. I hadn't even expected to play in pre-season but I played against Hartpury, Bristol and Bath,' he said. 'Then I had a good run of games for Newport and it all came so fast – never in a million years did I think that I would make my Dragons debut before December. 'The boys have been brilliant and it's amazing to learn from Ben Carter, Matthew Screech and George Nott before he left, watching how they train and look at the game.' Yet it's producing the goods for the title-winning Black and Ambers that Thomas is focusing on rather than adding to his appearances for the Dragons, who have signed locks Seb Davies and Levi Douglas to join Carter, Screech and Steve Cummins. 'First and foremost I have to perform well in the SRC and then if I am needed because of injuries I will hope to step up,' said the lock, who is from Marshfield and went to Bassaleg School. 'I want to keep developing and performing well for Newport, where I have learnt so much from playing alongside the likes of Ben Roach and Josh Skinner and where [Dragons academy coach and former boss] Ceri Jones is in charge of the forwards.' The 6ft 5ins forward will take time to add size as he matures – following the lead of full international Carter – but will provide Wales with a formidable presence at the World Cup. That will be needed in group games against Argentina and France, with Thomas getting another crack at les Bleuets. The game, which ended up a hammering, was tight when he suffered a freak injury landing on his left leg on the stroke of half-time in the Six Nations opener in Vannes. TALENT: Dragons lock Nick Thomas in action for Wales U20s (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency) 'I just landed straight on my ankle and completely tore the whole left side and ripped up the right, while there was also a fracture,' he said. 'It was a lovely pitch but a freak accident – I could do another 1,000 jumps and not do it again. I didn't even know what had happened, I just knew that my foot was killing me. 'I was really enjoying my season and that first 40 minutes in France was one of the most enjoyable of it; I felt good but these things happen in rugby.' Thomas, who turns 20 during the tournament, made his return off the bench in the warm-up fixture against Italy. 'The Dragons set me a good foundation to get back and I worked really hard. Coming into Wales camp I felt a bit undercooked and I was a bit nervous but it was great to get out there and back to normality,' he said. 'Now we're all just looking to that Argentina game first up, get the win and hopefully we can kick on. We've got a similar pack to last year's tournament and that experience can help us in tough and tight games.' Wales face Argentina on Sunday and then take on the French the following Friday before rounding off the group stage against minnows Spain.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BTS Bioenergy charts new path, scraps California digester project
This story was originally published on Waste Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Waste Dive newsletter. Bioenergy Devco, now known as BTS Bioenergy, made few announcements in the months leading up to its May 27 rebrand. CEO Nick Thomas, who has spent much of the past year retooling the company's strategy, said he hopes that will change moving forward. "When you lose your way, and you're not delivering, things do go quiet," Thomas, who joined the company in May 2024, said in an interview. "We've managed to have some success here, but everything we're doing right now is orienting towards execution." BTS Bioenergy's European division has a long history. Founded in 1996, it has built more than 250 plants and secured dozens of patents. The company came to North America in 2019 and leveraged its expertise to build the Maryland Bioenergy Center, which opened in 2021. But years later, that facility remains BTS' only completed American digester project. Anaerobic digestion has grown more slowly than developers hoped in the U.S. over the last several years, particularly among facilities that process food waste. Other digestion companies have set bold expansion goals in recent years and struggled to meet them, prompting multiple leadership changes. Bioenergy Devco itself received a more than $100 million commitment from Irradiant Partners in 2021 to build out a network of facilities, but little has come of that partnership. In 2021, amid broad industry questions about the financial viability of anaerobic digestion technology, Bioenergy Devco founder Shawn Kreloff told Waste Dive that "the strongest [companies] have survived." Last year, he stepped away as CEO to take a role on the company's board. His replacement, Thomas, said BTS has room for improvement, and he's brought in fresh leadership to assist with that growth. He joined the company from Meritage Midstream Services II, a Wyoming natural gas provider. In the following months, Thomas brought in other executives from Meritage and new CFO Jason Meek, who joined BTS from anaerobic digestion company PurposeEnergy. Over the past year, Thomas said he's been learning about the anaerobic digestion industry and process, which produces methane and meshes with his experience in the natural gas sector. Thomas is also reorienting BTS toward prospects that make the most economical sense for the company. That includes adding anaerobic digestion capacity to a composting facility in Delaware, which processes waste from the chicken industry. The company is hoping to break ground on that expansion