Speaker Biographies

Tim Aanhane is leading the commercialization of LeydenJar’s pure-silicon anodes, for the world’s highest energy-density cells, directly enabling breakthroughs in wearables, smartphones and drones. With a background in industrial engineering and clean-tech ventures, he brings next-generation battery technology from the lab to large-scale production as LeydenJar builds its first commercial facility in Eindhoven.

Anil Achyuta is the Managing Director of TDK Ventures ($350M AUM) that invests globally in early stage deeptech startups. At TDK Ventures, he has reviewed over 2500 start-ups, invested in thirteen companies, and serves on 5 Boards as a Director or an Observer. Of his 13 investments, Anil has 2 exits, 1 M&A (Origin – 3D printing company) and 1 IPO (GenCell – fuel cell company), 1 unicorn (Ascend Elements – battery upcycling company), 3 are in the “soon-to-be-unicorn” club (>$300M+ in valuation – Autoflight (flying car company), Exo (hand-held medical ultrasound company), Verdagy (green hydrogen company), 4 are at $100M+ valuation and the last 3 are early companies growing rapidly. Anil was voted one of the Rising Stars in 2021 by Venture Capital Journal and was ranked #2 Rising Star in 2021 out of 20,000 corporate venture managers globally, in addition to being voted as one of the Emerging Leaders of 2022, which represents top 0.5% in the industry. Prior to TDK Ventures, Anil held leadership roles at Fortune 500 companies including L'Oréal, Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, and Draper. He has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Northeastern University and received his MBA from the University of Florida - Warrington College of Business. He has authored over 15 peer-reviewed journal publications and holds 5 U.S. patents. Anil’s thought leadership articles can be found on Medium and YouTube https://www.linkedin.com/in/anilachyuta/ https://tdk-ventures.com/cvc-team-serving-entrepreneurs/anil-achyuta/ https://medium.com/@anilachyuta

Varnika is a Senior Battery Research Analyst at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, where her primary focus is on the technical side of electric vehicle, energy stationary storage and battery market analysis. She holds a DPhil from University of Oxford. Benchmark Intelligence Company is headquartered in London.

Gunjan Agarwal has extensive experience with hardware product launch and new technology development. Over the past couple of decades, she has formulated and delivered solutions to address critical challenges in diverse industry domains such as energy storage, renewable energy, e-mobility, automotive, electronics and semiconductor fabrication. Gunjan brings technical leadership experience from her prior roles at multinational corporations such as Intel, Tesla and Rivian, where she oversaw product development from concept to launch, her technical consulting experience including root- cause failure analysis at Exponent and focus on early-stage product development at the International Battery Company. Gunjan received her PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a minor in Finance at the Sloan School of Management. She has published extensively in scientific and engineering articles with ~1000 global citations and is a lead patent author on inventions with industry partners such as Tesla and Google. With a deep commitment to develop renewable energy solutions, she is passionate about technologies that mitigate climate change and promote sustainability.

Dr. Nojan Aliahmad is an experienced battery scientist and engineer with over a decade of expertise in lithium-ion and solid-state battery development, materials engineering, and process scale-up. He currently serves as Senior Manager of Battery Development at Ensurge Micropower, leading the advancement of all-solid-state lithium microbatteries built on ultra-thin stainless-steel substrates. His work focuses on LiPON electrolytes, cathode–electrolyte integration, thin-film encapsulation, and reliability optimization. Prior to joining Ensurge, Dr. Aliahmad was Senior Manager of Battery Development at Sakuu Corporation, where he directed efforts to scale lithium-metal and lithium-ion cell technologies, and pioneered dry-electrode manufacturing for next-generation energy storage. Dr. Aliahmad earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University, specializing in solid-state physics and nanotechnology. His professional interests bridge materials innovation, process engineering, and product reliability, with a focus on translating scientific insight into manufacturable energy solutions.

Dr. Ramin Amin-Sanayei is a distinguished innovator with 47 granted U.S. patents, reflecting the impact and originality of his work. He is a leading expert in lithium-ion battery (LIB) technology for advanced binders for cathodes and separator coatings—enhancing both safety and performance, particularly in automotive applications. Dr. Amin-Sanayei bridges science and business, ensuring innovations align with customer needs, regulatory standards, and sustainability goals. His contributions have earned him prestigious honors, including the 2025 ACS Heroes of Chemistry Award and the 2014 ACS Team Innovation Award. He is also a long-time DOE project reviewer and an active organizer and session chair at ECS meetings.

With 7+ years dedicated to the battery ecosystem, hydrogen, biofuels, EVs, and energy storage, I've developed a deep understanding of the talent landscape in this dynamic industry. As the sole author of the industry's first Battery Talent Salary Survey and Program Director of Battery Workforce Development at the Volta Foundation, I've been at the forefront of addressing the critical talent gap. My expertise spans the entire spectrum of recruitment, from executive search and niche placements to high-volume projects. I've successfully partnered with both established cleantech giants and promising startups to build world-class teams. I'm committed to delivering exceptional results through quality, long-lasting client partnerships, ethical practices, efficient services, quick delivery, and creative solutions.

With 13 years of experience driving innovation in advanced vehicle development and leading commercial teams, Tyler Andrews serves as Vice President at Echion Technologies to help build the next generation of resilient and high-performance battery solutions. With a passion for practical technology disruption, Tyler leads strategic partnerships with OEMs in sectors across defense, mining, and automotive; integrating cutting-edge hybrid and full electric powertrains that redefine the limits of current gen solutions. Based in Washington, he loves spending his free time outdoors with family, hitting the ski slopes, mountain biking, or playing baseball.

Mr. Anstey is the CEO/Founder of GDI. He has over a decade of experience as an entrepreneur, globally commercializing technologies in energy storage and advanced materials. He is a co-inventor on >15 patent filings, and 7 issued patents. He works on technologies that fight climate change, and focuses on the intersection between manufacturing, strategy, and business development. Mr. Anstey is a proponent of open innovation and accelerating technology development through partnerships.

Rob joined Samsung in 2012 as part of the Open Innovation group for the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT). He supported internal technology strategy and external collaboration activities for SAIT until joining Samsung Ventures in 2023. He has experience in energy technologies, batteries, quantum computing, and advanced materials, and has a passion for bringing impactful new technologies to reality. He enjoys supporting the early-stage venture ecosystem, having previously served as a volunteer mentor for the Creative Destruction Lab's Matter stream and The Engine Blueprint program. Rob has a PhD in Chemical Engineering from MIT and a BS from NC State University. Prior to joining Samsung, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Ghent University in Belgium and worked for Exponent as a technical consultant in their Thermal Sciences practice.

Rakan is a technology programs manager at Orbia Fluor & Energy Materials (an Orbia Business). He currently leads technology and product development of graphite anode materials at Orbia. Prior to that, he was a scientist at Boston Metal, developing and scaling up processes for valuable metals extraction from industrial waste through molten oxide electrolysis. Rakan holds a PhD in Materials Science from the University of Rochester.

Peter Attia received a PhD from Stanford University in materials science and engineering in 2019 and a BChE in chemical and biomolecular engineering from the University of Delaware in 2014. He currently works at Tesla. For his PhD, Attia worked with Prof. William Chueh to study degradation in carbon negative electrodes of lithium-ion batteries from the interfacial to full cell scales. Attia’s work ranges from fundamental characterization and modeling of the solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) to predicting and optimizing battery lifetime using machine learning techniques. His work has been published in high impact journals including Nature and Nature Energy. Attia’s honors include the ECS Battery Division Student Research Award (2019), the MRS Graduate Student Award (2019), the MRS Open Data Challenge (2019), the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2014), and the Stanford Graduate Fellowship (2014).

Steve Aubuchon is a Market Development Lead for W.L. Gore & Associates, focused primarily the development of new material technologies for electronics and battery systems. He joined Gore in 2017, with an extensive background in product development leadership with TA Instruments-Waters, LLC. Steve earned a Ph.D. in inorganic physical chemistry (electronics materials development) from Duke University and a B.S. in chemistry from St. Louis University. In addition to his commitment at Gore, Steve is an Affiliated Faculty Member in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Delaware and serves as an Instructor and Lead Mentor in the UD Horn Entrepreneurship program.

2017 ~ Current, CEO / NEBA CORPORATION 2012 ~ 2016, Senior research engineer, Hanwha Chemical Corporation 2006 ~ 2011, Principal research engineer, Samsung SDI 2006 ~ Ph.D., The Chemical Engineering of Illinois Institute of Technology

Dr. Bär is the Managing Director/President of the adphos Innovative Technologies GmbH. He is one of the founders of the IndustrieSerVis GmbH (legal predecessor of AdPhos) and Entrepreneur of the Year in 1998 (Germany). Before he was the leader of the business segment “High Temperature Technology and Installations” at IABG, Ottobrunn. Dr. Bär was responsible for the Technology-Program “HERMES-Heatstructure-Tests” (the European space shuttle program) and graduated as Dr.-Ing. (with award) at the faculty of mechanical engineering at the RWTH Aachen in Germany.

Dr. Meisam Bahari is the CTO and co-Founder of Quino Energy, a leading startup company, where he leads the commercialization of aqueous organic flow battery technology. With his leadership and support from the U.S. Department of Energy, Quino has advanced its technology from lab scale to multi-ton pilot-scale production. Prior to co-founding Quino Energy in 2021, Meisam was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University, where he contributed to the development of the quinone-based flow battery technology that forms the foundation of Quino Energy’s product. He holds a Ph.D. in electrochemistry and a background in chemical engineering, with over a decade of experience working on electrochemical systems, including fuel cells, lithium-ion batteries, and flow batteries, the latter being his primary focus in recent years. Outside of work, Meisam enjoys reading, traveling, hiking, and spending time with his two young children.

Jonathan Bain started at BYK-Gardner USA in a technical sales role covering the Southwest region in 2012. In 2018, Jonathan took over the Southwest and Western US territories, and in 2023 he was promoted to Business Line Manager for dispersion. He works directly with the BYK Gardner Regional Sales Managers across the USA and Canada to grow the Dispersion business.

Dr. Harish Banda, co-founder and CEO of Daqus Energy Inc. and an Activate Fellow, earned his Ph.D. from the University of Grenoble, France, and completed postdoctoral research at MIT in the group of Prof. Mircea Dinca, where he co-invented TAQ-a high-performance, transition-metal-free organic cathode. He is leading Daqus’ efforts in the development and commercialization of high-energy organic batteries.

Sudarshan Banger is the Industry Manager for the Battery Business Unit, bringing over a decade of experience across various sectors within the chemicals and performance materials industry. His expertise includes front-end engineering and sales, with a focus on applications such as pneumatic conveying systems, weighing and feeding technologies, and filtration solutions. Prior to his current focus on batteries, he gained extensive technical knowledge working with catalysts, specialty polymers, special chemicals, soap, and detergents. Sudarshan holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Missouri, where he currently resides. Originally, he is from Mumbai, India.

Wurigumula Bao earned her B.S. in Environmental Engineering from the Beijing Institute of Technology, where she also completed her Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering with a focus on advanced anode materials. She then pursued postdoctoral research at UC San Diego, developing quantitative methodologies to study reaction mechanisms in anode materials and their interphases. In 2022, she joined the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering as a Project Scientist, where she investigates degradation mechanisms in rechargeable batteries and develops standardized methodologies for lithium inventory quantification and battery safety evaluation. Dr. Bao has delivered numerous invited talks at international conferences and published extensively in leading journals such as Nature Energy, Energy & Environmental Science, and ACS Energy Letters. Her research centers on advancing metrology to quantify lithium inventory, probe interphase chemistry, and analyze degradation mechanisms, aiming to accelerate the development of next-generation energy storage technologies.

Dr. Brian Barnett serves as CTO for Nyobolt and leads the company's US operations. Dr. Barnett has extensive experience in development and commercialization of battery technology. He is recognized as both a technical and industry expert related to batteries and an expert in battery safety and has directed a series of successful lab-based, highly multidisciplinary battery technology development programs that resulted in technology licensing, spin-off or sale.

Yevgen Barsukov is the Algorithm Fellow in the Battery Management group at Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI). By applying leading theoretical methods of battery analysis, Barsukov is advancing battery fuel-gauging, health and safety technology used in notebooks, mobile-phones, PDAs, and other portable devices. Prior to joining TI, his research was focused on Impedance Spectroscopy-based testing and modeling of batteries. He co-authored books on impedance spectroscopy and battery power management, in journal publications, has multiple patents, and has presented at numerous international conferences. He was recently elected TI Fellow. Barsukov earned a Ms.C. degree in Organic Chemistry at Kiev National University in 1993, and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Kiel Christian-Albrecht University in 1996.

Brandon is battery specialist with experience spanning academic research, portable electronics, stationary storage, and electrified vehicle applications. He has a strong background in electrochemistry and has contributed to solving complex technical challenges that have supported multimillion dollar commercial outcomes. Brandon is passionate about the role of energy storage technologies in improving everyday life and enjoys applying broad, cross industry experience to develop strategic technical road maps and translate new ideas into practical solutions. He is always open to collaborating on challenging problems where his expertise can help drive meaningful progress.

Lukasz Bednarski is an associate director at IHS Markit. He covers battery materials market with particular focus on lithium, graphite, manganese, cathodes, and anodes materials. Lukasz has worked in the commodity sector spanning physical trading, training, product management, and research. Prior to joining, his interest in battery materials led to the development of an independent industry portal covering the sector. In addition to his degree in economics and business administration from Aalborg University, Lukasz has studied financial topics in China, Russia, Germany, and Liechtenstein. He is the author of popular non-fiction book "Lithium: The Global Race for Battery Dominance and the New Energy Revolution.”

Dr. Ilias Belharouak is a Distinguished Scientist and the Leader of the Battery Roll-to-Roll Manufacturing Group in the Energy and Transportation Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Tennessee. Dr. Belharouak also serves as a Professor of the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. Before joining ORNL, he was a Research Director and the Founding Chief Scientist of the Electrochemical Energy Storage Center in Qatar Foundation. He was a Material Scientist and Battery Expert in the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Illinois. Dr. Belharouak is currently an Editor of the Elsevier’s Journal of Power Sources. He was recognized with several awards including R&D-100 innovation awards and topical society awards. Dr. Belharouak authored more than 150 peer-reviewed papers, 30 US Patents and Applications, 5 books, and holds an h-index of 55.

Mark has 30 years of experience in process design and project development. He is Hatch's Global Director of Battery Materials and Cells, including Recycling. Mark has worked with numerous clients in the battery space including Forge Battery, Nano One, Novonix, GM, POSCO, VW, Graphite One, Vianode, Li Cycle, Aleon, Altilium, Duracell, and Panasonic.

Kimberly is an independent consultant specializing in energy transition materials and related commodities working with firms such as Avicenne, Positive Materials and the World Bank Group. She has researched, written/co-written, and published numerous major papers and reports on lithium-ion and next-gen battery technologies, alternative fuels, electric vehicles, stationary power storage and the de-globalisation of battery supply chains. Previously, she worked at BMO Capital Markets and developed the firm’s proprietary industry knowledge around energy transition technologies.

Dr. Adam Best received his PhD from Monash University, Australia in 2002 before completing a post-doctoral Fellowship at Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. Dr. Best joined CSIRO in 2004 and is currently a Principal Research Scientist with the Metal Industries Program of CSIRO Manufacturing. Adam was Co-Chair of the International Battery Association (IBA) meeting held in Brisbane, Australia, in 2014 and is currently the Co-Chair for the International Meeting on Lithium Batteries (IMLB) 2022 to be held in Sydney Australia. In 2017, he was awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Fellowship to study battery electrolytes and how to develop a battery industry in Australia. Adam leads several battery research programs developing novel electrolytes and battery concepts including for next-generation lithium batteries with a range of Australian and International Companies and is also the R&D Advisor for Energy Renaissance, Australia's first lithium-ion battery manufacturer. Due to Australia’s mineral wealth, Adam is passionate about the opportunities for Australian industry to be part of the global battery value chain and works to connect them locally and globally.

Sidd is an Executive Director, Debt Investments based in London, and leads IFM Next Generation Infrastructure Credit, the firm’s dedicated investment strategy focused on providing scale-up capital in the form of credit to the world’s most promising companies building the next generation of industrial and infrastructure solutions across sectors such as clean energy, industrial decarbonization, transportation, circular economy, amongst others. Sidd has wide commercial experience having worked as an operator in start-ups across high tech industrial manufacturing for solar and sustainable food retail. From 2012 onwards, Sidd has worked in private capital markets across Citibank and Jefferies, providing non-standard private debt financing to borrowers across infrastructure, real estate, lending platforms when traditional sources of capital were limited. Sidd holds a Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering from University of Pune, and an MBA from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill as a Fulbright scholar researching entrepreneurship and sustainability.

Nikhil is an inquisitive and passionate staff battery applications engineer at Gamma Technologies, with half a decade of experience in battery modeling and simulation. His background lies in fault detection, physics-based modeling, equivalent circuit models, reduced-order models, cell degradation, battery characterization, and state estimation. He earned his Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kansas, focusing on lithium-ion battery modeling. Nikhil's contributions include creating a new battery model that offers the same computational efficiency as commonly used equivalent circuit models while maintaining the fidelity of reduced-order models. At Gamma Technologies, he works closely on the development of various battery modeling capabilities, spanning from equivalent circuit models to 4D electrochemical solutions.

Moshiel Biton is the CEO and co-founder of Addionics, a battery technology company providing AI-optimized, Smart 3D Electrodes for the next generation of energy storage. Biton has served as the company’s CEO since Addionics’ incorporation in 2017. With over 10 years of experience in the battery industry and more specifically the semiconductor domain, Biton aided in the development of image structures specific to battery materials and researching degradation in both conventional and novel battery cells. There, Biton conducted fundamental research into the design, synthesis and application of 3D metal structures that eventually paved the way to Addonics’ formation. Having reviewed research published in seven publications and co-authored three patents, Biton was a recipient of prestigious honors & awards including Tech Talent UK Visa Award, Horizon 2020 Program of the European Commision and the Alan Howard International PhD Scholarship for his work in the industry. Biton holds a PhD in imaging and modeling of battery materials from Imperial College London.

Dan Blondal is the CEO, Director, and Founder of Nano One. Mr. Blondal has 30+ years of experience as a professional engineer, managing high growth technology in a career that has spanned materials handling, medical devices, industrial printing, nuclear fusion and materials science. As Product and Technology Manager at Creo and Kodak, he led strategically vital initiatives valued at $20M annually to leverage software, laser and chemical systems for high-quality printing.

Frederick is a Senior Analyst at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence researching battery materials. His main areas of focus are lithium and battery recycling markets in Europe, North America and Asia. Before joining Benchmark, Frederick received his Master's degree in Green Chemistry at Imperial College London. With a particular interest in black mass trading, Frederick regularly speaks with players across the global battery recycling market, where he has gained extensive knowledge of trade flows, prices and policy on top of information on the wider recycling value chain, such as gate fees, tolling fees and the price of battery scrap and other recycled intermediates.

Emilie Bodoin is the Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Pure Lithium, a company she founded in 2020. She is a businesswoman, entrepreneur, board director and inventor. She is listed as an inventor on 15 patents and applications as part of the company’s intellectual property portfolio of 128 patents and applications. She has over 13 years of experience in lithium metal anode and next-generation battery development. From 2015 to 2018, she worked with Argonne National Laboratory as a Principal Investigator on a lithium metal production project. She also served as an Entrepreneur in Residence for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Prior to that, Emilie worked in several finance roles in New York City, serving latterly as the Chief Technology Officer for G.C. Andersen Partners, a boutique investment bank. Emilie is a frequent speaker at international lithium and battery conferences and a sought-after expert in the space.

