Sébastien Fantini is leading the research & innovation and business development units at Solvionic.

He received his PhD in physical chemistry with a focus on supercapacitors electrolytes, from the University of Versailles in 2001. He completed a Master in innovation management from Toulouse School of Management in 2020.
During its post-doctoral studies, he has been working on electrochemistry related projects at University of Limerick, Ireland (2002-2003) and at CEA Saclay, France (2004-2005).

He joined Solvionic in 2006 and has focused on the development of Ionic Liquid based electrochemical applications.

Dr. Simone Monaco is Cell and Battery Engineer in Ducati Motor Holding, working in the eMobility group for the development of electric motorcycles.

He received is PhD in Chemical Science in 2014 from Bologna University working on Li-air and Li-ion cells.

He worked 3 years as post-doc at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia focusing on material development for Li-ion, Na-ion and Mg-ion batteries. He is working since 2017 in the automotive industry.

He is the reference person for racing MotoE battery development and cell scouting.

Lisset Urrutia is Director R&D and Cell Engineering at SVOLT Energy Technology Europe. Lisset’s goal is to set up the right facilities to give support to SVOLT’s customers, drive the establishment of the local supply chain as well as look into advanced technologies.

As a chemical engineer with a master’s degree from Université Paul Sabatier (Toulouse III) in electrochemistry, she has more than twelve years of practical experience in the development of both lithium-ion and post lithium-ion batteries as well as production processes.

Throughout her career, Lisset has held international positions at companies like Baxter, Smurfit Kappa or OXIS Energy. She has previously worked in Colombia, Spain, England, China and now Germany.

Balázs Szilágyi has long standing diplomatic and academic experience in international political and economic affairs. Currently he is the European Public Affairs Director of CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited Co.), global leader of new energy innovative technologies.

Formerly he served in various diplomatic positions. He was an economic diplomat in Prague, Deputy Head of the Hungarian Embassy in Belgrade, Consul General in Chongqing (China). He also worked at the Permanent Representation of Hungary to the European Union (in Brussels). He was the Head of Unit for Northern Europe and Director General of the Department for Central Europe of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

His experience is linked to China and European affairs, in his current position he is working on the Europeanization of a China based company, global number one in providing electricity storage solutions.

Ines Miller is Associate Partner and currently leading the battery and cell technology team at P3.

Her projects encompass market evaluations, technical benchmarking, cell & pack development, cost assessments and technical due diligences for battery cells and materials. Within P3 she is an expert for E-Mobility with focus on Li-ion and next-generation battery cells and collaborated in several project setups with national and international automotive OEMs, cell manufacturers and material suppliers along the whole battery value chain (focus on EU, NA and Asia).

Before working for P3, Ines has gained her Master’s degree in Business Chemistry at the University of Ulm.

Sriram Ramanoudjame has been serving as the Chief Marketing, Strategy & Sustainability Director at Blue Solutions, a subsidiary of the Bolloré Group and the leading global manufacturer and designer of all-solid-state batteries, since 2022.

With an international exposure in engineering and business positions, Sriram brings his expertise in marketing and innovation, gained through his responsibilities in the global automotive industry.

His primary mission is to establish strong and sustainable partnerships, ensuring the long-term growth of the business, while adapting to the evolving demands of the market and the competitive regulatory environment.

Yoshi Uenishi is the Chief Strategy Officer of ALKEEMIA, responsible for group strategies including downstream business integrations.

Before joining ALKEEMIA, Yoshi spent 21 years at NSC Co., Ltd., a Japanese corporation specializing in HF process technologies for metal, glass and carbon product applications.

Yoshi was the frontier of NSC’s global business developments, leading multiple overseas subsidiaries as the Managing Director, and in the late years, lead both R&D as well as global sales divisions as C’ suite, when he planned, developed and marketed the unique eco-friendly graphite purification business.

Europe needs to localize the production of fluorine derived battery materials, and this will be made possible by combining ALKEEMIA’s resources with his knowledge & experiences.

Patricia Godel is the Head of Grant Financing at Skeleton Technologies.

She has been with the company for 4 years, after having run the Innovations unit in a large German utility.

With her background in organizational innovation, she functions as the intersection between the technology, scale up and finance within Skeleton, leading a team of industry experts.

2018.01-present: Head of Battery and Cell Development

2017.01–2017.12: xEV System Integrator and Battery Pack Team Leader

2015.05–01.2017: Hybrid system specialist in Innovation Department

2014.01–2015.04: Quality projects responsible for electric and electronic component

2012.07-2014.03: Electronic Engineer in F1 ERS Team

2009.07-2011.07: Electronic Technician in After Sales Department

Robert Pell, PhD is the Founder & CEO of Minviro, a technology and consultancy company that supports mining, metals, and low-carbon technology companies to measure and mitigate their environmental impacts.

Minviro uses life cycle assessment approaches, highlighting environmental hotspots and improvement opportunities during project development and operational stages.

Robert completed his PhD at Camborne School of Mines (University of Exeter) and Tsinghua University. Robert also sits on the Board of the Rare Earth Industry Association and the Critical Minerals Association.