next year. BTS is also in the advanced planning stages for a facility in Gainesville, Georgia, which the company anticipates breaking ground on later this year. Notably, the company's strategic focus does not include a proposed project in Long Beach, California. Last year, the City of Long Beach agreed to enter exclusive negotiations with Bioenergy Devco to build an organics recycling facility on the site of a decommissioned mass burn combustion facility run by Covanta, now Reworld. Thomas said BTS couldn't find a way to make the planned anaerobic digestion facility at the site generate sufficient revenue, and it agreed to part ways with the city earlier this year. Long Beach officials declined to comment on the matter, but in March they acknowledged that plans for the site were shifting due to market conditions. Thomas said he's also been focused on maximizing the potential of the Maryland Bioenergy Center. The facility is capable of processing up to 125,000 metric tons of organic waste, which primarily comes from the food industry. Around the time Thomas joined Bioenergy Devco, the company announced the Maryland facility had reached nameplate capacity. But a problem quickly arose: The county flagged deficiencies in the company's wastewater pretreatment system, which was releasing high levels of substances such as ammonia, nitrogen and total phosphorus. Last fall, the company scaled back the facility's throughput while it identified and installed new technology to reduce wastewater contamination. Thomas said the facility is now scaling back up. The Howard County Department of Public Works confirmed in a statement that BTS 'has made significant progress in upgrading their treatment systems.' In addition to upgrading equipment at the site, BTS Bioenergy is also working to increase revenue from the Maryland Bioenergy Center. Thomas said the tipping fees BTS can charge there have doubled over the past year, and he expects they'll continue to increase. The facility likely won't run at maximum capacity in the near future, Thomas said, and it has yet to reach its revenue ceiling due to high demand for organics processing capacity. The facility may also increase the proportion of its capacity locked up in longer-term feedstock contracts as operations stabilize, Thomas said. 'We're working a combination of both short- and long-term contracts, and that's great because it gives us the flexibility to optimize feedstocks and profitability,' Thomas said. 'Once we get a better view of that combination, we'll work towards putting longer term contracts around those key and critical feedstocks.' Bioenergy Devco received a $30 million investment from Maryland-based Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital in 2023, which Thomas said mainly went to improving the Maryland facility. BTS is looking to fundraise 'pretty quickly' to fuel new projects moving forward, he said. In addition, the company is open to other forms of internal growth mechanisms or acquisitions, depending on what's available in the market, according to Thomas. He still believes BTS can be a 'class leader' in the organics processing industry. 'There are a lot of people who are passionate about doing this kind of work,' Thomas said. 'I'm not sure there's anyone who's really rose to the top. We want to be that.' Recommended Reading Bioenergy Devco, growing anaerobic digestion company, names new CEO Sign in to access your portfolio
BBC News
06-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
PPFIBP1 gene: Parents' worldwide search for babies with son's rare condition
Jack is one of only 16 children in the world with a life-limiting genetic condition that is so rare it doesn't have a 11-month-old has a mutation of the PPFIBP1 gene which means he is blind, has frequent seizures and is unlikely to ever walk or mum and dad want to track down the parents of the other children with his condition to better understand their son's diagnosis and offer support."It is very limited with what they can tell us," said his mum Amanda Thomas from St Athan, Vale of Glamorgan. "But what they have said is it is life-limiting and it is likely that he will pass away at some point during childhood but they don't know when that will be." To date Amanda has spoken to one other parent, a woman from Georgia in the US, whose daughter had the condition and died at the age of two."She felt so blessed to have her little girl in her life, even for a short time and you could just see how much love was there," said said being able to ask one another questions was helpful for both of them and she was left overwhelmed by the experience. For the first few weeks of his life, Amanda and Nick's fourth child Jack appeared completely healthy. He was nine weeks old when they first spotted something that caused concern."His right eye had dropped to the outside and it had fixed but his head had stuck to the side as well," explained Amanda."Nick took one look at him and said 'I think he needs to go into A&E'."Initially doctors were not overly concerned and the family returned hours later the same thing happened again only this time Jack was also lethargic and his breathing had become shallow so he was taken to hospital by ambulance. Shortly after arriving he had his first seizure. "He stopped breathing, I shouted for help and an entire crash team came in," said Amanda."They resuscitated him and then on the way to taking him to resus they had to stop in the corridor and resuscitate him again."Jack was put on a ventilator and moved