Oliver Gross - Valence

We are joined by Dr. Robert Spotnitz, a pioneer of both physical battery architecture and computational modeling. He began his career at W.R. Grace, where he co-invented the foundational tri-layer shutdown separator. He later joined Hoechst Celanese to manage the battery applications lab for Celgard during the frantic 1990s scale-up of their separators.Recognizing the limitations of trial-and-error physical prototyping, Dr. Spotnitz shifted his focus to computational simulation and founded Battery Design LLC. His software, built on the predictive power of the physics-based Doyle-Fuller-Newman (DFN) model, was eventually acquired by CD Adapco, and then finally Siemens to become Simcenter Battery Design Studio, accelerating the industry's shift toward digital twin cell design. He shares his insights on life as an entrepreneur and on strategic requirements for a North American battery supply chain.

In this episode, we sit down with Joe Turner, Principal at Lithium Junction, for a candid and entertaining look at the boots-on-the-ground reality of lithium-ion cell manufacturing. Joe shares his journey starting at the front lines of the early battery industry at Valence Technology, where he faced multiple challenges including material yields and cell gassing. We then follow Joe’s move to China in 2006 with K2 Energy Solutions, where he worked to scale up 26650 LFP cylindrical cells. Joe paints a vivid picture of the stark contrast between the manual, open-windowed Chinese factories of 2006 and the hyper-automated, world-class manufacturing behemoths that dominate the country today. Looking ahead, Joe outlines strategies for North America to catch up in the global battery race, emphasizing the critical need for hands-on pilot labs to build a trained domestic workforce.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Yuan Gao, a materials scientist and executive whose career spans the foundational days of Li-ion research to the executive suites of global cathode manufacturing. Yuan shares his accidental entry into the battery field during late-night shifts with Jeff Dahn, leading to foundational post-doctoral work on manganese spinel cathodes in the mid-1990s.We explore his subsequent tenure at FMC Corporation, where he contributed to solving critical impedance and safety issues in LCO and LNO cathodes. He also shares the origin story of stabilized lithium metal powder (SLMP) for anode pre-lithiation. Providing a candid look at the corporate realities of battery R&D, Yuan explains how FMC's pursuit of high-margin chemicals led to the eventual abandonment of its pioneering cathode program and the sale of its patent portfolio to Umicore.Finally, Dr. Gao reflects on his time as CEO of Pulead Technology in China. He unpacks the specific structural advantages of the Chinese manufacturing ecosystem.

Join us as world-renowned electrochemist Dr. Karim Zaghib shares his incredible journey through the history of lithium-ion batteries. Bridging academia and industry, Dr. Zaghib discusses his early research in Europe in the 80s and his front-row seat to Japan's 1990s battery boom. We also dive into his pivotal work commercializing LFP and LTO technologies at Hydro-Québec alongside legends like Michel Armand and John Goodenough, and his current views on how to shape the future of battery development in North America. 

Bill Howard brings more than five decades of hands-on experience to the history of battery development, starting at Gould National Batteries in the 1960s and finishing with Medtronic in the 2010s. Bill walks us through multiple battery chemistries from Leclanché cells, to Li/MnO2 cells, to LTO/LCO Li-ion cells and more. He covers how Medtronic learned to manufacture Li-ion batteries in the USA by licensing technology from E-one Moli in Canada. Bill provides a unique perspective on the performance and safety constraints required for implantable medical devices.

What powers the NASA spacesuit? Dr. Eric Darcy shares the learnings of his 38 year career designing safe battery packs at NASA. Learn about how NASA came to adopt Li-ion cells and where they sourced them from. Eric explains the considerations and strategies taken when designing safe packs for space missions.

Why does Duracell not make Li-ion batteries? Battery expert Karthik Ramaswami joins us to tell the story of Duracell's ambitious 1990s initiative to commercialize Li-ion technology and the strategic factors that ultimately led to the program's dissolution. From shipping electrodes and slurries across the ocean to the fit between product and market, Karthik provides insights into a pivotal moment in North American battery production.

Battery materials veteran Oliver Gross joins Vincent Chevrier and Kevin Eberman to trace his journey from ceramic research at the University of Toronto through the formative years of lithium-ion battery development. Oliver shares his experiences at Ultralife and a decade at Valence Technology — where he witnessed firsthand the internal discovery of LFP as a cathode material and the early commercialization of LFP cells using Bellcore's plastic Li-ion technology, including Valence's pioneering production in Northern Ireland and subsequent move to production in China.

LiFePO4 (LFP) pioneer Michel Gauthier joins Vincent Chevrier and Kevin Eberman to discuss the early days of battery research at Hydro-Québec focused on Li metal polymer batteries (80s-90s). How these led to identifying LFP, the carbon coating LFP patent, and the founding of Phostech Lithium, the first company in the world to offer stoichiometric carbon coated LiFePO4 as a product. Michel's story gives an insight into the ups and downs of the early 2000s that shaped the North American LFP scene and eventually the global LFP market.

World-renowned Li-ion battery scientist Jeff Dahn joins Vincent Chevrier and Kevin Eberman to discuss the early days of Moli Energy in the 1980s and 1990s. The Canadian company Moli Energy was the first company in the world to commercialize a rechargeable Li metal cell. Jeff tells the story of how Moli came to be, its path to commercialization, and the disastrous recall that bankrupted the company and led to Japanese ownership.