Toby Bond is a Senior Scientist in the Industrial Science group at the Canadian Light Source (CLS), Canada’s national synchrotron facility. He is a specialist in x-ray imaging and diffraction of energy storage devices, focusing on in-situ and operando analysis of commercial cells. Toby is an electrochemist by training and completed his MSc. And PhD Dalhousie University as part of Jeff Dahn’s group. His academic work has focused on developing of instruments for ultra-high-precision coulometry as well as developing advanced x-ray imaging and diffraction techniques to better characterize long-term degradation in Li-ion batteries.

Mr. Boolish has served as Director of PRBA – The Rechargeable Battery Association, since 2023. Prior to his PRBA work, he held roles for 27 years at Energizer in Research and Development for lithium ion, lithium primary and dry cell battery chemistries, government affairs and standards for battery and chemical products. Mr. Boolish represents PRBA and its members in the United States and internationally on regulatory, legislative, and policy issues associated with the safety manufacturing, handing, transport, storage, and recycling of batteries. Members of PRBA include primary and secondary cell/battery manufacturers; battery recyclers; manufacturers of electronic equipment, medical devices, power tools, automobiles, dangerous good packaging, and outdoor power equipment; and retailers, testing labs, airlines, and dangerous goods consultants. Mr. Boolish can be reached for contact at the methods below: PRBA – The Rechargeable Battery Association 2050 M Street NW Washington, DC 20036 202-719-7170 mboolish@wiley.law

Griffin Bourjeaurd is the Founder of Sea Li-ion Technologies, a startup commercializing a patented electrochemical process for integrated lithium extraction and battery materials manufacturing. Griffin developed Sea Li-ion's core "Extract-to-Electrode" (X2L) technology during his tenure as an ORISE Fellow at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). He brings over 15 years of experience spanning project management, engineering, and financial analysis and holds an MS in Ocean & Resources Engineering from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, a BS in Interdisciplinary Engineering from Florida International University, and a BMOS in Finance from Western University. He is currently leading Sea Li-ion's Phase 3 R&D and developing a pilot demonstration project for mineral extraction from produced water in the Marcellus Shale region.

Sean Brahim received his Ph.D. in Bioanalytical Chemistry from the University of the West Indies and did postdoctoral research at Virigina Commonwealth University on implantable biosensors and controlled drug delivery systems. Since joining YTC America, Inc. (YTCA) in 2006, Sean has worked as lead scientist on several nanomaterials-based projects including impedance gas sensors, conductive transparent coatings, and carbon nanotube synthesis and purification. In his present position, Sean manages the Energy Storage & Devices research and development activities at YTCA focusing on advanced technologies for performance improvements in clean energy generation and storage.

With 37 years of experience at Lockheed Martin, Roger has been involved in developing electrical power systems and battery programs across multiple LM Business Units. He also contributes to corporate engineering and enterprise strategies centered around batteries, capacitors and power systems and has delivered several presentations across industry aimed at enhancing power system performance for both existing and future platforms. His recent focus has been centered on the wide-ranging benefits of high-temperature-enabled electronics for military and aerospace sectors. He was inducted as an AIAA Associate Fellow in 2022 and currently holds the position of Technical Fellow at Lockheed Martin with both Bachelor and Master’s Degrees in Electrical Engineering.

I started my P3 career in February 2008 in Germany. Since August 2021 I am located in Detroit and running our Strategy and Technology Business in the USA. I have 10+ years of experiences in the automotive and commercial vehicle business with execution of projects in Europe, the USA and China. My competencies focusing on strategic advisory, efficiency programs, technical due diligence and program management.

Sam Burrow is a leader in formulation chemistry for battery technology. Research into graphene and nanocomposite materials he conducted at the University of Bristol, UK, became the foundation of Anaphite, with Sam co-founding the company in 2018. As Chief Technology Officer, he oversees a team of 24 scientists and engineers developing Anaphite's technology platform for dry battery electrode coating. He combines deep, technical knowledge in chemistry with big-picture understanding to drive solutions to scale dry coating—to reduce costs and environmental impact across the battery industry.

Dr. Mei Cai is the Senior Director of Battery Engineering at Fluence, a Siemens and AES company. She is responsible for the design, development, and implementation of battery energy storage systems including cell, module, and battery management systems. Before joining Fluence, she was the Director of Battery Materials and Systems Research at General Motors Global Research and Development Center, where she is responsible for innovations in advanced battery technologies for future electric vehicles.

Marissa A. Carey, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Manager at Medtronic’s Energy and Component Center (MECC), where she leads research of battery and electrochemical systems for implantable medical devices. Since joining Medtronic in 2015, she has held technical leadership roles including Chief Engineer for Rechargeable Batteries, supporting battery innovation from early research through manufacturing and therapy applications. Her work spans new battery materials, electrolyte systems, and next-generation high-energy chemistries for life-sustaining and neuromodulation devices. She is actively engaged in technical education and knowledge sharing across Medtronic and with physician and conference audiences. Prior to Medtronic, she was a Lead Scientist at Wildcat Discovery Technologies, where she developed new battery materials and electrode technologies across medical, consumer electronics, grid storage, and electric vehicle applications. Dr. Carey holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Stanford University and a B.S. in Chemistry from Brown University.

Dr. Candace K. Chan is Navrotsky Professor of Materials Research and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering in the Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, Arizona, where she has been a faculty member since 2011. Dr. Chan received her B.S. in chemistry from Rice University, Ph.D. in chemistry from Stanford University, and a Miller Research Fellowship to conduct postdoctoral studies at the University of California at Berkeley. Her group at ASU carries out research on next generation anode and cathode materials for lithium and sodium-ion batteries, foldable and flexible batteries, new synthesis methods for solid-state and ceramic electrolytes for lithium metal batteries, and new processes for recycling lithium-ion battery materials. Dr. Chan is also director of the ASU Battery Lab, which aims to support batteries-related workforce development and industry collaborations.

Dr. Xilin Chen is a Senior Scientist and Senior Expert in the Saft Corporate STEP program at Saft America, Inc., where he leads innovation in lithium-ion battery technology. With over 20 years of experience in the development of electrode materials, electrolytes, and advanced platform designs, Dr. Chen has made significant contributions to the field of energy storage. He has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and holds 15 patents. His work bridges fundamental science and industrial application, driving advancements in high-performance, safe, and reliable lithium-ion cells. At Saft America — a full-service lithium-ion cell and battery manufacturing facility equipped to design, assemble, test, and deliver products — Dr. Chen plays a pivotal role in translating cutting-edge research into commercial solutions that power critical applications worldwide.

Tao Cheng is a materials scientist specializing in computational chemistry and multiscale simulation of energy materials. He received his B.S. (2007), M.S. (2009), and Ph.D. (2012) in Applied Chemistry from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. From 2012 to 2015, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the California Institute of Technology with Prof. William A. Goddard III. His research focuses on molecular simulation, catalysis, and energy materials, particularly applying multiscale computational methods to understand interfaces and chemical reactions in energy systems. He has developed algorithms in force-field development, free-energy calculations, advanced sampling, and grand-canonical electron ensemble methods, which have been applied to battery interface and interphase simulations. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers in journals including Science, Nature Energy, Nature Catalysis, Nature Chemistry, PNAS, and JACS, with >200,000 citations and an H-index of 75 (Google Scholar, Dec 2026).

George Cintra serves as GM's Director of Global Battery R&D. Cintra leads GM’s comprehensive battery innovation strategy and portfolio across all business segments. He is a globally recognized battery expert with more than 30 years of leadership experience in energy storage technologies across consumer electronics, aerospace, defense, medical devices, and electric vehicles. Prior to joining GM, Cintra was CTO at EaglePicher Technologies where he led all engineering and technology initiatives for battery solutions in aerospace and defense. Prior to EaglePicher, he was Executive Vice President and CTO for Integer Holdings (formerly Greatbatch), a diverse medical device supplier, where he led global research, development, engineering and regulatory & clinical affairs serving implantable medical and portable power products in cardiac rhythum management, neuromodulation, surgical instrumenentation, and patient monitoring. Cintra began his career in batteries at Duracell, where he led the development and commissioning of the first lithium-ion cell production line in the US. He subsequently led numerous initiatives and organizations in battery related advanced materials, new product innovation and process development as part of Gillette and Procter & Gamble Co. Cintra has been awarded 39 patents in the U.S. and internationally across a broad range of power systems and electromechanical product innovations. In addition to his professional accomplishments, Cintra is a member of the USABC Management Council. He has also served as a Board Member for NanoGraf and Advastim, and is on the Advisory Boards of other energy-focused companies. Cintra also serves on the Chemical Engineering Advisory Board of the University of Rhode Island where is earned his B. S. in chemical engineering and completed graduate studies in chemical engineering at Carnegie Mellon and the University of Virginia.

Anna is a fourth year PhD student in the Engineering and Public Policy Department at Carnegie Mellon University, advised by Dr. Jeremy Michalek. During her PhD, she has worked on a number of projects related to trends in automotive technology, including ridesharing and electrification. She has a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech and has interned at companies across the energy industry, including Solar Turbines and TerraPower.

Jeff Dahn obtained his BSc from Dalhousie University (1978) and his PhD from the University of British Columbia in 1982. Dahn then worked at NRC (Canada) ('82-'85) and at Moli Energy ('85-'90) before taking up a faculty position at Simon Fraser University in 1990. He returned to Dalhousie in 1996. At Moli, he did pioneering work on lithium-ion batteries. Dahn was appointed as the NSERC/3M Canada Industrial Research Chair in Materials for Advanced Batteries at Dalhousie University in 1996, a position that he held until 2016. In 2016, Dahn began a research partnership with Tesla as the NSERC/Tesla Canada Industrial Research Chair, which will continue until 2026. Dahn’s research has been recognized by numerous awards, including a Governor General’s Innovation Award (2016) and the Gerhard Herzberg Gold Medal in Science and Engineering (2017), Canada’s top science prize. He is the only person to have been awarded both awards thus far. Dahn is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Cameron Dales is co-founder of sodium-ion grid storage company, Peak Energy. Most recently, Cam was an operating partner at Eclipse Ventures where he focused on technology investments in the $8T industrial economy. Previously, Cam was CCO of lithium-ion battery company, Enovix, where he was responsible for commercial strategy and operations. He navigated the company from lab start-up through successful public listing and built a $1.5B sales funnel including strategic relationships with all six worldwide “mega-cap” technology companies. Prior to Enovix, Cam served as VP/GM for Symyx Technologies, a $150M revenue public company that developed high throughput robotic tools for the discovery of advanced materials for the world’s leading energy and materials companies. He started his career at Lockheed, where he developed spaceflight qualified hardware for several spacecraft including the first commercial high resolution imaging satellite. Cam holds engineering degrees from Cornell and Stanford and is an inventor on 103 patents.

Eric C. Darcy, PhD, recently finished his 38-year career at NASA in the areas of battery design, verification, and safety assessments for the rigors of manned spacecraft applications. As Battery Technical Discipline Lead at NASA-JSC, his main objective has been the development of safe, while high-performing, battery systems with a deep focus on understanding, preventing, and mitigating latent defects that could lead to catastrophic cell internal short circuits. Now he is a private consultant.

Dr. Dawson holds a Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He currently leads the next generation battery company Elementium Materials that's rapidly bringing a disruptive electrolyte solution to market. He's spent the past twenty years developing and commercializing next generation energy technologies. Over the course of his career he has served as a Board Director or Advisor on nine boards covering the oil & gas, automotive, finance, and renewable energy industries and has led emerging technology companies as a CEO, CTO, and Investment Director. He's founded multiple successful start-up companies, which have raised over $100 hundred million dollars and generating hundreds of millions of dollars in value across multiple industries.

Timothy DeBastos is managing director of LG Energy Solution North American Development (ESMI-D), the North American subsidiary of LG Energy Solution (LGES), based in Seoul, Korea. In this position, he has overall responsibility for strategic direction, development, launch, validation, and mass production. Prior to joining LGES, Mr. DeBastos worked at Rivian on HV Battery Electromechanical Design. Prior to that, he was chief engineer for high voltage pack and modules at LG Energy Solution. The majority of his over 20-year professional career was spent at Ford Motor Company, where he worked through various propulsion roles with increasing responsibility. He focused on EV commercial vehicles, integration, and implementation. Mr. DeBastos received a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Wayne State University and his Master of Business Administration from University of Michigan – Stephen M. Ross School of Business.

Shmuel De-Leon, Founder and CEO of Shmuel De-Leon Energy Ltd., is a leading international expert in the business of energy storage. Prior to founding the company, for over 21 years, Shmuel held various positions as an energy storage, electronic engineering, and quality control team manager. Shmuel holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Tel Aviv University, and an M.B.A. in Quality Control and Reliability Engineering from the Technion Institute in Haifa, as well as an Electronic Technician's diploma.

Giuseppe L. Di Benedetto, Ph.D. is the Power Team Lead and a Chemical Engineer at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Armaments Center. Dr. Di Benedetto graduated from New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Chemical Engineering in May 2002, and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Chemical Engineering in January 2009. During his 17 years at U.S. Army DEVCOM Armaments Center, Dr. Di Benedetto has served as the Technical Lead for many power and energy research and development projects as well as provide Subject Matter Expertise support to munitions power production items. This work has resulted in publications in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, paper and poster presentations at national and international conferences, and several patents. He is currently the Chair of the Interagency Advanced Power Group (IAPG) Chemical Working Group (CWG) Safety Panel, and the Capability Area Manager for Munitions Power Technology of the Joint Enhanced Munitions Technology Program (JEMTP).

Nick is a graduate of the University of Oregon with a degree in Applied Business and Economics. With a strong background in sales and marketing, he works closely with customers to understand their unique battery testing needs and deliver tailored solutions that enhance efficiency and operations. By leveraging his expertise in business development and industry trends, Nick helps companies procure chambers and battery fixtures that accommodate their specific testing requirements, improving the efficiency of their testing operations.

Emily Dickens is the Chief Commercial Officer at Octet Scientific, Inc. , where she has spent the past six years supporting the aqueous battery industry through both product development and commercial leadership. With a background spanning a range of research in aqueous non-aqueous batteries, Emily brings deep technical insight and strategic vision to Octet’s mission of advancing electrolyte additive solutions for energy storage. Under her leadership, Octet is commercializing its technology across multiple applications, including large-scale energy storage, while building over 30 successful partnerships across the battery ecosystem. Emily’s expertise bridges technical innovation, market strategy, and client collaboration, enabling her to translate cutting-edge chemistry into real-world impact.

Sophie Dik is Head of Sales at CarbonX, where she has been leading securing the company’s first commercial agreements and is now leading the introduction of CarbonX anode active materials into the global battery industry. With a background in International Relations and over a decade of experience in international business development, she brings a strategic approach, a strong commercial mindset, and a keen interest in innovative technologies.

John Du was named Partner, GM Ventures, in May 2019. Prior to this appointment, John was Director of General Motors Research & Development organization’s China Science Lab, which he led from its founding in 2009. He was responsible for building a strong and innovative research team and leading the research and development in intelligent and connected vehicles, battery, advanced materials, and electrified propulsion systems.

Hieu led the development of Dry Battery Electrode (DBE) manufacturing process at Maxwell Technologies beginning in 2011. He served as the Director of Electrode Engineering at Tesla for 4 years after its acquisition in 2019, driving scaling efforts leading to the commercialization of DBE. Currently, he is the Chief Manufacturing Officer at AM Batteries leading the development and commercialization of Powder-to-Electrode coating process and equipment for low-cost lithium-ion battery manufacturing.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Daniel Eggerath completed his mechanical engineering degree at the Technical University of Darmstadt (2007) and earned his PhD in curtain coating at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (2012). He held roles at FMP Technology GmbH (2008-2018), including Technical Director and CEO. He worked at Kroenert GmbH , did his MBA in Hamburg (2012-2014) and taught at the Munich University of Applied Sciences (2014-2023). Prof. Eggerath has a strong focus on coating and drying technology. He has been Managing Director of MeSys GmbH (2020-2023) and, since 2023, Business Unit Manager – Hamburg/Technical Director Energy at Jagenberg Converting Solutions. Since 2026 he is General Manager of Jagenberg Converting Solutions. He also serves on the board of Menzerna GmbH.

Dr. Bonne Eggleston leads a global team developing, scaling, and producing Tesla's 4680 cells and battery materials. He led the effort to scale the dry electrode technology from lab scale to mass production, and founded the team that developed Tesla's tabless 4680 architecture. Prior to Tesla, he worked at two solar cell start-ups building technology and factories across four continents.

Christiane Essl is working as a lead researcher at the VIRTUAL VEHICLE in Austria on Battery Safety with the focus on vent gas analysis and early failure detection. In April 2021 she finished her Ph.D. work with the focus on the analysis and early detection of failing automotive lithium-ion batteries.

Dr. Chengcheng Fang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Michigan State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of California, San Diego, an M.Phil. in Innovative Technologies Leadership from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Zhejiang University. Dr. Fang’s research on advancing battery technologies bridges fundamental materials research and real-world application, spanning from multiscale, quantitative characterization for failure diagnostics, to the design of advanced materials and manufacturing processes. Her group addresses critical challenges in fast charging, extreme-temperature operation, energy-efficient manufacturing, and the seamless integration of new materials into commercial battery production. Her work has been supported by federal agencies and industry partners and published in leading journals such as Nature, Nature Energy. In 2022, Dr. Fang was named to the MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 global list.

Donal Finegan is a senior scientist at the US DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). His work focuses on understanding degradation and failure mechanisms of Li-ion batteries and taking steps to improve the performance and safety of cells and battery systems. Through his research, Donal pioneered the application of high-speed X-ray imaging to visualize rapid dynamic mechanisms that occur within Li-ion cells as they undergo thermal runaway. He collaborates extensively with the NASA Johnson Space Center on developing a Fractional Thermal Runaway Calorimeter (FTRC) and compiling data for the Battery Failure Databank, the largest open-source database on thermal runaway data from Li-ion cells. He received his B.Eng in Chemical Engineering from University College Dublin (UCD) and a Ph.D in Advanced Diagnostics of Batteries from University College London (UCL).

T. Joseph Fisher, IIICEO & Co – Founder, Lithium WerksT. Joseph (Joe) Fisher, III, is a proven global leader and international business executive with a track record of success in small and large companies. Fisher was a senior executive with Energizer Holdings for over thirty years, turning around several country units with international assignments in Argentina, South Africa, and Southern Europe, as well as serving as the General Manager & Vice President of the Global Carbon Products group, the Global Miniature Battery Group and Energizer Power Systems. He also served as CEO of Contour Energy Systems, a lithium battery spinout from Caltech, CEO and President of Valence Technologies, and then served as Interim President – Industrial, and Vice President Global Business Development for A123 Systems. He co-founded Lithium Werks in 2017 and led the leveraged buyouts of the A123 Systems Industrial division and Valence Technologies in 2018. Today, Lithium Werks is one of the world’s fastest growing producers and sellers of anodes, cathodes, cells and battery packs, with a focus on Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) solutions. He has been active in the battery industry working with technology startups, raw material companies and turnaround situations through his JCF International, LLC consulting business, and also served on the Board of Directors of several battery companies in the past. He holds a BS in Industrial Management degree from the University of Cincinnati and an MBA from Marshall University.

Dr. Fitzhugh is a Co-Founder and the CEO of Adden Energy, a Harvard University spin-off commercializing new solid-state battery technology. He earned his PhD in Applied Physics from Professor Xin Li’s group at Harvard University’s John A Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. During his graduate work, he was a co-inventor of the technology later licensed by Adden Energy, which focuses on critical market segments ranging from electric vehicles and power tools to consumer electronics. Before joining Adden Energy, Dr. Fitzhugh was an Entrepreneurial Fellow in the DOE’s Innovation Crossroads program housed at Oak Ridge National Lab.

