Take Charge Podcast

The Low Down on Lithium-Sulfur… do we smell a chemistry that will be mass-produced in the future? Apologies for the pun… Jake Carpenter, the Commercial Manager at Gelion joins me to talk all things li-sulfur. He provides history of the chemistry, the issues to date, the abundance, price and manufacturability of sulfur and how it could be game changing to many applications. We also discuss battery...

This is an element sometimes overshadowed... but today, we shine a spotlight on it. Ofer Friedman, the VP of Products at Addionics joins us, as we discuss which geographies dominate current collector production, how geopolitics is playing it’s part how things needs to change if we’re to meet our ambitious battery manufacturing targets, particularly in the US. We discuss the advancements in technol...

To accelerate battery manufacturing, is data analytics the key? We're joined today by Eli Leland, who is the CTO & Co-Founder of Voltaiq. We've seen a lot of hype around analytics recently, whether that be in R&D or manufacturing, so it was great to speak with a data analytics veteran, whose been in the game since 2012. Hear from Eli on how analytics is currently contributing to battery ma...

Ambitious plans is what we like to see when it comes to US Battery Manufacturing. Hear from Jay Bellows, the President of Kore Power, as we discuss their ambitious plans, his outlook for the industry, our growing reliance on the Grid and how the US can get it right with vertical integration and a strong supply chain. We hope you enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Electric boats that ride above the waves! In episode 28, we're joined by Mikael Mahlberg, the Head of Communications at CANDELA. As well as looking really cool, their hydrofoiling technology is game changing for the electrification of boats. It improves efficiency, speed and reduces sea sickness. It’s also great for the buildings in Venice, leisure, commuting, ferrying and so much more. Hear from...

Fast Charge without the heat, but with a dramatically increased cycle life! Today we welcome Dan Alpern, the VP Marketing at Battery Streak. We’ve had several guests on the show talk about fast charge capabilities, so this one is a great follow-on to deepen the conversation. In part one we talk about novel technology, fast charge, their anode and cathode materials and how this can add value to so...

July 26th 2024, mark your calendars! (Since our podcast recording, the event has now SOLD OUT!) My guest today, Nika Ptushkina is hosting the first in person event for Women In Batteries at Stanford University. It’s in partnership with the Stanford StorageX Initiative and it promises to be an amazing event. They have an incredible panel of speakers lined up, with great food, entertainment and much...

We're so excited to share this ep with you! This is a little different to our usual podcasts, focusing on the incredible journey of Nico Murillo. Nico’s story has captured the imagination of so many. Like many of his colleagues, he too was laid off by Tesla this year. That's despite the dedication he displayed in his role as Production Supervisor at the EV company. He'd been above and beyond. To a...

In a Take Charge first, we welcome a guest from the world of Electric Boats. Frank Heidinger the Founder and CEO of HALEVAI has a compelling story. He comes from a super interesting background and his vision is one we're sure you can get behind. Their mission is simple, to make boating easier and cleaner for everyone. We talk about their boat and battery specifications, target market, the nature o...

When did power banks for smart phones become a thing? It’s a product and market that’s been born simply because our batteries can’t keep up with the increased amount we’re using our smartphones… as well as the applications on them zapping more power, with the biggest culprit being Artificial Intelligence. Well, this is a problem that today’s guest is tackling. Samira Naraghi joins us, who is the S...

Commercialising Solid-state batteries! A very difficult undertaking. Well, Natrion Inc are on a mission make this happen, with their Solid-state Electrolyte Component technology. First of all, Jamie would like to apologise for how many times he used the word ‘impressive’ in this episode. He got a little carried away.... But with good reason. Co-Founders, Alex Kosyakov, the CEO, and Thomas Rouffiac...

Can heat really be a battery’s friend? Jamie is joined by Said Al-Hallaj who is a Chief Battery Scientist at Beam Global. Beam Global acquired AllCell in 2022, which is a company Said founded all the way back in 2008, so Said of course joined in this acquisition. Jamie and the Strativ Group team caught his presentation at the Battery Show in Michigan last year and since then we've been very keen f...

Today's a slightly different episode, as we're joined by Akhil Batheja, VP Business Development, at the hydrogen giant Bloom Energy. Like myself, I’m sure there’s a fascination about the hydrogen industry amongst us battery folk. So Akhil, gives us a crash course - talking through the differences and similarities to the battery industry, including application areas. He talks us through some of the...