Michael Schmidt is a research associate at the German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA) based in Berlin, which is part of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR). He is a geologist with practical experience in exploration, global market analysis and consultancy.

Between 2009 and 2012, Michael worked for the Martin Luther University Halle – Wittenberg where he worked on CCS technology. He also worked for different Junior Mining Companies (mostly Silver and Gold but also Antimony).

Since October 2012, he works in risk analysis for different commodities including Antimony, PGMs, Lithium and Boron. In this position, he is also consultant to the German Industry in commodity related issues.

Since 2015, he is the designated Lithium expert of DERA/BGR.

Since 2021, he is also head of the German DIN mirror committee for ISO/TC 333 “Lithium”.

Dr. Francesca Soavi is Associate Professor in Inorganic Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry “Giacomo Ciamician” of the University of Bologna, Italy.

She received her PhD in Chemical Sciences in 2002 from Bologna University and has continuously carried out research activities focused on the electrochemistry, chemical physical characterization and synthesis of materials for diversed energy storage and/or conversions systems, from supercapacitors to Li-ion batteries, Li/O2 batteries, redox flow batteries, inorganic and microbial fuel cells, as well as for micro-electrochemical devices like ion-gated transistors. 

She is leading leading ENERCube, a new laboratory dedicated to knowledge transfer actions in energetics at the Interdipartimental Center for Industrial Research (CIRI FRAME). She is Secretary General of The International Society of Electrochemistry. She co-authored more than 140 peer reviewd papers (H-index 42, > 6000 citations) 

Chief Technology Officer of Lifthium Energy, former Executive VP at Lilac Solutions and Head of EPC Project Directors Group at FLSmidth, over 25 years experience managing scale-up of large industrial processes including Direct Lithium Extraction, seasoned project director skilled in executing large complex chemical and mining projects throughout the globe. 

PMP certified with master’s degree in chemical engineering

Dr. Eliana Quartarone is Full Professor of Electrochemistry and Physical Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Pavia (IT). The EQ’s research field is focused on the design of innovative materials for energy, especially for Lithium and post-Lithium batteries.

She is leader of R2BATT_lab (infrastructure of the EcoCirc project funded by Regione Lombardia), whose activities are focused on the development of novel and sustainable approaches for batteries recycling and reuse. EQ is the Batteries Europe Secretariat technical advisor of the BE/Batt4EU Working Group 2 “Raw Materials and Recycling” and of the Task Force Sustainability.

She is coordinator of the HE RENOVATE project “A circular and chemistry-neutral approach for recycling and recovery of battery waste feeds” and of the national Healib PRIN 2022 project and RETREAT MASE project.

EQ is author and co-author of more than 140 articles (H index: 45, Scopus) and 5 book chapters.

Maximilian Meier holds the position of Vice President Operations and Engineering at Northern Graphite’s Battery Materials Division. In his role Maximilian spearheads initiatives aimed at driving the company’s expansion into large-scale battery materials production. 

With a focus on Natural Graphite Battery Anode Material, he has extensive experience working with carbon
additives for the battery industry.

Maximilian holds a Master’s degree in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering and has accumulated experience in leading operations and engineering endeavors across organizations, like Heraeus Battery Technology and Evonik Industries.

His expertise encompasses technology-driven projects across various countries and includes overseeing end-to-end management of investment projects. 

Dr. Maher Chebbo acted in Global and EMEA Senior Executive Leadership roles within large Corporates (GE Digital, SAP, Cap Gemini) as well as successful startups (accenta.ai), Digital, AI and Data Science, Energy, Telecommunications, Manufacturing, Mobility & Cleantech (Renewables, Batteries & BESS, Green Hydrogen, Green Ammonia, Smart Cities, Smart Building, Geo-Storage, EV Charging, Carbon Management). He is currently Managing Director for Europe at Univers. 

Maher technology areas of expertise are in AI, ML, AIOT, Data Science, Blockchain, SaaS, PaaS and Cyber Security. 

Maher have been a co-founder of the European SmartGrids Technology Platform of the EC and President of ESMIG (European Smart Metering Industry Group). He is currently member of the Council of Engineers for Energy Transition of UN (CEET) and is chairing the digital batteries task force at Batteries Europe. Maher is also a non-Executive Board member of Elisa, Telecom operator of Finland.

Maher holds a PhD degree (MinesParisTech), a Masters of Engineering in Automation & Data Science and a degree in Leading Global Businesses (HBS).

Dr. Chiara Ferrara is tenure track assistant professor, joining the electrochemistry group at the Department of Materials Science at the University Milano Bicocca.

She is coordinator of national projects on the development of new methods for recycling of lithium ion batteries and recovery of critical raw materials.

Since her PhD thesis her experience is linked to the development and the structural investigation of materials for lithium and sodium ion batteries.

She has gained her joint PhD in Chemistry at the University of Pavia / Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon.

Dr. Giovanni Boccaletti is Customer Technical Development EMEA in the Syensqo Battery Materials Platform.