Dr. Alejandro A. Franco is a Full Professor at Université de Picardie Jules Verne (Amiens, France), Honorary Member of the Institut Universitaire de France, and Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington (Seattle, USA). With over 23 years of experience, he is a leading expert in multiscale modeling and AI for battery manufacturing. He is the recipient of two ERC grants, as well as the 2025 Battery Division M. Stanley Whittingham Mid-Career Award of the Electrochemical Society. Prof. Franco coordinates the Erasmus+ i-MESC Master Programme and serves as an Editor for the Journal of Power Sources. He has an extensive track record with over 180 publications, 23 patents, 165+ invited conference lectures, and 72+ invited seminars. Additionally, he is the co-founder and CSO of Aikemics, a startup leveraging digital twin technology to revolutionize the battery industry.

As the Vice President of Operations for The Battery Network, Eric is responsible for the organization’s supply chain, safety, compliance, and downstream recycling network. This includes optimizing performance and efficiencies while upholding the organization’s commitment to safety standards and compliance obligations. Eric’s day-to-day focus is on helping a variety of stakeholders understand and address the unique safety and environmental challenges associated with lithium-ion batteries. With over 20 years’ experience in engineering and operations leadership at leading transportation solutions providers, Eric is a practical expert in the areas of lithium-ion battery recycling, transportation, compliance, packaging, and safety. Eric has a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA from Boston University.

Dr. Frith is a principal at the US based venture capital firm, Volta Energy Technologies, where he works as part of the investment office. At volta, James identifies, diligences, underwrites and manages investments in growth-stage companies in the energy transition space. James has over 15 years of experience in the energy storage industry, which includes seven years working on lithium batteries in the laboratory before moving to BloombergNEF, where he led the company’s coverage of energy storage technologies and their associated supply chains. Using his in-depth knowledge and understanding of techno-economics, market dynamics and technology development, Dr. Frith has advised investors, governments, financial institutions, and the automotive and mining sectors as they position themselves for the low carbon economy. James holds a Ph.D in Electrochemistry from the University of Southampton.

After he joined Matsushita electric Co., Ltd in 2001, Mr. Fujikawa started his career as material and safety technology researcher of lithium-ion batteries. In 2015 he transferred to business department and led cylindrical lithium-ion battery developments , especially for automotive use. From 2025 he is managing R&D Center of Panasonic Energy Co., Ltd. As a director he is leading technology developments for future lithium-ion batteries including materials, mechanical design, process development, and post LIB technologies.

Advised clients on both short- and long-term growth strategy while bridge-making between Asian-USA/European companies as a management consultant for 20 years. Expertise Area: Business strategy, Transformation, Cross border M&A, Business Due Diligence, Alliance advisory & PMI (Post Merger Integration). Industries: Chemical / materials and automotive / auto-parts / aerospace industries including lithium-ion battery and electric vehicle.

Bob Galyen, is recognized as a top international executive in the battery energy storage market and one of the most sought-after battery experts in the world. His 48 years’ experience developed with 21 years GM, 4 years Delphi, 3 years Pres. Magna E-Car, and most notably 8 years as CTO of CATL. He sits on multiple Board of Directors and Technical Advisory Boards around the world. He is an SAE Fellow and the CTO of NAATBatt International. Some of his world-wide coveted awards received include: • Peoples Republic of China “Friendship Award” • Peoples Republic of China “National Distinguished Expert” • NAATBatt International “Lifetime Achievement Award” • Benchmark Mineral Intelligence “Lifetime Achievement Award” • SAE International “Fellow” and “Outstanding Contribution Award” • Ball State University “Circle of Excellence Award” • General Motors “Best of the Best” • Automotive News “Electrifying 100” • Emerging Technology News “50 Global Leaders in Energy Storage”

Bharat Gattu is Senior Researcher in Batteries and Energy Storage at Nissan Technical Center – North America. With background in metallurgical, materials science and chemical engineering his research is focused on material and cell development for LIBs. He received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from University of Pittsburgh, M.S. in Materials Science & Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology, MO, USA (previously University of Missouri, Rolla) and Bachelor's in Metallurgical & Materials Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India. He had a brief programming stint in Accenture and was involved in entrepreneurial debut as Asset and Technology Development Manager in deep sea diving, offshore/marine manufacturing.

Javier Gazzarri is a Consulting Application Engineer at MathWorks, where he has worked for 14 years. Most of his work is on battery modeling and simulation, from cell- to system-level, parameter estimation for model correlation, impedance spectroscopy, battery management system algorithm development, thermal management, aging, state estimation, model reduction and artificial intelligence. Before joining MathWorks, Javier worked on fuel cell modeling at the National Research Council of Canada in Vancouver, British Columbia. He has a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina), a master’s degree (inverse methods for sensor design), and a PhD degree (solid oxide fuel cell degradation and impedance spectroscopy) both from the University of British Columbia (Canada).

Matthew Genovese is a Director of Cell Development at QuantumScape, focused on process scale-up for full cell assembly. Over his time with the company, he’s worked on cell-level R&D that delivered successive generations on QuantumScape’s technology roadmap. He has over 10 years experience in developing lithium-ion batteries and next-generation cell architectures. Prior to QuantumScape, Matthew conducted lithium ion and lithium-metal battery research in Jeff Dahn’s group at Dalhousie University and earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from the University of Toronto.

Kevin L. Gering, PhD (INL) PhD Chem. Eng., University Oklahoma - 1989 (electrolyte theory). Kevin has been involved in battery testing and R&D for nearly 20 years while at INL. Dr. Gering is an established expert in the field of state-of-the-art molecular-based electrolyte models for electrochemical systems (Advanced Electrolyte Model, AEM), and has developed novel performance and lifecycle (aging) models for lithium-ion battery systems covering mechanistic aspects of kinetic limitations and performance loss over battery life (CellSage). AEM generates more than 100 property metrics with each simulation, giving genomic-level information for electrolyte characterization. CellSage simulations perform mechanism-wise analyses of battery aging while accounting for multiple concurrent stress factors that can change over the timeline. Kevin is well qualified to speak on issues of electrolyte transport, characterization, screening, and optimization for lithium-ion systems, wherein particular areas of expertise are highly concentrated electrolytes and low-temperature battery performance. During AEM development, Kevin has achieved milestones in formulating mathematics and new modeling techniques that capture properties that were previously very difficult to model over wide ranges of temperature and salt concentration, such as colligative permittivity, conductivity, diffusivity, viscosity, surface tension, ion desolvation energy and kinetics, double-layer composition and properties, comprehensive ion speciation, osmotic pressure, preferential ion solvation, and many others. Kevin is currently contributing to the DOE program eXtreme Fast Charge Cell Evaluation of Lithium-ion Batteries (XCEL), and is involved in integrating CellSage architecture and outcomes within a machine learning (ML) program under DOE-VTO. Dr. Gering has a diverse background in modeling complex systems, where other previous work covered developing a methane hydrates marine basin model, a dynamic passive aeration compost model, blast wave calculations, transport model for pulsed catalytic reactors, and others. He actively collaborates within DOE labs, universities, and the private sector, and is an advocate of domestic intellectual property, having several patents issued and pending, and under license. AEM and CellSage tools have seen increased licensing, speaking to the growing impact of INL to meet industrial needs.

John Glassmire brings two decades of experience at the frontiers of the energy transition to help organizations leverage digital innovation to enable an electrified future. He is passionate about advancing electricity as the bedrock of modern business and a sustainable future. John’s experience spans research, portfolio strategy, and innovation acceleration, to solve today’s most pressing energy challenges. John’s leadership impact includes several years as director of energy engineering at a successful microgrid software start-up, more than a decade of global consultative solutioning experience, and several years in product management. John understands that lifelong learning and active engagement are critical to solving the most pressing energy challenges; he has facilitated hundreds of workshops and led the creation of a University of Washington course on distributed renewable power systems for power utility leaders to catalyze access to clean, low-cost, reliable power. John holds a BSME from Rice University and an MSME from Northwestern University.

Thomas has been working with AVL on simulation topics in various roles for more than a decade. After achieving a Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Graz University of Technology in 2013 (Austria) he joined AVL to work on system simulation topics as a development engineer, software developer, and senior software developer. Since 2022, Thomas has specialized in business development for AVL’s advanced simulation technologies for the North America market.

Dr. Stephen Glazier is the Director, Cell Technology at NOVONIX Battery Technology Solutions in Nova Scotia, Canada. He oversees the technical development of NOVONIX Ultra-High Precision Coulometry as well as cell prototyping and testing programs which span the entire battery field, including NOVONIX’s own materials and customer programs. Prior to NOVONIX, Stephen completed his MSc and PhD at Dalhousie University, working under the supervision of Dr. Jeff Dahn, with a focus on high-precision metrology, cathode material synthesis, and electrolyte development.

Dr. Tobias Glossmann is a Principal Engineer at Mercedes-Benz R&D North America and works on battery research from material level to vehicle integration for more than 20 years. He is engaged in community education as an officer of the Detroit section of the Electrochemical Society. His current research interests include Li-metal batteries and interfaces in batteries and electrochemical sensors.

Rohan Gokhale is the Applied Technology Manager for the Rechargeable Battery Materials Division of Umicore in North America. He has a strong background in materials science and electrochemistry. Rohan earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry (National Chemical Laboratory, India) working on novel ways to synthesize carbon materials for use in electrochemical energy storage and conversion. Subsequently, he contributed to the development of carbon based Pt-free electrocatalysts for achieving cost reduction in fuel cells, at the University of New Mexico. Before joining Umicore, he was a Research Scientist at the Nissan Tech Center of North America, working on solid state battery research program for next generation EVs. He has 20+ high impact publications and 3 awarded US patents to his credit.

Shawn PM Golhar is a Managing Director, Global Head of Policy Advisory Banking (PAB) at Barclays. Shawn advises our investment banking and markets clients on opportunities and challenges presented by shifts in public policy, regulation, and other government-related matters. He also co-covers key investment banking clients that have a nexus to government and policy-related issues. Shawn is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, serves on the boards of private start-ups and the Future Caucus, a non-profit. He also served on an advisory committee at the US Export-Import Bank. Active in the community, Shawn was awarded the Barclays Global Citizenship Award and has co-founded or led various non-profits. Previously at Barclays, Shawn was in M&A investment banking (Head of Strategic Public Policy Advisory), Head of Public Policy Research, developed and led client outreach in the Public Policy Group, and was a public finance investment banker, where he worked on nearly $30 billion of senior and co-senior managed deals in California. He began his career as a consultant with Deloitte & Touche LLP. He completed his undergraduate studies at Rutgers University and the London School of Economics and received his Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. Shawn was a frequent contributor to Bloomberg, CNBC, and others.

Dr. Trevor Grant oversees Cell Research at Electrovaya, leading customer-driven R&D and manufacturing initiatives focused on advancing both commercial and pre-commercial battery technologies. With a strong background in electrochemical systems, he plays a key role in developing and scaling next-generation solutions that enhance battery performance, safety, and longevity. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Ottawa, specializing in materials development and process engineering for advanced electrochemical devices.

Eric Gratz, Ph.D. is Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer at Ascend Elements, Inc., a Westborough, Mass.-based battery recycling and engineered materials company. He holds a Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from Boston University and was a post-doctoral fellow at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the lab of Prof. Yan Wang. Working closely with Prof. Wang, Eric co-developed the innovative cathode synthesis technology that has grown into Ascend Elements’ Hydro-to-Cathode™ direct precursor synthesis technology.

Tom Gregory received his BS in chemical engineering from Case Western Reserve University in 1978 and his MS in 1979, specializing in electrochemical engineering. His 34-year career at Dow Chemical encompassed a variety of R&D roles including development and scale-up of production technology for organic, inorganic, polymer, and ceramic materials. He led pioneering rechargeable magnesium battery R&D and engaged in development of novel lithium ion battery and fuel cell-related technologies. Tom is currently a consultant specializing in chemical process analysis, design, and scale-up and electrochemical energy generation and storage. He is active in both AIChE and The Electrochemical Society and frequently serves on proposal review panels for the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy. He is the inventor or co-inventor on 16 U.S. and 42 foreign patents and has published or presented 25 papers in scientific journals and conferences.

Oliver is the global Subject Matter Expert for Advanced Energy Storage and Conversion at Stellantis where he is responsible for the energy storage and fuel cell systems technology roadmaps and architecture. He is a member of the United States Advanced Battery Consortium Technical Advisory Committee, and chairs several additional committees, including manufacturing, 12V Stop Start and 48V Mild Hybrid batteries. He holds both a BS and a Master’s Degree in Materials Science, for the University of Toronto. Oliver has over 25 years’ experience in the advanced energy storage industry. He currently holds over 10 patents, and more than 20 publications.

Data Scientist on Charging & Energy Solutions at Rivian developing AI-driven solutions for reducing costs and carbon emissions across fast charging infrastructure, home charging, and vehicle-to-grid technologies.

Dr. Habibi is the founder of EECOMOBILITY Inc., a Canadian start-up out of McMaster University. EECOMOBLTY specializes in AI software and has developed unique products for rapid characterization and production line testing of battery cells, modules, and pack. Dr. Habibi is also a Tier I Canada Research Chair and a full Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at McMaster University. He is the founder and the Director of the Centre for Mechatronics and Hybrid Technologies (CMHT). CHMT has created one of the most advanced and best-equipped automotive research laboratories in Canada and internationally specializing in battery characterization, testing, prognostics, and diagnostics. CMHT researchers have collaborated with industrial partners to design and commercialize unique test equipment that are sold internationally and have created unique testing and characterization capabilities. CMHT currently supports a number of large projects as well as being a resource to automotive companies and start-ups. Dr. Habibi is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineers (CSME).

Arindam is a specialist in cell chemistry, cell design, testing and application of novel materials, especially anodes for Li-ion batteries. He works as an application engineer in the world's only pure silicon anode manufacturer based in the Netherlands, where he works in integrating pure silicon anodes in batteries for CE, eVTOL, EV and wearables, working directly with customers and cell-makers. He has14 years of research experience in material science, biochemistry, microbiology and food science, including 11 years of research experience in chemical synthesis of materials for Ii-ion batteries.

Amanda Hall is the CEO and Founder of Summit Nanotech. Amanda spent years in the oil and gas industry and identified the opportunity to make a significant impact with clean energy. She is a graduate from University of Toronto - Trinity College with a BSc Biology major and a double minor in Physics and English. She later graduated from the University of Calgary with a BSc Geophysics and has a passion for the environment. Amanda is on the Advisory Board for Canadian Energy & Climate Nexus (CECN) and sits on the Board of the Chilean Clean Technology Institute. She is a mentor for Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists (CSEG) and contributes to the arts as a member of the Board of Directors for the Calgary Opera.

With experience in the battery industry for the past 10 years, Phil Hamilton has researched and tested various battery chemistries for both start-up material companies and established corporations in motive, ESS, and consumer electronic markets. As Senior Manager of Battery Characterization, he leads the Surface Battery Characterization Lab for Microsoft towards new chemistry qualifications and strategic performance explorations. His work focuses on the various applications of data science to create throughput and testing efficiencies as well as providing rich metadata for context-focused characterization.

Michael Harenbrock holds the position of Principal Expert, Electric Mobility at MANN+HUMMEL GmbH, a global leader in filtration solutions for the automotive industry. After receiving his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from WWU Münster in 1994, he worked in the chemical-pharmaceutical industry before joining MANN+HUMMEL in 1998 as Manager Materials Development Filter. Further positions in the company included Manager, Advanced Development Filtration Transportation and Manager, Advanced Development Electric Mobility & Fuel Cells. He has worked on fuel cell and battery projects since 2010. Through market and technology monitoring, he identifies the need for new innovative filtration solutions for Electric Mobility, and coordinates their related activities worldwide. International networking and collaboration in industry organizations are essential parts of his work. His passion is for Clean Transport – helping to protect man and environment from transport-related emissions.

Hatzell is an associate professor in mechanical and aerospace engineering and Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment.

Katherine He is an investor at TDK Ventures, spearheading extensive research and landscape development in energy-storage materials and battery technologies. With a broad spectrum of expertise, she delves into battery startups developing next-gen battery materials, advanced manufacturing, recycling and mining, and electrification solutions across various applications. Katherine plays a pivotal role in supporting investments in AM Batteries, Ascend Elements, Novalith, and Peak Energy. Prior to TDK Ventures, she was a senior battery engineer at Nanoramic focusing on high energy density lithium-ion battery materials and electrode processing. Before that, Katherine led several research projects funded by DOE and NSF to commercialize lab scale innovations. Katherine holds a Ph.D. in materials science, boasts 12 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, and is the Managing Editor and co-founder of the Volta Foundation, the world's largest community of battery professionals.

A proven track record of driving commercial growth across the battery, energy storage, and advanced materials sectors, I bring deep experience in sales leadership, business development, and strategic market expansion.

Dr. Subra Herle is the Chief Technology Officer of Elevated Materials, a company developing ultra-thin lithium metal materials for next-generation batteries. With over two decades of experience in lithium-ion and lithium metal technologies, he previously led lithium metal development at Applied Materials, advancing the program from concept to pilot-scale commercialization. Earlier in his career at Panasonic, he developed advanced materials for lithium-ion batteries. Dr. Herle holds a Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Science and has authored over 20 publications and holds more than 25 patents in energy storage technologies.

Mindi Hertzog is a Global Team Leader & Senior International Trade Specialist at the U.S. Commercial Service, International Trade Administration. Mindi covers a range of sectors including Energy, Environmental Tech, & Healthcare. She spent 2015-2017 in São Paulo, Brazil serving as a Foreign Commercial Service Officer and Digital Attaché. Before joining the Department of Commerce in 2013, Mindi built a distinguished career spanning science, international trade, and strategic advisory roles across the public and private sectors. She previously served with the Government of British Columbia and spent six years as Vice Consul at UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) in Los Angeles, where she supported transatlantic investment and commercial partnerships, and advanced strategic trade relationships across key sectors.In addition, Mindi founded and led her own consulting practice, advising energy and technology companies on external affairs, market entry strategy, stakeholder engagement, regulatory positioning, and business development. Through her firm, she worked closely with executive leadership teams to shape growth strategies, strengthen government and industry relationships, and secure new commercial opportunities in competitive global markets.Mindi began her career in biomedical research, conducting cancer research at The Wistar Institute at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and at Harvard University. She later served as a Scientist at GreenFuel Technologies Corporation in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she worked at the intersection of biotechnology and energy innovation.Mindi possesses an Executive MBA from the University of California – Los Angeles, Anderson School of Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Cedar Crest College in Allentown, PA.

Kevin Hettrich serves as Chief Financial Officer at QuantumScape (NASDAQ: QS), a pioneer in solid-state lithium-metal battery technology for electric vehicles. Over his 14-year tenure, Kevin has led product and operations management before assuming the CFO role seven years ago, guiding QuantumScape through its public listing in 2020. He holds an M.S. in Earth Sciences and an MBA from Stanford University, and his prior experience includes consulting at McKinsey & Company and private equity at Bain Capital. Kevin is also the inventor on 10 issued patents related to battery cell and system design.

Gustavo M. Hobold is the CTO of Elementium Materials. Elementium is reshaping the battery landscape by developing ultra-high performance low cost drop-in electrolytes that mitigate the failure mechanisms of legacy carbonate-based electrolytes and unlock the next generation of battery chemistries. We are supporting over 40+ customer pilots across the globe across all lithium and sodium cell chemistries. Gustavo obtained his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), from which he received the ECS Battery Division Student Research Award. His work focuses on electrolyte discovery for next-generation rechargeable batteries that can replace carbonate-based electrolytes at scale and enable emerging battery materials with no trade-offs in performance. His research has resulted in the development of new classes of electrolytes and a series of experimental high-throughput techniques for electrolyte screening and characterization.