With CATL's recent statement that "Solid-State Batteries won't work", this episode is perfectly timed! I'm joined by the solid-state giant, Blue Solutions, who are arguable one of the most advanced solid-state companies in the world. Adrian Tylim joins me, who has a Masters in Energy Systems Engineering, he’d had an incredibly successful career in the renewables industry. Inc...

Should having children affect your career progression? Does taking a leave of absence influence your bosses' perception of you? Do you avoid telling your boss or prospective employer that you're planning on starting a family? 2 guests from Morrow Batteries take charge today; Adriana Navarro-Suarez (R&D Manager) and Naja Boone (Director of Marketing & Communications). Adri is comple...

Why are so many battery start-ups failing? Does our world need more chemistries, or more batteries? Why should you manufacture in the US? For a Take Charge first, we're joined by a father & son duo; Johnnie and Taylor Stoker, Co-Founders of Ultion Technologies located in Las Vegas, Nevada. Johnnie is the CEO, who founded and grew K2 Energy to become a leader in the LFP space. During his su...

As a battery technology start-up, how fast should you scale? Today’s guest, Damien Despinoy has the benefit of assessing and investing in energy storage businesses prior to co-founding Volexion in 2020. As the CEO, Damien talks us through their growth activities and what the future holds them, providing insights on ideal scaling pace. He gives his assessment on the current investment landscape acr...

In this audio episode, Jon Bornstein, the President of Amprius Labs joins me to discuss the dynamic world of silicon, their recently expanded production facility in Fremont, their upcoming gigafactory in Colorado and how silicon will accelerate future of battery technologies and electrification. Over the past 11 years, Jon has been on an amazing journey with Amprius, so it was a real pleasure to s...

ION Storage Systems join me this week, with the VP of Supply Chain Neil Ovadia (top of screen) and the CTO Gregory Hitz (bottom of screen) sharing insight on the history of solid-state batteries, starting with why we still don’t have a commercialised one! ION Storage Systems look to change this, as they share their 3-Dimensional approach. We talk about compression, safety, manufacturing, supply ch...

Hieu Duong, the Chief Manufacturing Officer of AM Batteries joins me to discuss their dry battery electrode manufacturing process, whilst discussing his experience with Maxwell Technologies and Tesla post acquisition. We acknowledge their recent $30M series B funding round and what this means for the business, whilst talking through the various opportunities dry process manufacturing presents in t...

Our guest for this episode is Charlotte Flanagan, who joined Group 14 Technologies last year as the Director of Diversity &Belonging, and recently broadened her role to also cover Sustainability. Diversity Equity & Inclusion is a topic I’m very passionate about. I released an article on the subject in May last year and I’ve been waiting for the right guest to join me on the podcast to delv...

It was great pleasure to welcome our long-term client Ionblox Inc to the show, as Sujeet Kumar, the Co-Founder & CEO joins me to discuss Silicon Anode Technologies, XFC, Consumer Adoption and China v US manufacturing. As a business founder since 2007, armed with a PhD in Materials Science, Sujeet provides some of his best advice to fellow battery professionals. Sujeet, thank you for Taking Cha...

I’m joined today by Robert Neivert, who is the CEO of Ionobell. Rob has also spent 10 years in VC, with plenty of exciting ventures to his name. He’s an engineer turned entrepreneur, and his unique pathway to establishing Ionobell isn’t one to be missed. Rob brings so much energy to this podcast, using his VC experience to provide exceptional insight and advice to those looking to raise investment...

I’m joined today by the Founder of Sente Ventures; Serhat Cicekoglu. Sente Ventures are a VC firm, with a strong interest in energy storage, and a portfolio including the likes of Our Next Energy, NiveauUp and Ni-Cat. 2023 hasbeen a turbulent year to say the least when it comes to investment, and Serhat does a great job in offering perspective and advice to our community. Serhat is a person with r...

Dr. Barbara Hughes Takes Charge, who is the Vice President of Energy Storage at Forge Nano. With a PhD in Materials Chemistry, Barbara has enjoyed over 15 years in interfacial nanomaterials chemistry and novel battery applications, leading the technical efforts for the battery innovation line at Forge Nano. Barbara is also the Chair of She’s in Power, a fantastic non-for-profit, providing a hands-...