Syensqo is the new spin-off of Solvay’s Special activity.

He began his career at Solvay in R&D department in 2004 and then he moved within the Solvay group, holding the position of CTD for batteries applications. 

Dr. Giovanni Boccaletti holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry.

Dr. Francesco Nobili is Associate Professor of Physical Chemistry at the School of Science and Technology of University of Camerino.

He leads the LABMATES (Laboratory for materials for energy storage) research group, which focuses its research activity on developing sustainable materials for electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices (such as biomass-derived carbons and binders, low- or no-Co cathodes for LIBs/SIBs and low- or no-PMG catalysts for ORR/OER) and to the study of transport and interfacial processes.

Dr. Nobili led or took part in several national and EU-funded projects and cooperates with several companies involved in the battery industry.

Dr. Kazuhisa Hirata is a group leader of Battery Materials Research Department at NIPPON SHOKUBAI CO., LTD.

He received his B. Eng. from Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University in 1998, and his M. Eng. in 2000 and Dr. Eng. in 2020 from Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University.

He has worked at NIPPON SHOKUBAI(2000-present).

His research interests are LiFSI and materials for lithium-ion batteries. He has authored 8 peer-reviewed papers, and over 60 patents.

Dr. Laurent Abbas is currently Head of R&D for Arkema Fluorochemicals Business Unit in Europe, where he is responsible for research activities in the field of synthesis and application of fluorinated molecules.

Following his PhD in Polymer Science, Laurent has over 15 years of experience in the field of fluorochemicals, spent both in US and France.

Since 2020, Laurent has also been serving as the head of the Christian Colette Battery Excellence Center located in Lyon, France, a multi-technology, and multi-product inclusive platform entirely oriented towards the development of advanced and sustainable materials for the batteries of the future. In his role, Laurent oversees application development activities on Arkema solutions for inside the cells, both for lithium-ion and post-lithium technologies.

Dr. Nikolas Oehl is dedicated professional with a 12-year focus on lithium-ion batteries.

Since 2020, he has been serving as a Funding Management Consultant at VDI/VDE-IT, lending his expertise to German authorities in initiating and implementing battery funding calls.

He plays a pivotal role in coordinating the IPCEI EuBatIn on behalf of the German Ministry of Economic Affairs. His Ph.D. delves into anode materials for lithium-ion batteries.

Prior to joining VDI/VDE-IT, he worked as a battery cell development engineer in the automotive industry.

12 years Europe Sales and Marketing experience including 9 years as Huawei Technology Co., Ltd and 3 years BTR New Materials group.

As current position he has managed BTR sales and marketing team to support our global customers, mainly focus on US, European and South Asian customers.

Also leading BTR European and North American investment business for plant setup, to satisfy customers localization supply demand.

Laure has more than 25 years of international experience in Management, Marketing and Business development. While working for Mining and Metallurgical Industries for more than 10 years, she supported business growth rate of 20% per year in aerospace manufacturing.

Trained in international certifications such as ISO 9001, 14001, 50001 and under IATF16949 for Automotive, she coordinated management team and business teams to conclude strategic partnering and business intelligence in competitive industries. She’s used to work in North America (Atlanta, GA & Baltimore MD)

Skilled in developing lasting client rapport based on knowledgeable support and consistent service.

Proficient in developing and applying advance marketing, strategies to accomplish business goals. Demonstrated success in building long-term partnership in Manufacturing.

Omar Perego is a project manager in RSE (since 2015). The National funded research projectdeals with materials and technologies development of electrochemical and thermal energy storage systems, covering the whole value chain.

He has 20-years’ experience in distributed energy systems, renewable energy sources and combined heat and power generation (cogeneration). He actively participates in several European initiatives on electrochemical energy storage, including ETIP Batteries Europe, ETIP-SNET, Batteries European Partnership Association, European Battery Alliance, EERA JP Energy Storage.

Since 2022, he is a research director in the board of the Energy Materials Industrial Research Initiative (EMIRI) and he is the coordinator of the WG “industry needs” of the Italian permanent table on Critical Raw Materials, promoted by the Ministries of Environment and Enterprises.

Since 2021, he is member of the research committee of the National Energy Technology Cluster and since 2017 he is the reference person in the “Smart Energy System” area of the Lombardy Energy Cleantech Cluster.

In 2019 he obtained a Master in science communication and sustainable innovation.

Dr. Matteo Romio is the R&D Projects Coordinator at Alkeemia. He received his PhD in Organic Chemistry in 2016 from Padua University, Italy.

In 2017 he started as a Team and Project Leader in organic fluorine chemistry to develop industrial synthetic solutions for late-stage fluorination of critical API intermediates.

From 2019 to 2021 he joined a research team at ETH in Zurich and then at EMPA St. Gallen where he studied new biocompatible polymers for the application in surface properties modification.

Since 2022 he has been the Alkeemia R&D Projects Coordinator he is supervising the team of researchers focused on developing fluorinated battery additives, organo-fluoride chemistry, and studying novel fluorinating agents.