For nearly a decade, Ken Hoffman led McKinsey's global battery value chain work from capital raising and strategy advice to go-to-market work. He has assisted top private equity firms on more than 100 due diligence projects. Today, Ken sits on the Board of NEO Battery Materials, serves as an advisor to the CEOs of Pure Lithium and IBC Advanced Technologies, and is the commodity strategist for Canada's Redcloud Securities. He has been a keynote speaker at PDAC, Future Minerals Forum, FastMarkets, AABC, NAATBATT, LME, SMM, etc., as well as on the advisory Board for "The Battery Show". He was asked by the Chamber of Commerce forum in Washington, DC, to talk about batteries to more than 300 global CEO's. Before McKinsey, Ken had worked in financial markets as a portfolio manager and director of research among other roles.

Dave Howell is the Acting Director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) with responsibility for the Department’s $400 million advanced vehicle R&D portfolio. He has over 35 years of experience planning and executing complex, multi-disciplined R&D activities that includes hybrid and electric vehicle R&D, advanced battery research and manufacturing, and advanced structural materials research. Dave serves as DOE’s representative to the United States Advanced Battery Consortium Management Committee, the Executive Committee for the Battery500 Research Consortium, and various international and inter-government forums. He is the Chair of the recently chartered Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries (FCAB). FCAB brings Federal agencies having a stake in establishing a domestic supply of lithium batteries together to accelerate the development of a robust secure domestic industrial base and ecosystem for advanced batteries.

James Hoxey is a commercial and strategy leader in advanced electrification with 15+ years’ experience delivering battery programmes for BMW, Anglo American and McLaren, as well as advisory roles spanning automotive, aerospace and defence. Formerly Head of Business Development at Williams Advanced Engineering (now Fortescue Zero), he has shaped multi-sector programmes from high-performance automotive to megawatt-scale systems, bridging technology, supply chain, and market adoption.

Mr. Luke Hu co-founded Electroder, a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer focuses on battery cell design and development. He is currently focusing on building the company's global business and advising Electroder's clients in planning and executing electrode and cell assembly development projects. Mr. Hu has been leading his team completing various cell R&D projects, developing advanced design tools, and building new cell development process. Under his leadership, Electroder joined the Global Battery Alliance as its first member focusing on battery design and development in 2022. Before co-founding Electroder, Mr. Hu had a decade of experience in manufacturing and technology and held a variety of management roles globally. Mr. Hu graduated with an MBA degree from Cornell University and a bachelor’s degree of engineering from Beijing University of Technology.

Dr. Qichao Hu (Ph.D.), Founder and CEO of SES AI, leads a battery trailblazer dedicated to developing next-gen high-performance Li-Metal and Li-ion batteries and the intelligent material discovery service platform, Molecular Universe (MU). Harnessing the power of AI at its core, SES AI is driving the creation of ‘superintelligent' AI that bring unparalleled advancements in battery innovations —from materials discovery to battery health monitoring and prediction platform—propelling the evolution of electric mobility. Under Qichao’s leadership, SES AI marked a milestone as the first in the world to introduce 100Ah Li-metal cells and the first to enter into automotive A-sample and B-sample joint development agreements with major global OEMs.

Wenjiao Huang is a Principal Battery Data Scientist at Fluence. With a PhD in Chemical Engineering and a Master's in Computer Science, she specializes in applying machine learning and battery physics to improve battery performance, predict life trajectories, and advance safety diagnostics, especially in BESS.

Wenxiao Huang is the Co-Founder and CEO of Feon Energy, a Boston-based battery technology company developing an end-to-end AI platform for molecule design and performance prediction to accelerate next-generation, non-flammable electrolytes. He previously led battery R&D and system engineering at EnerVenue and conducted postdoctoral research at Stanford University.

Danny Huh is the Senior Vice President of Strategy and Operations at NEO Battery Materials. He heads strategic partnerships, corporate finance, and go-to-market strategy of the Company’s high-performance, customized battery solutions for drone, robotics, and physical AI. With an extensive range of industry experience, he has had both public and private company experience in agricultural technology, pharmaceutical and medical devices, chemical material development, and renewable energy.

David Hynek is a Senior Associate at Third Derivative, where he leads research on technology verticals in the industrial and energy sectors. He sources and evaluates startups for D3's portfolio and develops investment frameworks that help the organization's investor and corporate partners identify high-impact climate solutions. David holds a PhD in Materials Science from Yale University.

In my capacities as a professor, author and President of Boston Strategies International, I help asset owners, investors and operators of strategic power and transport projects achieve lowest total supply chain cost, considering risk, risk and agility. My clients have included the US Department of Transportation, the US Department of Energy, Mercedes-Benz, BP, Saudi Aramco, BASF, Alcoa, Iberdrola, Vattenfall, FedEx, UPS, CSX, Maersk, Iron Mountain, Siemens, Raytheon, Valeo, and the City of New York, to name a few. I teach Operations Management, Supply Chain Management, and Decarbonizing Global Supply Chains at NYU’s graduate business and engineering schools and at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton business school and graduate environmental studies program, and I've written eight books on supply chain, operations management, and supply chain decarbonization. Occasionally I help to mediate operations-related contracts, claims and disputes.

Sam Jaffe is the VP of business development and product at Mana Battery. He has been in the battery industry for two decades as an analyst, a consultant, and an executive. He was previously the founder and managing director of Cairn ERA, a company acquired by E Source in 2021. Prior to that he worked at Navigant and before that at IDC Energy Insights. He has also worked at 1019 Technologies and Addionics. He is the author of two books, Jewish Wisdom for Business Success and The New Korea, and lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Dr. Judy Jeevarajan is the Vice President and Executive Director for the Electrochemical Safety Research Institute (ESRI) at UL Research Institutes (ULRI). With more than 27 years of experience in the area of batteries and a primary focus on the lithium-ion chemistry, she specializes in battery safety research, including safety trends in aged lithium-ion cells and modules, thermal runaway propagation in lithium battery systems, characterizing fire and fire suppressants for lithium-ion batteries, and consumer battery safety. Dr. Jeevarajan serves in the Technical Working Group for standards organizations such as UL Standards & Engagement (ULSE), Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)/Society of Aerospace Engineers (SAE), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and American National Standards Institute (ANSI). From 1998 until 2003, Dr. Jeevarajan worked for Lockheed Martin Space Operations at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. In 2003, she started her work as a NASA civil servant, serving as the Group Lead for Battery Safety and Advanced Technology. Dr. Jeevarajan has several awards to her credit, including the noteworthy NASA Exceptional Service Medal and NASA-NESC Engineering Excellence Award. She has been an active advocate of battery safety at meetings and conferences. She has also authored or co-authored several book chapters, including the “Battery Safety” chapter in Elsevier’s publication titled “Safety Design for Space Systems” in March 2009 (first edition) and July 2023 (second edition), and the “Managing of Risk by Manufacturers of Consumer Equipment” chapter in Elsevier’s “Electrochemical Power Sources: Fundamentals, Systems, and Applications” in September 2018. She continues to contribute to many journal publications and articles. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry (Electrochemistry) from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa (1995) and holds a Master of Science in Chemistry from the University of Notre Dame (1991).

Dr. Meng Jiang is a staff researcher at GM R&D and the chair of the technical advisory committee at USABC. She received her Ph.D in chemistry from Stony Brook University and has 20 years of experience in lithium ion battery research and development.

Paige is a founder and visionary with a hungry mind and a commitment to new ideas. Her scientific endeavors were sparked by the gift of a microscope for her 11th birthday and led her to a master’s degree in Chemistry and at least one patent granted at every place she ever worked. She founded Ten-Nine Technologies in 2014, with the realization that “I had been founding things my whole life, really, always taking a new approach or launching a new program.” Paige’s principals of curiosity, generosity and authenticity are the basis for Ten-Nine’s culture. In her spare time, she explores urban design—from the atomic gardens of the 1960s to children’s playgrounds—and helps formerly incarcerated women start their small businesses via her non-profit, the Gilded Sparrows. Paige has chosen to build and grow Ten-Nine in her hometown of Tulsa and hopes more high-tech businesses will blossom in their founders’ backyards.

Dr. Nathan B. Johnson completed his Doctorate in Chemical Engineering under Dr. Paul Albertus at University of Maryland, College Park in Spring 2023, and his Postdoc at Sandia National Laboratories under Dr. Loraine Torres-Castro and Dr. Alex M. Bates in January 2025. Since then, he has worked as a Senior Member of Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories in the Power Sources R&D organization. For the last 7 years, he has worked on safety, reliability, and diagnostics for a wide variety of primary and rechargeable battery chemistries from the materials-scale up to the pack-level. His primary focus is developing a predictive battery safety testing method through coupling materials-scale tests with numerical modeling.

Jeff Johnson has nearly 25 years of investment, entrepreneurship and corporate experience across climate and technology. Jeff is a General Partner at the global multi-stage investment firm B Capital where he leads the firm’s growing climate investment team. He most recently served as a Managing Director at Temasek leading the sustainable investing team for the global investment firm. Prior to Temasek, Jeff ran a boutique advisory business focused on scaling of sustainable businesses. He also co-founded and was on the Board of Xpansiv, the world's leading provider of market infrastructure for environmental commodities. Jeff worked in innovation business development at ABB between 2012 to 2014, leading growth initiatives for new sustainable products and services. Earlier in his career, he held several leadership and business development roles at various companies, including Better Place, Vendavo, and Intel Corporation. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from University of Florida and a Master of Science in Engineering Systems from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Maurice Johnson has over 28 years of experience in product safety and compliance within the energy storage industry. He is currently serving as Sr. Product Manager for energy storage systems, motive and stationary batteries, fuel cell systems and Industrial Mobility at UL Solutions. He is responsible for establishing and supporting the product vision for the global Batteries & ESS segment, in concert with developing core and new product strategy. In this role, he supports and contributes to the go-to-market strategy for energy storage systems and batteries. He is also responsible for the application of technical requirements and standards to products certified within his areas of expertise. Maurice is a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff of the William Henry Merrill Society, and the Regional Lead Reviewer for Fuel Cells and Land Vehicle Inverters/Converters.

Paige Johnson is the founder and CEO of Tulsa-based Ten-Nine Technologies. Her background spans energy, chemistry, and nanotechnology across industry and academia, with a career marked by innovation and multiple patents. She founded Ten-Nine in 2014 to create new materials for emerging economies. Today, the company is commercializing breakthrough materials for the energy and chemical industries, including its proprietary nano-additive, TENIX®, the only new material addressing cathode performance limitations and produced domestically with a carbon-neutral footprint.

Jacob Jonker is Executive General Manager – Commercial at Syrah Resources, a leading vertically integrated producer of natural graphite and Active Anode Material (AAM) for lithium-ion batteries. In an era of intensifying focus on supply chain resilience, Syrah offers EV OEMs and battery producers a proven path to diversification—delivering high-quality natural graphite from its world-class Balama operation in Mozambique, processed into battery-grade AAM at its Vidalia facility in Louisiana, USA. This vertically integrated approach provides secure, traceable and ESG certified domestic US supply, supporting North American electrification goals. With over 25 years of experience in natural resources, mining, and the renewable energy transition, Jacob has held senior executive roles at major global miners (including Rio Tinto), emerging developers with large-scale projects (Riversdale Mining and Syrah Resources), and energy transition startups (as Managing Director and co-founder of Direct Infrastructure). His expertise spans project development, corporate strategy (M&A and joint ventures), marketing, and commercial operations across Australia, North America, Africa, and Asia. Jacob is a qualified engineer passionate about building sustainable graphite supply chains to accelerate the global shift to electrification and decarbonisation.

Christiaan Jordaan is Founder & CEO of Sicona Battery Technologies, a cleantech company pioneering silicon-composite anode materials to supercharge lithium-ion battery performance. With a background in commercial law and corporate finance, he transitioned into resources and energy, co-founding a mining & exploration company operating in Southern Africa and later serving as MD of ASX-listed ventures before co-founding Sicona in 2019. Under his leadership, Sicona has raised $52m from local and global investors and strategics to scale its silicon-metal anode technology globally. Christiaan is driven by a vision to commercialise scalable, cost-effective battery materials that boost energy density, accelerate charging, and enable higher performance mobility solutions and battery powered devices.

Dr. Jungjohann joined NREL in 2021, after starting her career within DOE’s Nanoscale Science Research Centers, including the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies and the Center for Functional Nanomaterials. Her research began with liquid-cell scanning / transmission electron microscopy (S/TEM) of nanoparticle synthesis and catalytic nanoparticles. During her tenure at Sandia National Laboratories, she worked heavily on Li-metal anode characterization using in-situ electrochemical S/TEM and cryogenic electron microscopy methods. Dr. Jungjohann supported research on an array of user projects that required in-situ S/TEM (electrical biasing, electrochemistry, heating, heating in liquids, cryogenic temperatures, straining, and environmental TEM). She now supports her group as a manger in providing advanced multiscale and multimodal microscopy and imaging characterization to NREL and NREL’s collaborators.

Karthik Kadirvel is the Director of Battery Engineering and Technologies at Reality Lab in Meta. His team is responsible for designing, qualifying, and mass producing batteries for AI glasses, mixed reality headsets, controllers, and neural input devices. He is also responsible for defining the battery technology roadmap for new chemistries, form factors, and algorithms.

Niloofar Kamyab is an applications manager at COMSOL, with a specialized focus on electrochemistry, including batteries and fuel cells. She received her PhD in chemical engineering from the University of South Carolina, where her research focused on the mathematical modeling of battery systems.

In 2007, Genyo Kaneko joined Hitachi Maxell, Ltd. (Maxell, Ltd.), as a member of Design of Primary batteries. From 2016 to 2017, he was transferred to the development department, engaged in the design and development of Lithium-free Safety button-type rechargeable batteries, and improve their pretreatment process. Since 2022, he joined Maxell Corporation of America, as a Chief Engineer, Energy Products Division OEM Battery Group.

Sungkwon Kang is a Director with LG Technology Ventures. Sungkwon has held various roles within LG Group, including global business development at LG Chem and open innovation and business development at LG Technology Center of America. Sungkwon was also a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group. Sungkwon received his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Cornell University and B.S. in mechanical engineering and applied computational mathematics from Virginia Tech.

James Kaschmitter is the CEO of SpectraPower, which he founded in 2002. SpectraPower operates a battery research facility in Livermore, CA that performs contract energy storage research, consulting and expert witness services for government, private companies, law firms, startups and investors. Jim has founded, or co-founded, several companies in the energy storage field. He began research in Li-ion batteries in 1989 at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). He was co-founder and CEO of PolyStor Corporation starting in 1993. PolyStor is the only U.S. company to have commercially manufactured in high volume in the U.S. all form factors of lithium-ion cells, including cylindrical, prismatic and polymer. In 1997 Jim founded PowerStor Corporation to commercialize the carbon aerogel supercapacitor that he co-invented at LLNL. PowerStor supercapacitors are now manufactured and sold in high volume by Eaton Bussman. He founded UltraCell in 2002, which successfully developed the world’s first reformed methanol micro fuel cell. UltraCell’s micro fuel cells are currently manufactured and sold by Brentronics and are deployed with U.S military and intelligence units, and are in use in combat in the Middle East. Jim holds a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and has a bachelor’s degree in the Physics Honors Program from the University of Utah. He holds more than 20 patents in the alternative energy field. He owns, maintains and operates an experimental aircraft and holds instrument and multi-engine ratings.

Dr. Brandon Kelly is the Chief Scientist at Peak Energy, leading the scientific strategy and industrialization roadmap for sodium-ion battery systems. With a Ph.D. from Colorado State University and a career defined by leading cell engineering at Solid Power and Peak Energy, Brandon specializes in the transition of lab-scale innovations into industrial-grade products. He currently oversees the long-term technical direction and development systems that ensure the performance, reliability, and manufacturability of Peak Energy’s domestic battery solutions.

Ms. King leads Advanced Battery Strategy for LEAP Manufacturing, supporting government, startups, and academia through the BEACONS project at the University of Texas, Dallas. She is a Chemical Engineer, with over 30 years experience in cell development, and has held leadership roles at Northvolt, Stanley Black & Decker, and Teledyne.

Dr. Raimund Koerver is the VP of Business Development at Factorial Energy, where he leads strategic partnerships, fundraising, and go-to-market strategy for solid-state battery technology in the automotive and aviation industries. Before joining Factorial, Raimund was a specialist in solid-state batteries at BMW’s Battery Cell Competence Center in Munich, where he contributed to advancing next-generation battery cell development for future electric vehicles. With over a decade of experience in next-generation battery technology, Raimund holds a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Justus-Liebig University in Giessen, specializing in sulfide solid-state batteries in the lab of Prof. Jürgen Janek. His research and technical contributions have resulted in multiple patents in advanced battery technology.

Mr. Konecky brings over 20 years of xEV experience to his work, having worked on multiple complex designs for battery system development, charging system integration, and high-voltage powertrain integration. He is skilled in new product design and development, product testing, product safety, integration of multiple sub-systems for vehicles, new product launches and has expanded his skillset beyond batteries into power electronics. His experience in batteries includes multiple technologies (Li-ion, NiMH, UltraCapacitors, Lead-Acid). Mr. Konecky has worked for multiple OEM and Tier 1 battery suppliers (GM, Fisker, Byton, Cobasys, EnerDel, Lockheed Martin) and has a BS in Electrical Engineering from Clarkson University (Potsdam, NY) and MS from Purdue (IUPUI - Indianapolis, IN).

Dr. Rajan Kumar is a nanoengineering expert and entrepreneur specializing in polymer–particle composites and advanced manufacturing. He earned his Ph.D. in Nanoengineering with a focus on composite materials from leading programs at UC San Diego and SUNY Albany. His doctoral research focused on thin-film materials for energy-harvesting, storage, and sensing applications.

Dr. Kumar has led multiple multi-million-dollar research and development programs supported by the National Science Foundation, ARPA-E, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, and Fortune 500 companies. He is the founder of multiple deep-tech startups, including Glauconix and the company behind the world’s first printed, stretchable battery.

He is currently the Founder and CEO of Ateios Systems, a leader in solvent-free battery electrode manufacturing. Under his leadership, Ateios became one of the first battery startups to ship production-grade components with under $3 million in venture capital, while securing over $5 million in non-dilutive funding. Dr. Kumar has been recognized by the Forbes Next 1000 list and as a DOE LEEP Fellow through the Innovation Crossroads program.

Dr. Simran Kumari is a Senior Research Scientist at Nissan North America, where she leads the development of next-generation cathode materials and advanced algorithms for Battery Management Systems (BMS). With a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from UCLA, her work focuses on leveraging AI, simulation, and predictive health modeling to enhance the performance and safety of lithium-based battery technologies. Dr. Kumari has authored numerous publications in top-tier journals and holds several patents related to battery chemistry and electrolyte formulations, bridging the gap between fundamental materials science and practical system-level applications.

Dr. Joshua Lamb is currently the manager of the Power Sources R&D organization at Sandia National Laboratories. Before this, he has been on assignment from Sandia National Laboratories where he primarily led the energy storage safety program. Dr. Lamb earned his Ph.D. in Metallurgical Engineering in 2008 and his B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 2002 from the University of Nevada. Since joining Sandia in 2011, Joshua’s research interests include advanced techniques for determining the stability of lithium-ion batteries and the development of advanced battery abuse and safety tests.

Recognized for more than 25 years of developing and commercializing lithium-ion batteries, Dr. Christina Lampe-Onnerud is Founder and CEO of Cadenza Innovation, a growth-stage company transforming energy storage for grid, EV, commercial and industrial, and urban battery deployments. Previously, Dr. Lampe-Onnerud was Founder, CEO, and International Chairman of Boston-Power, a battery company providing products to the consumer electronics, transportation, and other end markets. Earlier in her career, Dr. Lampe-Onnerud held executive positions with Bridgewater Associates and Arthur D. Little, where she led the world’s largest non-captive battery lab. A two-time World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer and former co-chair of its Global Future Councils, Dr. Lampe-Onnerud is a co-chair of Li-Bridge, a public-private alliance convened by the U.S. Department of Energy to accelerate the creation of a robust domestic manufacturing base and supply chain for lithium-based batteries. She is also a former board director with the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology (NY-BEST) Consortium, a coalition working to build a vibrant, world-class, advanced battery and energy storage sector in New York State. Dr. Lampe-Onnerud holds a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Uppsala University, Sweden, conducted post-doctoral work at MIT and currently sits on MIT’s Chemistry Department Visiting Committee.