into intensive were at a loss as to what was wrong with him. Following a number of tests that led nowhere the family underwent genetic results showed Jack has a mutated PPFIBP1 gene."They explained that every gene has two copies and with this particular gene I carry one mutated copy and Nick carries another mutated copy," said Amanda."It's meant that both of Jack's copies of this gene have got a variation to it which has caused this neurodevelopmental disorder which doesn't have a name because it is so rare." With so few known cases it is hard for doctors to predict Jack's life expectancy. "They've said it could be when he's one, it could be when he's five, it could be 10 years but knowing that we're going to outlive our child and knowing that his brothers and his sister may one day have to say goodbye to him is heart-breaking," said Amanda. Amanda and Nick were told their other children - aged 10, eight and 4 - also had a 25% chance of having the mutated gene but tests showed this was not the case. When Jack first became unwell last September the family were in the middle of fully renovating their came to a standstill so the family home is a partial building site. Amanda has left her job in social services to take care of Jack full-time and Nick has been able to continue working but is still recovering from a stroke in July 2023 and heart surgery that followed in May last are trying to crowdfund the renovation as well as equipment for Jack."Life is testing," admitted Nick. "Amanda and I have to be realistic this could be his last Christmas, this could be his last birthday so really we're just trying to get this as comfortable as possible so Jack enjoys the time he does have with us. He said he and Amanda found strength in one another. Alongside all of this Amanda is continuing her search for other parents of children with Jack's condition. "When we had our diagnosis we had nobody to turn to because there was nobody who had the same condition so there's no support groups available, there's nothing," said Amanda."If somebody in the future gets this diagnosis then perhaps they can find me, and I can offer a bit of support that I didn't have in the beginning because there were so many questions, so many what ifs, where, how, which were all just being met with 'we don't know'." Over the past eight months Jack has been taken to hospital by air ambulance three times and the family have spent about 60 nights in the future so uncertain the family are making the most of every moment."I just used to stress about the things that didn't matter, my house not being tidy, the washing piling up, now I'm learning that's not important anymore," said Amanda."We really do have limited time with Jack so it's about having those moments and making the most of it."
Telegraph
03-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
How ‘Britain's most generous loyalty scheme' came unstuck
When Nick Thomas and his wife took out a health and life insurance policy with Vitality four years ago, like millions of others they were drawn to the generous rewards scheme. Unlike a traditional rewards programme where repeated spending eventually leads to a perk, Vitality rewarded members for having healthy lifestyle habits. Walking 7,000 steps a day, going to the gym or completing a Parkrun all earned points offering lucrative rewards for Thomas and his family such as free cinema tickets, an Amazon Prime membership and bags of Caffe Nero coffee. The scheme was a success on both sides. For Vitality, healthier customers claimed less while members benefited from better health and significant savings in the form of numerous perks. Thomas, like countless other members The Telegraph has spoken to, has nothing but praise for Vitality. 'It's been brilliant. I've encouraged other people to sign up because I've been so impressed with it all.' But all of that changed last month when Vitality decided to 'level up' its reward programme. Rather than earning rewards solely for healthy lifestyle choices, the insurance provider introduced a game whereby members would have to find a cartoon dachshund called 'Stanley' hidden behind 16 bushes. The monthly rewards they now earn are dependent on how many 'Stanleys' they find. The disapproval among Vitality's 1.9 million members has been swift. Online message boards reveal an avalanche of complaints about the 'silly game'. Facebook groups show members venting their frustrations and trying to share tips about how to find the hidden dogs. Criticisms range from members saying they feel infantilised to more serious accusations that the game amounts to a form of gambling, and is at odds with the company's aim to reward 'being active, eating healthily and maintaining good mental health'. Vitality strongly disputes the allegation that it amounts to gambling, as members do not stake money while playing. Martyn James, a consumer expert, says while it is not a form of gambling, it is part of a growing trend of 'gamification' – the process of using gameplay to make tasks more attractive and encourage engagement. He says: 'Unless Vitality can demonstrate that the odds show that people are getting the same amount of rewards then it's a smokescreen to hide the fact that benefits have been removed. 'That's before you consider the juvenile factor. It's fine if you are younger and don't mind hunting for a cartoon dog but as a grown adult, I find that quite patronising. I don't mind spinning a wheel every now and then, but you have to question what purpose does this serve?'