Niclas Lehnert is the Co-Founder and Chief Operations Officer of PULSETRAIN, a startup pioneering AI-driven battery systems that enhance performance, safety, and sustainability in electric mobility. With a background spanning finance, military leadership, and entrepreneurship, Niclas combines strategic insight with operational excellence to drive innovation in powertrain technology. His leadership has been recognized through multiple awards, including the Innovation World Cup and the SZ Summit, and he actively contributes to the global mobility conversation as a TEDx speaker and participates in the RESPOND programme by the BMW Foundation.

Joseph Lehnes, Ph.D., is a Principal Scientist at Integer with 25 years of experience in medical battery research and development. He holds a doctorate in Inorganic Chemistry and has contributed extensively to advancing battery technologies for critical medical applications. Throughout his career, Joseph has worked on a range of chemistries, including Li-Iodine, CFx, SVO, QHR, and QMR. He also served as the technical lead for the development of next-generation G2CFx and G2Q technologies, driving innovation and performance improvements in implantable power solutions. His expertise and leadership have been instrumental in shaping Integer’s primary battery technology portfolio and supporting life-saving medical devices worldwide.

Dr. Eli Leland is a Voltaiq co-founder and serves as the company’s Chief Technical Officer. Prior to Voltaiq, Eli worked at the CUNY Energy Institute as lead engineer on an ARPA-E energy storage and power conversion research project. Before CUNY, Dr. Leland worked at Trilogy Software, where he successfully deployed large-scale enterprise software systems to Fortune 500 companies. He was a Mirzayan Policy Fellow in Energy and Environmental Systems at the National Academies in Washington, DC. Eli has an MS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley, and a BSE in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton.

Victor Gin He Leong is a Senior Battery Cell Engineer at Lucid Motors, where he leads efforts in advancing lithium-ion cell performance for next-generation electric vehicles. He holds an M.S. in Materials Science from UC Davis and a B.S. in Materials Engineering from San Jose State University. Victor’s background includes research and development roles at QuantumScape and UC Davis, with published work on solid-electrolyte interphase design and advanced cathode materials. His expertise spans battery characterization, failure analysis, and materials innovation for high-performance energy storage.

Greg Less is Director of the U-M Battery Lab, responsible for the day-to-day operations of the facility. Greg received a doctorate in Chemistry from U-M. Prior to founding the Battery Lab, he was a UM research scientist and worked at battery companies T/J Technologies and A123 Systems.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Weihan Li is a Junior Professor in Artificial Intelligence and Digitalization for Batteries at RWTH Aachen University, where he leads a research group within the Center for Ageing, Reliability, and Lifetime Prediction of Electrochemical and Power Electronic Systems (CARL). He completed his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology with summa cum laude at RWTH Aachen in 2021, after earning an M.Sc. in Automotive Engineering and Transport in 2017. Prof. Li’s research focuses on leveraging artificial intelligence and physics to drive digitalization in battery technology. He has conducted research at renowned institutions such as Imperial College London and MIT. With over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, numerous patents, and more than €6M in research funding from sources including the BMBF, BMWK, BMDV, EU, and industry partners, his work has garnered international recognition. Prof. Li has received prestigious honors, including the Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher 2024, the BMBF BattFutur Starting Grant (€2M+), the German Thesis Award from the Körber Foundation, the Reichart Prize, the vgbe Innovation Prize, the Battery Young Research Award, the Umbrella Award, and the RWTH Innovation Award, etc.

Dr. Yun (April) Li is a Senior Battery Development Engineer at Microsoft, where she leads cell-level innovation in battery technologies to meet the performance demands of Surface and Windows-based consumer devices. Her work focuses on developing new battery architectures and advancing high-power, high-energy solutions for next-gen consumer electronics. She earned her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Washington in 2019, with research spanning materials development and characterization for aqueous Zn-MnOâ‚‚, Li-S, and Solid-State Li-ion battery systems. April also serves as the Chair of the Electrochemical Society (ECS), Pacific Northwest Section, where she supports technical outreach and fosters community engagement in electrochemical science.

Yuandan Li leads Battery Reliability Engineering for Google's multiple product categories: Pixel phone, watch, tablet, and Nest smart home devices. She is keen in evaluating potential battery risks early to inform module design and system integration even before the first system prototype build. Prior to Google, Yuandan contributed to MacBook battery reliability at Apple and tool reliability at Baker Hughes. She holds a PhD in Reliability Engineering from the University of Maryland and a BS in Engineering Physics from Tsinghua University.

Brad Li serves as President of Sineng Americas, a global leader in PV inverters, energy storage, digital power, and integrated power plant solutions. He leads regional strategy, operations, and market expansion, driving brand positioning, commercial growth, and long-term strategic partnerships across the Americas. With more than 20 years of international executive leadership in energy, power electronics, and AI-driven infrastructure, Brad has delivered transformative growth for global technology enterprises. Prior to Sineng, Brad was President of Ampace Americas, a CATL–ATL joint venture and world-leading battery company, where he built and scaled the regional business from inception. He established a resilient supply chain and distribution platform for advanced energy storage solutions, led flagship BESS deployments across C&I and utility-scale markets, and spearheaded AI data center infrastructure initiatives integrating storage with next-generation digital power systems. Earlier, as President of LONGi Green Energy Americas, he launched the Western Hemisphere’s largest solar panel manufacturing facility, accelerating regional supply chain localization and strengthening energy independence. Before entering renewable energy, Brad served as CEO of ZTE North America, guiding the company’s rise to become the region’s second-largest telecom equipment supplier and reinforcing its leadership in large-scale infrastructure deployment. Brad holds an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis, a Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Northwestern Polytechnical University, and a Business Law Certification from Cornell University. Brad was recognized as one of Forbes China’s 2024 “Go-International Pioneers Top 30,” honoring his leadership in scaling global enterprises and advancing international technology expansion. A frequent keynote speaker, Brad contributes to industry forums shaping the future of clean energy and digital power infrastructure.

Pursued PhD research on solid electrolytes at Columbia University from 1989 to 1993, which laid a solid foundation for my career. With over 30 years of dedication to the rechargeable battery industry, I have worked at three world-renowned international firms. My career spans from R&D of Ni-MH and Lithium-ion batteries to sales and product marketing, allowing me to witness the industry's remarkable growth and devote my passion fully to this field.

Dr. Paul Lichty is the co-founder and CEO of Forge Nano - a materials science company that optimizes material performance to enable better battery and semiconductor products. Dr. Lichty invented the method of high throughput material surface engineering (atomic layer deposition, or ALD) that enables Forge Nano to coat materials with protective and performance-enhancing layers at the atomic level. Dr. Lichty founded Forge Nano as a spin out from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2011 and has since raised upwards of $100M from Volkswagen, LG, Mitsui Kinzoku, Sumitomo and more. Forge Nano's book of business is expansive with partnerships with leading lithium-ion cell manufacturers, battery material production companies and semiconductor manufacturers. Dr. Lichty has a broad technical background with over half a dozen patents to his name. He received his PhD in Chemical Engineering and bachelor’s Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado.

Victor Lifton is a Technical Director for Evonik Corporation in Piscataway, NJ, where he is responsible for supporting the use of novel metal oxides additives in Li-ion battery manufacturing, amongst other industrial applications. He has been with Evonik Corporation for 14 years and prior to that he worked for a start-up in the LiB space and at Bell Laboratories developing microelectronic and energy storage devices. He has a Ph.D. degree from Stevens Institute of Technology in Materials Science.

Janet Lin is the Senior Vice President of Strategy for the Mobility Energy Business Division within Panasonic Energy Company. Lin is charged with global strategy and expansion for Panasonic’s electric vehicle battery business. Lin joined Panasonic in 2015 and led the strategy and corporate development function for Panasonic’s clean energy solutions platform in North America. Prior to Panasonic, Lin was previously with independent energy and environment analyst firm Verdantix, where she founded the U.S. office and served as Chief of Research. Lin’s public sector experience includes the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s Administration, where she served as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Housing and Economic Development. Lin began her career as a software engineer at Raytheon and SensAble Technologies, a company spun out of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Lin earned an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management, where she directed the MIT Clean Energy Prize, and an AB from Brown University.

Tongchao Liu is currently a chemist in the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division at Argonne National Laboratory. He received his PhD degree from Peking University. His research interests are focused on the interface of electrochemistry, cathode materials, and materials characterization, in particular, concentration gradient cathode design and fundamental understanding of failure chemistries through in situ synchrotron-based X-ray techniques. He is currently serving as editor in the high-impact journals of Nano Energy and Materials Today Energy.

Dr. Haodong Liu is co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Tyfast. He is also Activate Fellow, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Before Tyfast, he was Project Scientist at UCSD’s Center for Memory and Recording Research. He is an expert in a variety of the electrochemical systems, from design, synthesis, processing, and characterization of advanced electrode materials for LIB and novel electrolytes for Li-metal batteries. He published more than 120 papers with more than 10,000 citations and 7 patents. He is the co-inventor of the disordered rocksalt lithium vanadium oxide anode material, the core technology of Tyfast.

Michael heads thought leadership as Director of Research & Insights at Volta Foundation. Prior to Volta, Michael spent his career in industry specializing in battery cell design, materials development, and high-volume manufacturing. He led technical commercialization efforts of next generation silicon anode materials for Panasonic and accompanying OEMs in his last role at Sila Nanotechnologies. Additionally, Michael draws on his experiences from previous roles in cell engineering at Apple–delivering batteries from clean sheet to multi-million unit production for numerous product lines. Michael holds a BS and MS of Materials Science & Engineering from UC Berkeley and Georgia Tech, respectively, and was advised by Prof. Gleb Yushin.

Product Engineer of Battery Test System for more than 7 years.

Mr. Lu graduated from Department of Business Administration in National Cheng-chi University, Taiwan, and continued to acquire an MBA degree from National Sun Yat-sen University. His first job concerned with the optical film in China for two years, then came back Taiwan to serve Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) as an analyst in Industry, Science and Technology International Strategy Center (ISTI) until now. As a certified industrial analyst of the biggest think-tank in Taiwan, he is responsible for the research about Taiwan battery-related industry, including material, cell, pack and related applications. Not only handling the official government statistics about Taiwan battery industry, sometimes he also plays a role to provide consulting suggestions for Taiwan government and firms. From 2010 to June 2020, he served as the secretary-general of the Taiwan Battery Association.

Christopher currently leads industrial hygiene programs across several Tesla, Inc. facilities including LFP Battery Manufacturing, Cell Recycling/GFNV, and SEMI Factory in Sparks, NV, and the Megafactories in Lathrop, CA and Houston, TX. With more than eight years of experience in heavy-production and high-volume manufacturing settings, he excels at translating complex chemical and physical exposure data into strategic, risk mitigating recommendations—enabling a safe and healthy work environment for employees. Prior to his tenure at Tesla, Christopher worked as an industrial hygienist/chemical engineer at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, WA, where he honed his skills in hazard recognition, exposure assessment, and control-strategy implementation in a rigorous operational environment. He also proudly serves as an Officer in the Army National Guard, bringing discipline, leadership and real-world operational experience to his profession in occupational health.

Dr. Jessica Durham Macholz is The Critical Materials Program Lead for the Applied Materials Division at Argonne National Laboratory. She received her PhD in Chemistry from Stony Brook University in 2016 and joined Argonne as a postdoc in 2017. Jessica works in Argonne's Materials Engineering Research Facility (MERF) developing cost-effective processes for recovering and recycling critical materials. She is a lead investigator in DOE’s ReCell Center for advanced battery recycling where she investigates safe and cost-effective recycling processes for lithium-ion batteries, specifically with respect to cell pre-processing, cathode/anode separation, cathode/cathode separation, extraction of critical materials from waste streams, and investigating the effect of impurities in recycled material. She is also the co-lead for Extraction and Separations in DOE's Minerals to Materials Supply Chain Research Facility (METALLIC). Jessica’s research currently focuses on developing and validating recovery and recycling technologies and conducting process R&D and scale-up of materials through collaborations with industry, academia, and other national laboratories.

David Mackanic is the CEO and co-founder of Anthro Energy. David received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University. He is listed on Forbes 30 under 30 and MIT’s 35 Innovators under 35 for his work on polymer electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries. David has authored over 20 academic papers with over 4,500 citations total. David has served as CEO of Anthro from inception through recent milestones including raising a $20M Series A and obtaining UN 38.3 certification of cells containing Anthro technology.

Alex Manoloff leads up Barclays’ efforts to cover the battery industry, within the Investment Bank’s Energy Transition Group. She covers battery companies across the value chain ranging from materials processing, through active material, cell manufacturing and assembly. Before covering the battery space, Alex covered various aspects of climate technology, healthcare and leveraged finance within investment banking, and prior to that she worked in various government positions including NASA. She holds a Bachelor of Science & Engineering from Princeton University.

Arumugam Manthiram is the George T. and Gladys H. Abell Endowed Chair of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin). He served as the Director of Texas Materials Institute at UT-Austin for 11 years during 2011–2022. After receiving his PhD in chemistry from Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 1981 and working as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford and at UT-Austin, he became a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UT-Austin in 1991. He has authored more than 1,000 journal articles with 144,000 citations and an h-index of 184. He has mentored 300 students and postdoctoral researchers, including the graduation of 81 PhD students. Dr. Manthiram is an elected Fellow of seven profession societies. He is a recipient of University of Texas Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award (one university-wide award per year, 2012), Electrochemical Society Battery Division Research Award (2014), Distinguished Alumnus Award of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (2015), Billy and Claude R. Hocott Distinguished Centennial Engineering Research Award (2016), Honorary Mechanical Engineer of the ME Academy of Distinguished Alumni Award (2019), Electrochemical Society Henry B. Linford Award for Distinguished Teaching (2020), International Battery Materials Association Research Award (2020), Electrochemical Society Battery Division Technology Award (2021), John B. Goodenough Award of the Electrochemical Society (2023), International Battery Materials Association Yeager Award for Lifetime Achievement (2024), and Electrochemical Society Olin Palladium Award (2025). He delivered the 2019 Chemistry Nobel Prize Lecture in Stockholm on behalf of Professor John Goodenough.

Dr. Mao, graduated from Tsinghua University, was mentored by Academician Cheng Jinpei — former Vice Minister of China’s Ministry of Science and Technology. With long-standing expertise in lithium battery materials research, he/she has published numerous papers in top-tier journals including JACS, JOC, Chemical Science, Journal of Power Sources, and Advanced Energy Materials. He/she has successfully developed and mass-produced 10 types of additives, filed over 60 invention patents (16 granted). Recognized for outstanding achievements, he/she was named Zhuhai High-Level Talent and awarded the 1st Young Researcher Award in Lithium-Ion Battery Electrolytes in 2019, selected as Zhuhai Technological Innovation Leader in 2023, and honored as one of Zhuhai’s Top 10 Young Doctoral/Postdoctoral Innovation Talents in 2024.

Amy Marschilok is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, NY, where she is an Adjunct Faculty in the Departments of Materials Science and Engineering and Chemical and Molecular Engineering and Co-Director of the Institute of Sustainability, Electrification and Energy (I:SEE). Dr. Marschilok holds a Joint Appointment at Brookhaven National Laboratory, where she serves as Energy Storage Division Manager and Energy Systems Division Manager in the Interdisciplinary Science Department. She also serves as Director for the Center for Mesoscale Transport Properties (http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/m2m/index.html), an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. Dr. Marschilok was previously employed as a Senior Scientist in the Medical Battery Research and Development group at Greatbatch Inc. in Clarence NY, where she was recognized as a Visionary of the Year. Her current research centers on electrochemistry-based and -coupled characterization approaches; materials and electrode concepts for high power, high energy density, extended life batteries; and operando investigations of energy storage materials and systems. She currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Society of Electroanalytical Chemistry and the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium.

Avid industry advocate with nearly two decades of combined leadership in battery safety through product, standard, and regulatory development. Enjoys collaborating with international stakeholders from major equipment manufacturers, industry executives, government, and regulatory authorities to achieve common goals.

Dr. Masias is a Cell Technology Research Supervisor in Ford Motor Company's Battery Cell Research Department and has worked on the research and development of lithium batteries since 2002. His past research has focused on battery materials, analysis, and safety, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Defense (DOD), and various universities. His current research focus is on solid-state lithium metal batteries, with an emphasis on the mechanical, safety, and life properties of lithium metal. Dr. Masias is a member of the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) Technical Advisory Committee. He holds engineering degrees from the California Institute of Technology and the University of Michigan.

Naoki Matsumura is a Principal Engineer at Intel Corporation, responsible for battery algorithm development in charging and CPU turbo-boost, and new battery chemistry enabling for mobile devices, datacenters, and Internet-Of-Things (IOT) devices. He is frequently invited to international conferences to speak on battery topics such as machine-learning/deep-learning based battery charging algorithm. He also teaches batteries and AI (machine learning and deep learning) at San Jose State University as an adjunct faculty, where he also serves as a Materials Engineering Industry Advisory Council member. Prior to that, he held battery research and development roles at Panasonic Corporation. He earned his MS in Energy Science from Kyoto University and holds many patents. He is the author of "Practical Battery Design and Control", a peer-reviewed battery book published from Artech House in Feb.'23.

Seasoned service professional with over 24 years of experience in electrical/electronic and mechanical systems within both military and industrial environments. Skilled in data analysis, system troubleshooting, and implementing effective maintenance programs to ensure operational reliability and efficiency.

Jeremy is a senior applications scientist at TA Instruments - Waters, based in New Castle, Delaware. He specializes in battery material analysis and in-operando electrochemical calorimetry, supporting all battery and green energy related applications. He has 8 years of experience in electrochemistry, working in areas ranging from electroanalytical to hydrogen fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries. Jeremy earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Pacific Lutheran University and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Idaho.

Laura McCalla is a senior principal battery scientist within the research and technology organization of Medtronic Energy and Component Center. There, she leads and works on a wide variety of rechargeable battery projects for medical devices. She has over 12 years of experience in lithium-ion batteries, and received her PhD in Physics at Dalhousie University, where she developed the methodology of using isothermal microcalorimetry to study parasitic reactions in lithium-ion batteries.

Rory is the Senior Technology & Market Analyst at Anaphite, a dry electrode manufacturing company that is scaling it's Dry Cathode Precursor (DCP) technology for large-scale commercial delivery by 2028. Rory works across the commercial and operations teams with his core responsibilities including the development and maintenance of internal cost modelling and exploring commercial partnership opportunities.

Urvi Mehta is a senior research associate at Lux Research, based in Houston, where she conducts analysis and provides insights into the energy storage sector. Urvi provides subject-matter expertise spanning a wide array of emerging storage technologies, including Li-ion batteries, solid-state batteries, and other novel battery chemistries. This coverage expands to the entire value chain, including battery recycling, the regulatory landscape, and the shifting business models shaping the future of energy. Urvi’s role at Lux entails advising leaders in the chemicals, utilities, and oil and gas industries to effectively navigate and capitalize on the opportunities inherent in this rapidly evolving sector. Before joining Lux, Urvi worked as a research analyst at Customized Energy Solutions, where she delivered high-impact market analyses and strategic consulting in the field of microgrids, electric vehicles, and energy storage to C-suite executives. Urvi holds an M.Sc. in business analytics from the University of Houston and an MTech in energy systems and technology from Pandit Deendayal Energy University, India, which provided her experience in and understanding of grid modernization and government policies.

Dr. Marianne M. Meins specializes in strengthening critical infrastructure through microgrid architecture, advanced energy storage, and secure energy communications. She serves as Chief Technology Officer and EVP of Emerging Technologies at Curtis H. Stout, where she leads the development and deployment of next-generation power solutions supporting utilities, commercial and industrial facilities, and other mission-critical operations. Dr. Meins received her Ph.D. in Critical Infrastructure from Capitol Technology University and brings a background spanning national security, cybersecurity, and energy innovation. She has worked at the intersection of secure communications and resilient energy systems, including serving on the Infrastructure Transition Task Force supporting the stand-up of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Global Network Operations Joint Task Force transition to U.S. Cyber Command. Her work focuses on integrating distributed energy resources, microgrids, and advanced storage technologies to strengthen grid reliability and protect critical infrastructure. She also serves as a Strategic Advisor to Onclave Networks, Inc., where she is advancing Trusted-Grid-Talk (TGT), a secure communications platform designed to enhance the cybersecurity of distributed energy systems and regularly advises industry leaders and policymakers on energy resilience, grid security, and next-generation energy technologies.

Professor Y. Shirley Meng received her Ph.D. in Advance Materials for Micro & Nano Systems from the Singapore-MIT Alliance in 2005, after which she worked as a postdoc research fellow and became a research scientist at MIT. Shirley currently holds the Zable Endowed Chair Professor in Energy Technologies and is Professor of NanoEngineering and Materials Science, University of California San Diego (UCSD). She is the founding Director of the Sustainable Power and Energy Center (2015-2020) and was named as inaugural director of the Institute of Materials Discovery and Design. Professor Meng received the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award in 2011, UCSD Chancellor’s Interdisciplinary Collaboratories Award in 2013, C.W. Tobias Young Investigator Award of the Electrochemical Society (2016), International Coalition for Energy Storage and Innovation (ICESI) Inaugural Young Career Award (2018), American Chemical Society ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces Young Investigator Award (2018), a Finalist for the Blavatnik National Award (2018), International Battery Associations Research Award (2019) and Royal Chemical Society Faraday’s Medal (2020). She is the author and co-author of more than 225 peer-reviewed journal articles, 2 book chapter and 5 issued patents. Professor Meng serves on the executive committee for battery division at the Electrochemical Society and she is the Editor-in-Chief for MRS Energy & Sustainability. She is an elected fellow of the Electrochemical Society (FECS) and fellow of the Materials Research Society (FMRS).

Chris Mi is a fellow of IEEE and SAE, a Distinguished Professor of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Director of the US DOE-funded GATE Center for Electric Drive Transportation at San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA. He was previously a professor at the University of Michigan, Dearborn, from 2001 to 2015. He received his BS and MS degrees from Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, China, and his PhD degree from the University of Toronto, Canada, all in electrical engineering. Previously, he was an electrical engineer with General Electric Canada, Inc. He also served as the CTO of 1Power Solutions and EV Safe Charge Inc. Dr. Mi is the recipient of the “Distinguished Teaching Award” and “Distinguished Research Award” of the University of Michigan, Dearborn. He is a recipient of the 2007 IEEE Region 4 “Outstanding Engineer Award,” “IEEE Southeastern Michigan Section Outstanding Professional Award,” and the “SAE Environmental Excellence in Transportation (E2T) Award.” He received three Best Paper Awards from IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics and two Power Electronics Prize Letter Awards. In 2019, he received the IEEE Power Electronics Emerging Technology Award. In 2022, he was named Albert W. Johnson Lecturer and Distinguished Professor of San Diego State University, the highest honor given to any SDSU faculty, and only one award is given each year. He served as an editor, editor-in-chief, area editor, and editor of over 20 journals and special issues of IEEE Transactions. He has served as the general chair or program chair of over 20 conferences. He has published more than 350 journal and conference papers, owns 20+ issued and pending patents, and delivered over 200 keynote speeches worldwide.

Celina Mikolajczak is a Licensed Mechanical Engineer who has spent 25 years working in the battery industry including senior roles at Exponent, Tesla, Uber, Panasonic, QuantumScape, and Lyten. She has significant experience across the battery industry including in materials development, cell R&D, cell design, pack design, cell & pack manufacturing, failure analysis, factory planning, safety testing & regulatory requirements, especially fire codes related to batteries. Celina is currently on sabbatical and advising companies throughout the battery ecosystem including Voltaiq, Manaflex, VTA Technologies, Battery Associates, Polyplus, Sylvatex, Anthro Energy, and Pranshi Energy.

Bruce has worked in the electronic industry for 35 years with experience in design of military, commercial and consumer products. He holds Master’s degrees in Business, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering with extensive mathematical training. For the last 22 years, he has worked at Dell computer as a Power Technologist, battery technologist, battery engineer and battery subject matter expert. He is currently the lead Product Safety investigator for Dell Technologies and is a member of UL STP 1624 Lithium Batteries.

Jake has spent over a decade in materials R&D including development of novel NMP-free cathode binder solutions. In the last 4 years, Jake has been focused on how data management and AI can accelerate materials design and commercialization for the broader chemicals and materials market.

Dr. R. Mohtadi is a Senior Principal Scientist at the materials research department at Toyota Research Institute of North America TRINA and has been in the decarbonization R&D field for over two decades. She has been spearheading and leading research for the creation, design and demonstration of materials for chemical and electrochemical energy storage technologies, including the research of novel battery electrolyte chemistries for liquid and solid-state batteries, and has contributed important advancements in these areas. She has published influential research and has been awarded over 30 patents. Notable recognitions include receiving the R&D100 award (2011) and being named in “40 under 40” by the Automotive and Crain’s news (2014). She was recognized and showed cased in the “We Run on Brain Power” initiative by the State Governor in 2015 as a face of cutting edge innovation in the State of Michigan, USA.

William Mustain is a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Director of the Carolina Institute for Battery Innovation. He works in several areas related to electrochemical energy generation and storage, including: high capacity materials for Li-ion batteries, novel electrode structures for Li-S batteries, battery recycling, corrosion and passivation of materials, etc. He has published over 160 peer reviewed articles (h-index 56) and has over 100 invited lectures. He has served as the chair of the Energy Technology Division of the Electrochemical Society and AIChE Area 1E: Electrochemical Fundamentals. He has been the recipient of several awards including the U.S. Department of Energy Early Career Award, Electrochemical Society Energy Technology Research Award and Fulbright Scholar Fellowship. Greg Less is the Director of the U-M Battery Lab. He is an expert in battery pilot cell development and manufacturing and he responsible for the day-to-day operations of the U-M Battery Lab facility. Greg received a doctorate in Chemistry from U-M. Prior to founding the Battery Lab, he was a UM research scientist and worked at battery companies T/J Technologies and A123 Systems.

Johanna Nelson Weker is a lead scientist at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and heads the Hard X-ray Materials Science group at SSRL. She also serves as assistant director of the DOE’s Aqueous Battery Consortium. Johanna uses powerful synchrotron X-rays to uncover how energy storage materials work under real-world conditions, with the goal of advancing clean energy technologies. Her research spans from pioneering studies of batteries in action to developing new 3D imaging techniques that reveal what traditional methods cannot.

Dr. Marcel Neubert obtained his degree in physics from Dresden Technical University in 2007. He then joined Centrotherm-FHR, a leading supplier of vacuum coating equipment. From 2010 to 2013, Neubert conducted his doctoral research at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), where he received his doctorate in the field of nanotechnology and nano analytics. After completing his PhD, he was in charge of developing flash lamp annealing (FLA) processes and systems at ROVAK GmbH, paving the way for their industrial application in large-area thin-film technologies. His work established new methods for high-tech material processing and opened possibilities for applications in the semiconductor, photovoltaic, and decorative coating industries. Neubert has gained extensive experience working with international partners in Japan, the United States and Taiwan in the field of material development. This has further expanded his understanding of thin-film applications in high-tech industries. In 2020, Neubert co-founded NorcSi GmbH and continues to serve as its Chief Technology Officer. The award-winning start-up has secured substantial backing from both private and public investors. Utilizing patented flash-lamp technology, the company is at the forefront of battery innovation through the development of cost-effective and highly scalable pure-silicon anodes.

Tan Nguyen serves as the Director of the Battery Cell Plant at Packet Digital. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrochemistry from the University of British Columbia and brings over a decade of experience in lithium-ion battery research, product development, and manufacturing. His expertise spans new battery chemistries, cell design, and large-scale production processes. At Packet Digital, Dr. Nguyen leads the establishment of the company’s lithium-ion pouch cell manufacturing facility, overseeing multiple aspects of factory design, equipment selection, and process implementation to ensure the successful launch of a world-class domestic cell production line.

Dr. Hailong Ning is the Co-founder and CEO of VTA Technology. He has 15 years of experience in the battery industry, from battery materials, cell development to large-scale battery manufacturing. Prior to founding VTA, he served as VP of Battery Engineering at NIO and General Manager of Battery Engineering at Panasonic Energy of North America respectively, where he had direct experiences of building gigafactories in both the US and China. He obtained his Ph.D degree in Materials Sciences & Engineering from University of Illinois Urbana Champaign.

Dr. Nowak studied Chemistry at the University of Münster and got his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry. After his doctorate, he joined the working group of Professor Winter at the MEET Battery Research Center at the University of Münster in 2009 as a postdoctoral researcher, where he established the Analytical department. From 2010-12, he was the Head of the Analytics and Recycling competence areas, and since 2012, he has held a position at the MEET Battery Research Center as Head of the Analytics and Environment division, which mainly focuses on electrolyte aging, transition metal migration and surface investigations, recycling, and second life, as well as toxicological investigations.

Michael O'Brian is the Fire Chief for the Brighton Area Fire Authority (Brighton, MI) and serves on the board of directors for the International Association of Fire Chiefs. Chief O'Brian has served on multiple code development committees including serving as the Chair of the International Code Council Fire Code Action Committee. Chief O'Brian is the Chair of the IAFC Workgroup on lithium ion batteries which is working to develop a tool kit for fire department response, public education, and codes and standards. In addition he serves as the managing partner of Code Concepts Group, a leading building and fire safety consulting firm

Dr Conor O'Brien is a Principal Technology Analyst at IDTechEx, predominantly concerned with the topic of advanced materials, from novel nanomaterials to the utilisation of emerging materials and technologies in a wide range of applications. Having previously studied at Trinity College Dublin, Conor obtained a PhD from the University of Manchester, working in the National Graphene Institute.

Joe O'Connor is the Director of ESS Solutions at Nuvation Energy with over a decade of experience in renewable energy product development. He holds two solar energy patents and authored the best-selling book 'Off Grid Solar.' Joe has expertise in solar energy, battery manufacturing, and energy storage systems, and he assists organizations in developing advanced battery solutions. He holds a master's in Manufacturing Engineering from NYU.

Kiyokazu Oiyama is the Senior Vice President at Tenpower. He oversees the R&D and the Process Engineering department at Tenpower.

Oiyama-san brings with him over 35 years of lithium battery manufacturing and engineering experience from Sony. He was involved in the world’s first trial of 18650 lithium-ion battery, and led the R&D of the world’s first lithium-ion polymer battery while he is the research manager of Sony Japan’s Nishi R&D center. Prior to joining Tenpower, Oiyama-san served as the head of Technical and Development Division of Sony Wuxi, and last holding the position of Director of Advanced Energy Solution for Techtronic Industries (TTI).

Oiyama-san holds a Bachelor’s degree from Tokyo Metropolitan University in Electrochemistry and is currently leading the R&D efforts from Tenpower’s R&D headquarters at Suzhou.

Wyatt is Director of Technical Program Management at 6K Energy, responsible for product development and commercial programs. He began his career in specialty chemical R&D, spending more than 10 years developing specialty electroplating products for semiconductor interconnects, ultimately serving as a Sr. Program Manager overseeing multiple qualifications of novel chemistries at global chipmakers. After three years in the lithium-ion battery space, Wyatt joined 6K in 2022, where he focuses on product development, joint development projects, and R&D operations. He holds a B.S. in Chemistry and an MBA from the University of Washington.

Alexander Onz is heading the position as Technical Program Manager for Delfort´s IonPort Separators. In this role, he oversees all technical and product-related topics and acts as the key point of contact for customers. Before taking on this position, Alexander led Delfort's entire Technical Sales for the Tobacco Division globally as Head of Technical Customer Service for several years. He has an academic background and professional experience in both technical and legal fields, as well as extensive expertise in the specialty paper industry.

Jihoon Park is the CEO and Founder of Everindus Inc., a Korean energy storage company commercializing next-generation sodium-ion battery technology. He earned his Ph.D. from POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) and spent over a decade as a Principal Researcher at POSCO, one of the world’s leading materials companies. Everindus originated as a POSCO internal venture and later spun out as an independent company under Dr. Park’s leadership. He is leading Korea’s first commercial sodium-ion battery platform, taking a materials-first approach to address fundamental challenges in safety, cost, and supply-chain resilience for future energy systems.

With over twelve years in the lithium industry, Ashish Patki leads business development and market intelligence at Livent. Livent’s portfolio of performance lithium compounds have applications in energy storage, polymers, aerospace alloys, and automotive and industrial greases. Ashish previously worked in biofuels and solar industries in engineering and commercial roles. Ashish holds a BS, chemical engineering from University of Pune, India, and MBA from Tulane University, New Orleans, LA. He lives in Charlotte.

Christina Peabody is the techincal lead for Datacenter IT UPS batteries and energy storage at Google. She is responsible for developing energy storage solutions for Google's critical IT infrastructure. Christina has over 8 years of experience developing data center battery solutions for high availability critical software systems. Christina earned a BE in Mechanical Engineering from Vanderbilt University and a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University.

Wyatt Pena is the President & COO at Ridgetop Group, where he has been a key driver of advancements in battery diagnostics, prognostics, and reliability engineering solutions since 2016. With a strong background in systems engineering and business development, he oversees daily operations, ensuring strategic alignment between product development, research, and commercial growth. Wyatt has played a crucial role in transforming Ridgetop’s intellectual property into globally deployed products, including Condition-Based Monitoring (CBM) and Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) solutions across aerospace, energy, transportation, and industrial sectors. His expertise spans engineering management, cost estimation, and supply chain optimization, with a focus on integrating hardware, firmware, and software into scalable solutions.

Barry is President of Perlmutter & Idea Development LLC. He has over 39 years of technical engineering and business marketing experience in the field of solid-liquid separation including filtration, centrifugation, process drying, mixing and recycling. His strong professional skills focus on process solutions, innovation strategy, market expansion and business development. Barry has published and presented worldwide on applications in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and energy/environmental industries and has been responsible for introducing many European technologies into the Americas marketplace. His two books, published by Elsevier, Amsterdam, "Handbook of Solid-Liquid Filtration" and "Integration & Optimization of Unit Operations" are used worldwide for process guidance.

Randy Pettus is Chief Commercial Officer at Nanotech Energy, where he leads global commercialization strategy, strategic partnerships, and federal program engagement to accelerate adoption of next-generation U.S.-designed lithium-ion battery technologies. His work focuses on unlocking new markets for advanced energy storage, including data centers, grid infrastructure, aerospace and defense, and specialty industrial applications, while supporting the scale-up of domestic battery manufacturing. Prior to joining Nanotech Energy, he spent more than 20 years at DuPont in senior commercial leadership roles across aerospace, automotive, energy, and industrial sectors. There he led multi-regional sales organizations, built strategic OEM partnerships, and commercialized advanced materials technologies including Nomex®, Kevlar®, and Tyvek®. His experience spans market creation, demand planning, and aligning commercialization with global manufacturing and supply chain.

Professor Plett received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1998. Since then, he has been on the faculty of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. His research focuses on control-systems theory as applied to the management of high-capacity battery systems, such as found in hybrid and electric vehicles. Current research efforts include: physics-based reduced-order modeling of ideal lithium-ion dynamics; system identification of physics-based model parameters using only current-voltage input-output data; physics-based reduced-order modeling of degradation mechanisms in electrochemical cells; estimation of cell internal state and degradation state; state-of-charge, state-of-health and state-of-life estimation; power and energy prediction; and battery pack fast charging.

Yuliya Preger is a Principal Member of Technical Staff in the Energy Storage Technology and Systems Group at Sandia National Labs. She earned her PhD and BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and MIT, respectively. Her current work is centered on the safety and reliability of batteries for grid-level energy storage applications. Her publications span battery degradation and abuse response, application of power electronics to energy storage safety, and system level energy storage safety analysis. Dr. Preger is co-founder of batteryarchive.org, the first public repository for visualization and comparison of lithium-ion battery degradation data across institutions, which has been used by thousands of individuals in academia and industry in over sixty countries. She is currently leading the revision of the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Electricity Energy Storage Safety Strategic Plan and the development of data collection requirements for DOE-funded energy storage projects across the US.

Dr. Morgan A. Priolo works at 3M as an Advanced Product Development Specialist in the Electrical Markets Division where he develops new products designed to enable EV adoption. With a strong background in surface modification technologies and thin film materials development for the consumer and electronics markets, he also has experience in product and technology scale-up for EV applications. Morgan received his Bachelor’s Degree in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Texas – Pan American (now RGV) in 2006 and his Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2012. He has also worked as a Visiting Professor at the Institute for Geological Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences developing unique surface modification techniques for thermally insulating materials research.

Gerardo Rebollar is the America region General Manager of Energy Storage business in Saft America Inc. A company of TotalEnergies. The scope covers from Alaska to Argentina and the markets served are Utility, Commercial & Industrial for the renewable resources integration and for grid stability applications with batteries. Gerardo has 36 years of experience in the Energy, Renewables, Electrical, Industrial automation sectors and has collaborated for companies such as GE, Alstom, Areva and Schneider Electric in roles as innovation VP, roadmap and new product development leader and executive business leader. He graduated as an Electronic and Communications Engineer in 1989 and obtained his Executive MBA in 2005.

Max joined CRU in 2025 and is Head of Battery Technology and Costs. He started his career as a battery scientist working on novel materials and scaling production techniques. He previously led research and analysis at a leading market intelligence firm, covering full value chain analysts across battery and electric vehicle markets.

As Founder and Chief Technology Officer of TerraFlow Energy, Ian Rock brings over 25 years of expertise in renewable energy and advanced technology systems. He has held leadership roles in the energy and technology sectors, including Vice President of IT Operations at Lancium, where he specialized in ERCOT demand response programs, curtailment strategies, and integrating flexible loads into the Ancillary Services market. Ian also led modular data center initiatives and managed a $300M global customer business unit at Celestica, where he drove operational efficiencies and formed strategic partnerships. At TerraFlow Energy, Ian oversees the research and development of the company’s energy storage systems. His leadership ensures the delivery of innovative, scalable solutions that address the evolving needs of the renewable energy market, solidifying TerraFlow’s position as a leader in sustainable energy storage.

Eric Rosenblum has been a leader in technology and strategy for over 25 years, and is currently a Managing Partner with Foothill Ventures, a $300M seed fund investing in early stage technology-focused ventures in North America. In this role, he has led investments in energy/ battery companies like AM Batteries, Ascend Elements, Coreshell, Unigrid, South-8, Feon, Ampersand and Abacus Power. Prior to Foothill Ventures, Eric was a senior product executive at both Google and Palantir, and was COO of Drawbridge (sold to LinkedIn) and CEO of SmartPay (sold to Ping’an Group). He began his career as a consultant for The Boston Consulting Group. He has an AB from Harvard University and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Janel Ruhlman is a Senior Application Engineer for battery applications at Henkel, based in Madison Heights, Michigan. With extensive experience in materials science and engineering, she specializes in developing and optimizing adhesive and coating solutions that enhance the performance, safety, and reliability of advanced battery systems. Janel partners with manufacturers to translate innovation into scalable, sustainable solutions for the rapidly evolving electric vehicle market.

Vanesa is specializing in battery safety, performance, and durability. She has expertise in standardization, testing, and regulatory aspects, and experience with supercapacitor materials. Vanesa has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles, holds one patent, and has presented over 50 conference contributions.

I’m Jan Børge Sagmo, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer at ZNL Energy. I have a background as a chemical process engineer, with further education in innovation, entrepreneurship, and capital management. I’ve built and scaled companies from early research through industrial commercialization and all the way to IPO.

At ZNL Energy, we develop next-generation battery separator technology, ZNL-NPx, designed to reduce fire risk, improve cycle life, and enable more robust performance in demanding cell chemistries. My focus is strategy, market positioning, partnerships with cell manufacturers, and driving the company’s growth through global investor and industry engagement.

A chemist by training, Dr. Sanchez’s background encompasses both materials synthesis and characterization, specializing in the analysis of lithium-ion batteries and renewable energy catalytic processes. During his time at Exponent, Dr. Sanchez has worked on evaluating current and next-generation battery and energy storage technologies via quality analysis, performance and accelerated lifetime testing, cell design/materials evaluation and failure analysis. Dr. Sanchez is also skilled in a variety of both destructive and non-destructive characterization techniques, which he has applied to a variety of industries, including consumer electronics, chemicals, medical devices, transportation and aerospace. Besides his primary foci in high-resolution computed tomography X-ray (CT) scanning and Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Dr. Sanchez also has extensive experience in various electrochemical (voltammetry, amperometry), microscopy (SEM/TEM, AFM), material properties (TGA, DSC, BET) and spectroscopic (XPS, XAS/XES, Auger, UV-Vis, Raman, XRD) techniques. On the synthesis side, Dr. Sanchez is knowledgeable in both hydrothermal and solution synthesis of macro, meso and nanostructured materials. Dr. Sanchez is experienced in the synthesis of carbon-metal composite nanomaterials on either graphene or carbon nanotubes for battery and super capacitor applications. Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Sanchez led the first set of surface and chemically-sensitive in operando measurements on a working fuel cell through the use of Ambient Pressure X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (APXPS). Dr. Sanchez also applied this expertise to study water splitting for artificial photosynthesis as a part of the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP), a Department of Energy (DOE) Innovations Hub.

Mike has significant energy storage materials value chain understanding with an emphasis on lithium-ion batteries and systems with 13 years of market knowledge and relationships. Successful program leadership experience with significant business growth in ventures and existing businesses with a proven track record leading mergers and acquisition teams to enter the lithium-ion battery materials market. He joined AVICENNE in May of 2016 as a Senior Advisor. Since joining the AVICENNE team, Mike has been leading the US AVICENNE activity working with many clients holding strategy workshops, validation of growth opportunities, helping clients establish their growth plans in energy storage, and establishing M&A targets/diligence. Before joining AVICENNE, Mike had a very long career with DuPont, his most recent role was the Global Marketing Director – Energy Storage Venture where he developed significant understanding and insights for the energy storage materials market, device manufacturing, and systems while leading global marketing and customer interface efforts to establish programs to enter the $20B energy storage materials market. Executed strategic and market planning for opportunity evaluation, research, choices, and M&A activity for entry into rapidly growing new market. He has a degree in Chemistry from the University of Delaware and is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers and Electrochemical Society.

Miguel "Mike" Sandoval is the Vice President of Business Development at Maccor, Inc., the global leader in battery and cell test equipment. With nearly 30 years of progressive leadership experience, Mike combines technical expertise in electrical engineering and software development with a strong background in international sales and marketing. Since joining Maccor in 1995, he has spearheaded key product innovations, including Hybrid Electric Vehicle battery testers, and significantly expanded the company's global footprint. Mike is a contributing author to the 5th Edition of Linden’s Handbook of Batteries and holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from The University of Tulsa.

Jay Schild, Business Development Manager for our Microtrac Particle Characterization line at Verder Scientific. Over 30 years' experience in Sales & Management of Laser Diffraction, Dynamic Light Scatter and Dynamic Imaging Analysis systems

Michael Schoenleber studied electrical engineering at the KIT, Germany, where he focused on electrochemistry and system theory. At the end of his studies, he developed state and parameter estimation algorithms for Battery Management Systems at the Research & Technology Center of Robert Bosch LLC in Palo Alto, USA. Afterwards he returned to KIT and obtained his PhD, focusing on low-frequency impedance characterization of Lithium-Ion cells. Since 2017 he is co-founder and CTO of Batemo GmbH, which is specialized in creating physical, customer and cell specific, validated battery models. Dr. Schönleber was awarded with the Siemens Energy Award for being the best student of electrical engineering at KIT of his year and with the Freudenberg Award for the best PhD thesis at KIT in 2017. He is co-inventor of two patents in the field of battery state estimation.

Asma Sharafi, PhD, PMP is a visionary battery executive with over 10 years of experience leading innovation and industrialization in the energy storage sector. Currently serving as CEO of PowerCo Holding US (Volkswagen Group), she has spearheaded the company’s U.S. expansion, built cross-functional teams, and led the industrialization of solid-state battery technologies in collaboration with QuantumScape. Previously, Asma held senior leadership roles at Cuberg (Northvolt) and Rivian, where she directed product strategy, cell design, and advanced R&D across automotive, aviation, and consumer applications. Her expertise spans solid-state chemistry, lithium-metal systems, and scalable manufacturing processes. A recognized thought leader in the battery space, Asma is known for her ability to bridge deep technical knowledge with strategic business acumen. She has secured multimillion-dollar investments, built global partnerships, and served as a key liaison to boards, investors, and regulatory bodies. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, she is a passionate advocate for sustainable innovation and the green energy transition.

Austin Shaw, Area Sales Manager for Carbolite at Verder Scientific Inc, is a Penn State graduate with 8 years of experience supporting customers with application guidance and helping to select and implement thermal processing equipment tailored to their needs.

Lie Shi has been the CEO of AM Batteries since July 2023. Prior, Shi served as President of Celgard, a world-renowned battery separator company that invented and commercialized a solvent-free process to produce microporous membranes for lithium-ion batteries. Over his twenty-six-year stint at the company, he worked his way from technical manager, leading its lithium battery material development, to Vice President of R&D, to Chief Technology Officer, to Chief Operations Officer, and ultimately, ascending to President. He also served as the Global Head of Separator Business Development for Asahi Kasei Corporation, Celgard’s parent company. Shi received his B.S. in Physics from Kyoto University, Japan, M.S. in Physics from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University of North Carolina – Charlotte.

Jun Shin is a seasoned battery advocate with over 25 years of experience in the battery industry, beginning as a Process Quality Engineer at Energizer after earning a Chemical Engineering degree from Case Western Reserve University. Jun has worked across multiple chemistries—lithium-metal, alkaline, thermal, Li-ion, NiMH, and lead-acid—supporting both primary and secondary applications. He has held leadership roles at Energizer, SAFT, Tesla, Uber, Mobius, and Amazon, specializing in technology assessment, engineering, testing, supply chain optimization, and sustainability. for the past 5.5 years, Jun led Pan-Amazon battery strategy through the Amazon Battery Collaborative (ABC), driving innovation and improvements across AWS, Devices, Kuiper, Prime Air, and Zoox.

Dr. Tal Sholklapper has an extensive record of success as a cleantech engineer and entrepreneur. Prior to founding Voltaiq, he worked as the lead engineer on a DOE ARPA-E funded project at the CUNY Energy Institute, developing an ultra low-cost grid-scale battery. Before joining CUNY, Dr. Sholklapper co-founded Point Source Power, a low cost fuel-cell startup based on technology he developed while at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and UC Berkeley, where he also did his graduate work in Materials Science and Engineering. As a Materials Postdoctoral Fellow at LBNL, he successfully led the transfer of lab-scale technology to industry partners.

Dr. Tal Sholklapper has an extensive record of success as a cleantech engineer and entrepreneur. Prior to founding Voltaiq, he worked as the lead engineer on a DOE ARPA-E funded project at the CUNY Energy Institute, developing an ultra low-cost grid-scale battery. Before joining CUNY, Dr. Sholklapper co-founded Point Source Power, a low cost fuel-cell startup based on technology he developed while at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and UC Berkeley, where he also did his graduate work in Materials Science and Engineering. As a Materials Postdoctoral Fellow at LBNL, he successfully led the transfer of lab-scale technology to industry partners.

R&D Engineer with 10 years experience in private industry. Projects include advanced separator, dry process, Si Anode, Li metal, and technical sales.

Steve Sloop has pioneered comprehensive methods to improve safety and efficiency in recycling lithium-ion batteries and materials. These include deactivation of lithium-ion batteries to eliminate hazards in transportation and storage; electrolyte extraction; electrode harvesting and separation; and cathode-healingâ„¢, which is a direct method to reintroduce lithium, structure, and performance to scrap electrodes.

Salil Soman is the Vice President of Business Development at Feon Energy, Inc., a Boston Area company working on disruptive new electrolytes for Lithium batteries. Prior to joining Feon, Soman was Vice President of Business Development at Sepion Technologies and Natron Energy, where he led corporate business development activities in several $multi-billion markets including e-mobility, datacenter, telecom, electric forklift, and stationary grid storage. Previously at ZincFive, he was in-charge of strategic marketing and commercialization of Nickel-Zinc battery products as their Vice President of Product Marketing. Soman carries nearly 25 years of experience across multiple battery technologies, and in the past, has spent several years in key engineering management positions at BASF Corporation (formerly, Ovonic Battery Company) and at Robert Bosch Battery Systems, the largest tier-1 supplier to major automotive manufacturers worldwide. He holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, and an MBA in Technology Management from the University of Colorado. A private pilot, Mr. Soman enjoys his weekends exploring California's deserts, mountains and coastline with family and friends, when it's time to recharge his own batteries.

Dr. Michael E. Spahr is Vice President, Innovations (CDAM) at Rain Carbon Inc., where he directs research and product innovation within the Carbon Distillation and Advanced Materials business unit. With more than 25 years of experience in carbon and graphite materials for energy storage, he has contributed to the development of advanced battery technologies and holds numerous patents and technical publications in the field. Rain Carbon is a global, vertically integrated supplier of carbon, carbon precursors, and aromatic chemical products derived from the upcycling of industrial by-products from oil refining, steel production, bio-based, and recycling sources. In his role, Dr. Spahr leads the advancement of high-performance carbon materials for batteries and energy storage applications.

Dr Isaac Squires is CEO and Co-Founder of Polaron, an Imperial College London spin-out building AI systems for materials science. His work bridges AI and the physical sciences, focusing on accelerating the design of advanced materials for industries including energy storage. Isaac completed his PhD with Dr Sam Cooper in the TLDR group at Imperial College London, exploring the interface between AI and battery science, with publications spanning material characterisation, electrochemical modelling, and AI-driven design. He now leads Polaron’s mission to bring these technologies into industrial deployment.

Ionel Stefan is Amprius’ Chief Technology Officer. He joined Amprius in its very early days as a Senior Scientist, initially to lead electrochemistry for silicon nanowire anode-based lithium-ion batteries. Dr. Stefan now leads Amprius' development of silicon nanowire electrochemistry, cell technology -- including material design, cell design and engineering -- and product development.

Ionel Stefan is Amprius’ Chief Technology Officer. He joined Amprius in its very early days in 2009 as a Senior Scientist, initially to lead electrochemistry for silicon nanowire anode-based lithium-ion batteries. Dr. Stefan now leads Amprius' development of silicon nanowire electrochemistry, cell technology -- including material design, cell design and engineering -- and product development. At Amprius, he has served as Principal Investigator on multiple projects, including NASA, Army, DOE and USABC-funded research and development efforts.

Ionel Stefan received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Case Western Reserve University (2002) with research activities focused on the development of new materials and devices for energy production and storage. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, developing high temperature solid oxide fuel cells. Later, at Nanosys, he became familiar with silicon nanowire materials and developed methanol fuel cells with catalysts supported on nanowire electrodes. At Nanosys, Ionel began developing silicon anodes for lithium-ion batteries. With Amprius since 2009, he leads development of materials and electrochemistry for silicon anode-based cells and products.

Marcel Stieber is a Principal Interdisciplinary Systems Engineer at Amazon in the Operations Infrastructure Services organization. He is the founder and lead of the SafeTech program at Amazon, paving the way for safer battery deployments in millions of devices across the globe. Marcel brings over a decade of experience in consumer electronics including battery systems, robotics, and functional safety, raising the bar for battery and product safety.

Josh Stiling is an Investment Director at Anzu Partners with a focus on investing at the intersection of material science, electrification, and manufacturing technologies. Since joining Anzu in 2021, Josh has led and supported investments for several companies in Anzu's portfolio, including investments in AM Batteries, South 8 Technologies, e-Zinc, Xendee, and XGS Energy. Prior to Anzu and following undergrad, he competed professionally in the sport of water polo in Australia (Perth) and Spain (Barcelona) for two years before continuing on to work for an R&D industrial materials start-up in San Jose for 4 years. At Lyten, he served as a senior engineer in materials development and worked on applications such as batteries, super-capacitors, conductive inks and an IoT sensing platform for explosive materials. At Anzu he is supporting several portfolio companies, while also conducting diligence and sourcing new technologies in the industrial materials and energy space. He holds two degrees from UCSD, an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering and an MBA.

Dr. Dee Strand is Chief Scientific Officer at Wildcat Discovery Technologies. Dr. Strand has over twenty years of experience in materials research, development, and commercialization, primarily in the areas of energy storage and electronic applications. Prior to joining Wildcat in 2013, Dr. Strand served as a Research Fellow at Dow Chemical, where she was the technical lead in Dow Energy Materials, as well as the Principal Investigator on external research programs with universities and national labs on battery materials. Dr. Strand also has extensive experience in patent analysis and technical due diligence of new technologies. Dr. Strand completed her Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, under the supervision of Professor John Schrag. Her Ph.D. research focused on rheology and birefringence of polymeric solutions.

Holder of a PhD in chemistry and an engineering degree in electrochemistry, Mohamed TAGGOUGUI has over 18 years of experience in the development and industrialization of Li-ion battery cells. After heavily contributing to the commissioning of the first Li-ion battery production plant for the automotive sector in the United States, he worked with several innovative startups (LTO, semi-solid electrodes, polymer electrolytes) and built expertise across various cell formats (pouch, prismatic and cylindrical). An expert in Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP), he has been, for more than two years, Electrochemistry and Battery Cell Expert Leader at Ampere, the intelligent EV pure player of Renault group.

Shawn Tanagho is a strategic and global transformation leader with over 20 years of experience building new markets and scaling emerging technologies into high‑growth businesses. He has led large‑scale business, operational, and digital transformations across life sciences, batteries, semiconductors, and chemicals, working across startups, mid‑market firms, and Fortune 500 companies in 11 countries.

Shawn is known for unifying complex organizations, building high‑performance cultures, and turning complexity into clear, executable strategies that drive growth, reduce costs, and future‑proof global operations.

Amir Taqieddin is a Materials Informatics Scientist at Solid Power, where he develops frameworks that couple experiments, physics-based simulations, and machine learning (ML) to accelerate solid-state electrolyte design, integration, and manufacturing. His work spans forward and inverse design, molecular modeling, and multiscale simulations with varying levels of physics and process fidelity. He also builds ML and informatics models that convert early-stage data into actionable process recipes and performance predictions. Previously, Amir worked at Nissan North America and IBM Research on battery cell and materials modeling. He earned a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Northeastern University, specializing in multiscale computation and modeling. His work includes publications on multiscale transport in thermo-fluid and energy storage devices, materials design, and electrochemical systems, as well as several pending patents in energy storage and allied fields.

Kyle Teamey joins RA Capital as a Managing Partner, Planetary Health. Kyle's primary responsibility at RA is to lead investments in private companies that are developing innovative solutions to address climate change and environmental sustainability. Prior to joining RA, Kyle was a Partner at Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), where he led investments and served on company boards that span the utilities, energy storage, chemicals, agriculture, automotive, recycling, and consumer products sectors. Prior to BEV, Kyle was a Principal at In-Q-Tel, the strategic investment arm of the CIA and US Intelligence Community, where he invested in early stage manufacturing, materials, energy, computing, and defense companies. Kyle was also the CEO and co-founder of Liquid Light, developer of a proprietary process to make major chemicals from CO2, which was sold to Avantium in 2016. Kyle also recently retired as a Colonel in the US Army Reserve after 24 years of service. He holds a BA in Environmental Engineering from Dartmouth College (1998), an MA in International Finance and Energy Policy from John Hopkins University (2008), an MS in Materials Science from Columbia University (2012), and a Masters of Strategic Studies from the Army War College (2020).

Dr. Venkataraman Thangadurai is a full professor and Chair in Energy at the School of Chemistry, University of St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom. He is the inaugural Faraday Adjunct Professorial Fellow at the University of St Andrews. He is elected Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK), Royal Society of Canada, and the Electrochemical Society (USA). He has published more than 260 peer-reviewed papers in journals (H-index of 69). He has received the Keith Laidler Award from the Canadian Chemical Society (CSC) in 2016 and Research Excellence Award in Materials Chemistry from CSC in 2021. Dr. Thangadurai is founder of two start-ups based on his lithium-ion electrolytes research. His current research activities include the discovery of novel solid-state electrolytes and electrodes for advanced batteries and fuel cells.

As the Business Development Director at Orbia Fluor & Energy Materials, Carl Thoemmes leads commercialization of Orbia's domestic production of Custom Electrolytes, fluorinated electrolyte materials, and LiPF6 electrolyte salt for a wide range of battery applications and customer market segments. Having previously worked at both Flex and Inventus Power, Carl has a unique breadth of battery industry experience spanning raw material development, cell design, pack-level, and system-level integrations across a wide range of chemistries and applications.

Mr Thompson is the founder and Managing Director of Talga Group (ASX:TLG / OTCQX:TLGRF). He has over 35 years’ global experience in economic geoscience and mineral industries including project discovery, development, technology and management. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, the Society of Economic Geologists and the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Jesper Frost Thomsen is a Danish Ph.D. student at the University of Münster in Germany, working at the Institute of Business Chemistry, he is member with the BACCARA Graduate School for Battery Research. Jesper holds a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from the University of Copenhagen and a Master's degree in Engineering in Sustainable Energy from the Technical University of Denmark. His work focuses on material flows in the battery supply chain, specifically analyzing the impact of transportation throughout the chain. Using market data, process information, and transport simulations, he investigates the costs and emissions associated with transportation within the supply chain.

Zornitsa Todorova leads the Thematic Fixed Income Research team at Barclays, based in London. She is a Director, and covers topics such as market structure, financial market innovation, and emerging macroeconomic trends. Zornitsa and her team employ quantitative, academic-style methods to analyse the global impact of these themes across credit, rates, and macro products. Before joining Barclays in 2019, she taught risk management and investments at Bocconi University and the Berlin School of Business and Innovation. Her research has been featured in peer-reviewed journals such as The Journal of Financial Markets, Institutions and Instruments, The Journal of Corporate Ownership and Control, and The Review of Finance and Banking. Zornitsa holds a PhD with honors in Economics and Finance from Bocconi University in Italy.

Antoni Tong, PhD, is the founder and CEO of Smartville, a company developing solutions for high-value, scalable EV battery circularity. He is a leading expert in battery energy storage system control, management, and their integration with grid modernization, renewable power sources, and electrified transportation. Dr. Tong's previous work includes serving as a research scientist at the University of California, San Diego, where he led projects on the integration of advanced energy storage systems across various emerging battery technologies. He also pioneered research, development, and commercialization of EV battery repurposing solutions, leading projects with Nissan, BMW, Cummins, Honda, and Pacific Gas & Electric.

Professor Trimboli’s research focuses on development of control strategies for the management of high-capacity battery systems such as found in electric vehicles. He is currently involved in multiple projects where he leads investigation on battery modeling and the application of model-predictive control to improve the performance and extend the lifetime of lithium ion battery cells. Other research efforts include: reduced-order modeling methods, modeling of lithium-ion degradation mechanisms, empirical and physics-based modeling of lithium-ion battery thermal properties, as well as predictive methods for power estimation.

Denis Trofimov leads the battery technology space for the Starship programme at SpaceX. In his previous roles, he served as a technical lead for power systems and lithium ion battery systems design across all space segments including low earth orbit, geostationary and deep space as well as the consumer electronics industry. Denis holds a Master of Science degree in Engineering Physics and Applied Physics from The Johns Hopkins University and Bachelor's degrees from Georgetown University in Physics and Foreign Service.

Tom Van Bellinghen founded Lithink in mid 2024 with a clear mission to provide strategic go-to-market advice in the battery field. Tapping into 15 years of experience in the battery field, Lithink’s focus is on supply chains, ESG matters, closed-loop flows, pCAM, CAM & battery quality, cross-border administrative processes involving metal hedging and complex negotiations. Tom Van Bellinghen joined Umicore in 2009 as the Marketing & Sales Director responsible for Umicore’s Rechargeable Battery Materials business. Under his leadership, the business expanded significantly, becoming a multi-billion dollar enterprise. As the industry shifted its focus from portable electronics to automotive applications, Tom pioneered a direct touch model between original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and cathode manufacturers. This approach enhanced transparency, cost-efficiency, and sustainability within the battery ecosystem. Starting in 2019, Tom shifted his attention to managing relationships with automotive OEMs, effectively positioning Umicore as the leading cathode supplier. One of his notable achievements was the successful closure of a joint venture contract between Umicore and Volkswagen (Ionway, 3B$ investment).

Stephanie Van Kirk has 20+ years of experience in the battery industry and has held leadership roles in technical account management, program development, and product innovation focusing on lead acid, NiMH, and lithium-ion chemistries for EVs, stationary storage, and specialty applications. She handles battery industry strategies and battery business development.

David Ventola is a Business Development Director for the Clean Technology Systems division at Dürr Systems, Inc. Since 2011, David has promoted Dürr products for LiB electrode manufacturing. David holds a B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering and an MBA. David spent most of his career in the roll to roll coating & converting industry at Polaroid and Presstek. Just prior to joining Dürr Systems, he spent five years at A123 Systems focused on lithium-ion battery electrode manufacturing.

Venkat Viswanathan is an Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan and serial entrepreneur, having co-founded Aionics Inc (AI-driven materials design), Chement (zero-carbon cement process) and And Battery Aero (aviation batteries). He is recipient of MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 and Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, a rare combination, with the former award for entrepreneurial excellence and latter being for academic and theoretical excellence. His academic research record is stellar with a h-index of 65, and total citations of over 18,000, and is named inventor on over 50 patent applications.

Maximilian is a deep tech investor excited by the ever changing landscape required for energy transition and climate mitigation. As the managing director of Ajinomoto Group Ventures, he has built a single LP fund that focuses on technology investing that enables Ajinomoto innovation past 2030. He was an entrepreneur for 10 years and as such has deep founder empathy. When he is not working, he is golfing or enjoying the beaches of Halfmoon bay.

Scott Walbrun is a principal venture capital investor at BMW i Ventures, the independent venture capital fund managed on behalf of BMW Group based in Silicon Valley, where he focuses on Series A & B investments around the future of mobility, energy, artificial intelligence. In this capacity, Scott has served on the board of eight companies. He also serves as a mentor and workshop leader for hundreds of startups through various accelerator programs across the country. Prior to joining BMW i Ventures, Scott provided M&A and capital markets advisory as a member of Jefferies’ Technology Investment Banking team. Scott joined Jefferies after completing his MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. While completing his MBA, he worked at Kinzie Capital Partners evaluating private equity investments, as well as at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation supporting the commercialization of science-based and deep tech companies. Prior to business school, Scott managed Strategic Finance and FP&A at Truck Hero (a TA Associates portfolio company) and began his career in Fiat Chrysler’s Finance Leadership Development Program.

Dr. William Q. Walker received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from West Texas A&M University and a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Houston and has recently been appointed as the Chief Technology Officer for KULR Technology Corporation. With KULR, Walker focuses on the development and implementation of advanced thermal management solutions and analysis techniques for the company’s industry leading products. Prior to his recent transition to KULR, Walker worked for the NASA Johnson Space Center for nearly 12 years where his career primarily focused on the design of safe and optimized Lithium-ion battery assemblies for human spaceflight applications. Dr. Walker has also been recognized with a NASA Trailblazer Award and with the RNASA Stellar Award for his early career contributions to Li-ion battery thermal analysis and calorimetry methods. Dr. Walker continues to be engaged in the academic and professional communities focused on battery safety.

Dr. Michael Wang is a Distinguished Fellow and director of the Systems Assessment Center, Energy Systems Division at Argonne National Laboratory. Dr. Wang leads the ongoing development of Argonne’s GREET software model for life cycle analysis of vehicle technologies and transportation fuels. The GREET model and his research results have been used by regulatory agencies such as the California Air Resources Board, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to develop automotive fuel regulations. In addition to his work in the U.S., Dr. Wang has collaborated with government agencies, automotive companies, energy companies, universities and research institutions in Asia and Europe. Dr. Wang is a fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers and a member of the Transportation Energy Committee of the Transportation Research Board. He served on the boards of NGOs, companies, and Chinese automotive research organizations, and is on the editorial boards of four international journals. Dr. Wang has over 270 publications in the areas of transportation energy and environment effects. He holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Environmental Science from University of California at Davis and a B.S. in Agricultural Meteorology from the China Agricultural University, Beijing.

Dr. Yan Wang is the co-founder and President of AM Batteries and the co-inventor of its dry electrode technology. He is also the cofounder of Ascend Elements, Inc., a leading company in Li-ion battery recycling. As the William Smith Foundation Dean’s Professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Dr. Wang has been researching battery materials, manufacturing and recycling since 2010. A recognized expert in the battery field, he earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Windsor, Canada in 2009.

Dr. Matthew Wang graduated from Peking University with a Materials Science major in 2010. He has over 14 years of working experience in the Lithium-ion battery industry. At Amionx, his R&D focus is to make safer batteries by using SafeCore as a current interrupter and limiter to mitigate thermal runaway. He leads an internal team to develop next generation safety technologies, and he also oversees external technical programs with international customers and partners.

Dr. John Warner is a well-recognized figure in the battery industry. He is an authority on EV batteries, an experienced sales, business development, strategic marketing, and product management executive with more than 35 years of combined automotive and battery industry experience and author of three successful books on EV batteries. Today he serves as one of the co-founders and Chief Customer Officer for American Battery Solutions, a lithium-ion battery pack manufacturer based in Michigan and Ohio where he is focused in on- and off-road mobility battery development. He is Founder and President of Warner Energy Consulting LLC. Previously, he served as Chief Marketing Officer for Ener1, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for XALT Energy, Director of Sales & Marketing for Magna Steyr Battery Systems NA, Director of Product Management at Boston-Power, and nearly 20 years in the auto industry, much of that with General Motors where he served in a wide variety of leadership roles. Dr. Warner published his first book “The Handbook of Lithium-Ion Battery Pack Design” in 2015 with a second edition published in May 2024. His second book, “Lithium-Ion Chemistries: A Primer” was published in 2019. His books focus on simplifying the complex topics around battery chemistries making it easily understandable by a wide audience for both entry level engineers and all non-engineering professionals.

Xiaoyu Wen is a Principal Member of Technical Staff at QuantumScape, where she develops and implements image-based deep-learning models to support metrology inspections of solid-state battery components. She also uses AI-generated model predictions to design and refine quantitative metrics that help correlate inspection results with overall cell performance. Prior to joining QuantumScape in 2021 as a Senior Member of Technical Staff, Xiaoyu was a Graduate Student Researcher at University of California, Riverside, and a Battery Research Intern at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Xiaoyu holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrochemical Engineering from Harbin Institute of Technology (China), a Master’s degree in Computer Science from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from University of California, Riverside.

Jay is a material scientist and physicist with over 25 years of technical, business, and academic experience. His career has been focused on understanding and developing electrochemical materials and systems with a focus on lithium-ion batteries, energy policy, and innovation theory. He is a Professor at Carnegie Mellon University in the Materials Science and Engineering & Engineering and Public Policy departments, holds the Trustee Chair in Energy, and is currently on academic leave (after serving as the director of the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation for 6 years). Whitacre developed a novel aqueous battery chemistry that was manufactured and sold by Aquion Energy, a company he founded in 2008 that produced and shipped over 30 MWh of energy storage worldwide. Earlier in his career, he was a Senior Member of the Technical Staff at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he worked as a battery technologist, system engineer, and mission cognizant engineer. Jay holds a BA in Physics from Oberlin College as well as a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Erica Wiener is a Physical Scientist at the U.S. Department of Transportation, within the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. In her role, she leads and coordinates research projects to improve the safe transportation of hazardous materials essential to everyone’s daily lives. Dr. Wiener is a Class of 2022 Presidential Management Fellowship Alumna, part of a distinguished Federal program established to recruit and develop future government leaders. As a Fellow, she provided thought leadership towards research program directions and critical project management in her role at PHMSA. Prior to her service in government, she received a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Iowa. Her research investigated fungal removal of emerging contaminants found in stormwater, with the goal of finding innovative solutions to stormwater management.

Craig currently serves as the General Manager of Cambridge EnerTech with primary responsibilities for scientific conference organization and program development within energy market sectors with conferences based in the United States, Asia, Australia and Europe. Prior to that and since 2014, Craig served as Executive Director of Conferences for Cambridge Enertech. Previously to joining CII and forming Cambridge EnerTech, Craig was the Founder and President of the Knowledge Foundation, a scientific conference and publishing company until it was acquired by CII in 2014. Additionally, Craig was a Director at IBC USA (now Informa), and has previous experience in conference development, publishing and technical marketing.

Dr. Michal Wolkin is a board member, investor, physicist with a focus on energy storage and climate tech. She has two decades of experience in venture investments, technology evaluation, and innovation. Michal is the former Director of GM Ventures' Battery & Electrification Fund, she is serving on the boards of public and private companies. With a Ph.D. in Materials & Physics, she has driven disruptive technologies at 3M, PARC, and NASA. Michal is also a part-time professor heading the MBA degree program in Climate Tech Management at Reichman University focusing on entrepreneurship and sustainability.

Dr. Wozniak completed his undergraduate training at MIT and graduate work at the University of Florida, Gainesville, where he stayed on as an Assistant Research Professor until 1995. For the past 25 years he has worked for Energizer Power Systems, Compaq/HP and Microsoft prior to forming his own consulting business in 2014. As the President of Energy Storage and Power Consulting, he works closely with key battery cell and pack manufacturers as well as Fortune 500 OEMs manufacturing everything from consumer electronics, EVs , ESS and battery backup systems. Dr. Wozniak’s focus has been on developing quality manufacturing practices and commercialization of promising battery technologies.

~30 years in automotive powertrain testing with the past 20 in all aspects of electrification and battery development & testing. New focus on innovation in the energy creation, storage, and usage sectors with Unico's portfolio of high efficiency and high power energy conversion product lines (GTI's, DC/DC, Solar Inverters).

Vamakshi Yadav, Ph.D., is a Researcher in the Battery Research and Development lab at General Motors R&D. Her current work focuses on developing small-scale testing methods to evaluate battery cell safety for automotive applications. Previously, she conducted research on the design and synthesis of molecularly-precise nanomaterials for applications in electrochemical and thermal catalysis. Vamakshi earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Purdue University.

Roman Yakobov completed both his BE and ME in Chemical Engineering at The Grove School of Engineering (CCNY), where he contributed to research across a broad range of engineering disciplines. His early work in batteries began at the CUNY Energy Institute—experience he carried forward to Urban Electric Power (UEP), where he helped design robust battery energy storage systems (BESS) and successfully integrate them with solar PV and grid-tied applications. Building on his impact at UEP, Roman joined Plug Power, an industry leader in fuel cell systems, where he currently supports the company’s expansion in the material handling sector. He plays a key role in developing and leading a strong in-house battery engineering team and serves as a critical technical resource across multiple departments. Roman led the creation and execution of a comprehensive battery strategy—spanning cell sourcing, pack design, manufacturing, reliability engineering, and second-life applications—which has directly contributed to securing over $40 million in new business through certification and commercialization efforts. His leadership in refining design, sourcing, and manufacturing strategies has driven multi-million-dollar efficiencies across Plug Power’s global battery operations, positioning the company at the forefront of integrated green energy solutions for material handling applications. Roman continues to bridge his electrochemical expertise with real-world system integration, enabling organizations to scale advanced battery technologies that meet today’s commercial, safety, and regulatory demands. Outside of work, Roman is devoted to his family, serves as an operatic cantor, teaches chess, and leads several independent engineering initiatives.

Vincent Yang is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ProLogium Group. With a rare combination of deep technical expertise and visionary leadership, he has led the company from a research-driven startup to one of the world’s leading innovators in next-generation battery technology. Since founding ProLogium in 2006, Mr. Yang has focused on the research, manufacturing, and commercialization of next-generation batteries. Under his leadership, the company has steadily advanced breakthrough technologies in the solid-state battery field while establishing a comprehensive pathway from fundamental materials innovation to scalable industrial production. Known for his forward-looking mindset and strong spirit of innovation, Mr. Yang has continuously challenged the limitations of conventional battery architectures, successfully transitioning advanced battery technologies from laboratory research to real-world mass production while attracting collaborations with global automotive companies, supply chain partners, and research institutions. Mr. Yang is a pioneering battery entrepreneur with nearly three decades of experience in lithium battery technology, including more than twenty years dedicated to the design and commercialization of next-generation batteries. He holds more than 1,000 battery-related patents worldwide, making him one of the most influential innovators in the global battery industry. In the early 2000s, during the rapid rise of lithium-ion batteries, Mr. Yang worked at Ultra-life Taiwan (UTI), Taiwan’s first lithium battery manufacturer. There he successfully improved lithium polymer battery systems originally developed by Bellcore and Mitsubishi Chemical, enabling broader industrial adoption of the technology. In 2003, he further challenged conventional battery manufacturing processes by inventing the Dry Winding Technology, a groundbreaking production method that transformed battery manufacturing and later became widely adopted across the lithium battery industry. Under Mr. Yang’s technical leadership, ProLogium has established a comprehensive roadmap for next-generation batteries by integrating an all-inorganic electrolyte system with a fully ceramic separator architecture. This platform has achieved major breakthroughs in key performance indicators including energy density, fast charging capability, low-temperature performance, cycle life, and safety. After more than two decades of continuous research and development, the company has achieved three major technological milestones: • 100% Ceramic Separator (2013) • 100% Silicon Anode (2024) • 100% All-Inorganic Electrolyte (2025) In 2025, ProLogium completed the final piece of its next-generation battery technology puzzle with the introduction of its fourth-generation Superfluidized All-Inorganic Solid-State Lithium Ceramic Battery, which is scheduled to enter mass production by the end of 2026. Built upon Mr. Yang’s long-term R&D roadmap, this technology integrates an all-inorganic electrolyte with a fully ceramic separator, fundamentally redefining lithium battery architecture that has remained largely unchanged since the 1980s and 1990s. Compared with today’s mainstream “Solid-State Battery 1.0” approaches, ProLogium’s fourth-generation platform introduces a new safety-centric cell architecture and system design, establishing a new technological benchmark for the battery industry. This breakthrough has earned ProLogium recognition at the 2026 Edison Awards, often regarded as the “Oscars of Innovation,” highlighting the industry’s recognition of the breakthroughs achieved under Mr. Yang’s leadership. The technology is widely regarded as redefining the direction of Solid-State Battery 2.0. Testing results also demonstrate unprecedented safety stability. The system represents the first lithium battery chemistry and electrochemical architecture reported to show no thermal runaway under extreme Accelerating Rate Calorimetry (ARC) safety testing, establishing a new milestone for battery safety standards. As the era of intelligent systems and automation accelerates, Mr. Yang continues to promote a broader vision for the battery industry. He believes batteries will evolve beyond serving solely as the core component of electric vehicles to become a fundamental energy platform for intelligent mobility and autonomous systems. Future battery technologies will increasingly power applications such as autonomous vehicles, intelligent robotics, mission-critical energy systems, unmanned aerial systems, and humanoid robots. In these emerging applications, safety will shift from being a performance advantage to becoming a fundamental market entry requirement. For high-risk environments involving human-machine collaboration, indoor logistics, autonomous systems, and extreme operating conditions, battery systems must combine intrinsically safe materials, scalable electrochemical architectures, and active safety system design such as ProLogium’s ASM (Active Safety Mechanism) to enable the reliable deployment of next-generation intelligent devices. Under Mr. Yang’s leadership, ProLogium is building a next-generation battery platform that combines technological breakthrough, scalable manufacturing capability, and trusted global supply chain integration. The company aims to deliver safe, high-performance, and scalable energy solutions for a wide range of industries, including electric vehicles, aerospace, robotics, energy storage and AI energy systems, while continuing to advance the long-term evolution of global energy technology and intelligent industries.

Adrian is the Founder of STEER. The mission of STEER is to use deep engineering analysis to overcome economic uncertainties of emerging energy technologies to unlock strategic investments and innovations. Prior to STEER, Adrian spent 8+ years as the Founder and CTO of a Li-ion battery cell manufacturing company, EnPower, Inc., where he still serves as a Board Director. Adrian drove technology development and scale-up at EnPower from 2014-2022, taking the company from its Texas roots through Tennessee, Arizona, and finally Indianapolis, where EnPower acquired a brownfield factory and is now scaling to several hundred MWh/y of high-performance cells for defense & industrial markets, spearheading the domestic production of advanced Li-ion batteries. Adrian obtained his B.S. in Material Science & Engineering from Rice University in Houston, TX and his Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering at Stanford University.

Dr. Alex Yu is Co-founder and CTO of Factorial Energy. In 2013, Alex started Lionano and served as CEO during the last year of his Ph.D. in electrochemistry from Cornell University under Prof. Héctor Abruña. He holds several patents in advanced battery technology including NMC/NCA cathode, lithium sulfur cathode, lithium metal anode, and solid-state electrolyte. Alex believes battery technology is the key to unlocking reliable, safe, and affordable EVs worldwide.

John is the CTO/CSO of Polypore International (Celgard)/Asahi Kasei. He received IBA (International Battery Association) Technology Award 2024 for his invention of Ceramic Coated Separator and Outstanding Contribution in Understanding of Internal Shorts Events of Li-ion Cells that lead the broad application of Ceramic Coated Separator (CCS). This technology has made a significant contribution to the evolution of humanity (SVP/CTO Panasonic). He is recognized as the leading authority on lithium-ion battery safety and separators. Through IEEE, he leads in establishing lithium-ion battery industry standards (P1625, P1725). John pioneered the Sulfide SSE with ~ 40 papers (1984-1991). He has chaired and/or organized more than 60 international conferences and delivered more than 120 invited keynote or plenary speeches at various international conferences. John has published more than 300 patents, papers, and books. John received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He also attended Sloan School of MIT.

Dr. Yuepeng Zhang is a Senior Principal Materials Scientist and Group Leader at Argonne National Laboratory. She holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from McMaster University in Canada and has expertise in nanomaterials and membrane development. Dr. Zhang’s current research interests include ion- and electron-conductive materials and membranes designed to enable selective mass and charge transport in membrane-based devices, with a particular emphasis on emerging battery technologies including all solid-state batteries, as well as catalyst membranes and selective membranes for critical material extraction and recovery. Based in Argonne’s Materials Engineering and Research Facility, Dr. Zhang’s research also encompasses process scale-up, in-line quality control, and the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches for process autonomy and smart manufacturing. She has published numerous papers and patents and is the recipient of two R&D100 Awards.