Intervenants

Yahya Alvar has more than 25 years of experience within the automotive industry in mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, product development life cycle, project and program management, electrification, and battery design and development projects.

He joined UKBIC’s commercial team in 2022 as Business Development Manager, before becoming Head of Business Development in July 2024, where he supports UK and international customers to develop, optimise and scale-up their battery electrodes, cells, modules, and packs. Prior to UKBIC, Yahya worked at Ricardo UK where he delivered consultancy services for battery module and pack design and development projects, and for Ford, at its Technical Centre, where he managed engineering consultancy projects and the delivery team for Altran UK. He holds a dual MSc degree in International project management and BSc in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering.

Experienced profesional in overseas industry for more than 20 years, I enjoy supporting clients in their import & export needs by air & by sea.

Dr. Kolja Beltrop studied chemistry at the University of Muenster and obtained his doctorate in the group of Prof. Martin Winter in the field of novel electrolytes based on ionic liquids and advanced electrolyte additives for lithium-ion batteries and alternative energy storage systems. From 12/2017 until 12/2020, Dr. Kolja Beltrop was the responsible laboratory manager for the synthesis and electrochemical characterization of electrolyte components at the MEET Battery Research Center. He has more than 8 years of experience in the field of lithium-ion batteries and is author of 12 scientific publications and 1 patent. Since 05/2019 Kolja Beltrop is the CTO and co-founder of the start-up company E-Lyte Innovations GmbH.

Hagen Berger, CEO of Exacom GmbH in Germany, began investigating battery inspection already in 2015. In 2018, Berger presented and sold the company’s first tool with battery inspection capabilities. Since then, Exacom’s customer base and portfolio have continued to expand, boasting over 100 installations for all major cell formats with more than 2 billion cells inspected. Known for his visionary leadership, Berger has been a driving force behind the adoption of inline X-ray inspection systems in battery manufacturing. This has significantly accelerated production while reducing reject rates. His unwavering dedication to advancing technology and process understanding in the battery industry has earned him recognition and respect among his peers.

Marek holds a PhD in physics from AGH-UST University of Science and Technology in Kraków, Poland as well as MSc in chemistry from Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland. He was also granted an 11 months long fellowship in IAEA Laboratories in Seibersdorf, Austria. After working few years in automotive industry and AGH-UST University, in 2006 he joined the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission for a 3-year long post-doc traineeship in the Institute for Transuranium Elements of JRC in Karlsruhe, Germany where he conducted research on non-naturally born radioactive particles found in the environment. Since 2009, Marek joined Joint Research Centre, Ispra Site Management team in Ispra, Italy taking duties of radiation protection officer. In 2010, he took position at the JRC Institute for Energy in Petten, taking role of lead scientist for hydrogen storage in solid-state materials. Since 2018 Marek joined battery team focusing on performance and durability of batteries and supporting EU legislative activities regarding batteries, including Battery Sustainability Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. Since 2022, Marek is also a leading author of Clean Energy Technologies Observatory reports on batteries.

Théophile Bogaert, Business Development Manager at Groupe Bogaert, plays a key role in the strategic development of our transport and logistics activities. Passionate about environmental challenges, he dedicates his energy and expertise to the decarbonization of logistics flows and sustainable innovation. Committed to the energy transition, Théophile actively contributes to implementing eco-friendly solutions while meeting the growing demand from our clients for performance and sustainability.

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of The Netherlands

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management is committed to improving quality of life, access and mobility in a clean, safe and sustainable environment. The Ministry strives to create an efficient network of roads, railways, waterways and airways, effective water management to protect against flooding, and improved air and water quality. The Ministry is also the coordinating department for the Dutch Governmental battery strategy

Educational background: MSc & BSc in Management of natural resources and a BSc in Environmental policy making.

Longstanding expertise in policy making on different sustainability issues. Since 4 years coordinator of the Dutch Governmental Battery Strategy. The interdepartmental strategic approach on batteries is a collaboration between the relevant ministries and governmental agencies, to work together in an efficient manner to reach the set goals. “With the battery strategy we aim at a safe, responsible and sustainable growth of batteries in society and at utilizing the economic opportunities that arise from it.”

Richard Bouveret has been the CEO & Chairman of Blue Solutions and Bluebus, both 100% subsidiaries of the Bolloré Group, since September 2022.

Richard is a connoisseur of vehicles and their lifecycles, an expert in mechatronics and electrification, and a specialist in cutting-edge technologies. He has a keen interest in all innovations in this sector.

Richard Bouveret joined the Bolloré Group at a pivotal moment for the Blue divisions: his mission is to make Blue Solutions and Bluebus leaders in the solid-state battery and electric bus markets. Richard Bouveret’s passion for cars began when he was a child, thanks to the automobile manufacturers’ manuals he inherited from his grandfather.

An engineering graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Nancy, he spent the last few decades with Valeo, then with the ZF Group, where he led talent and business development strategies, optimized the quality and costs of industrial operations, oversaw commercial transformations and steered merger and acquisition policies.

With over 28 years of international automotive experience, Richard is recognized as a passionate and pragmatic leader who focuses on talent to create, execute, and monitor disruptive strategies aimed at delivering unique selling propositions to ensure short and medium-term sustainable sales outperformance, positive incremental margin, the right level of cash conversion and the most effective talent retention plan.

Richard has accumulated a comprehensive knowledge of all aspects of the automotive sector. He is also highly visionary when it comes to structuring his business, thanks to his international experience in North America, Europe, Turkey, India, China, South-Korea, and Japan.

Matthias Braun is responsible for developing the end-to-end logistics and supply chain network for Volkswagen Group’s in-house battery cell production at PowerCo SE, a role that he began in January 2022. He is responsible for the logistics across battery cell production, including planning, network design, organisation, and material flow. Also included is the responsibility for building up the necessary Digitalization for the processes, not only within the logistic processes but also for the overall Manufacturing process such as MES and the production related infrastructure inside the factory. Besides this his organization covers the responsibility for all logistics for the machine suppliers for the battery cell production at PowerCo’s worldwide factories which are coming mainly from Asian suppliers.

Prior to this, Matthias Braun was head of digitalisation and new concept development at Volkswagen Konzernlogistik (Group Logistics), which manages logistics across group brands, where he was responsible for implementing new technologies in supply chain management, including artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles. He joined Volkswagen in 1999 and has worked across group logistics in areas including pre-series logistics, order management, inbound logistics and network planning.

Jean-Sébastien BRIDEL is the Anode Science director at Research & Development Corporate of Umicore, responsible for the scientific strategy of the Silicon anode material incubator project in line with market dynamics and customer needs in EV applications. Jean-Sébastien has a long history and experience on electrochemistry and advanced material with a focus on Silicon anode. After his PhD in one of the major French laboratories, he joined Umicore 15 years ago, have been located in different sites (France, Belgium, Korea) and have been involved in cathode and anode material preparation, advanced cell design and business development.

Completed a degree in materials science followed by a doctorate at the Jülich Research Center, with a dissertation titled « Fabrication of Electrode Structures for Lithium-Ion Thin-Film Batteries ». Subsequently joined the Foundry Institute at RWTH Aachen University, where I managed industrial projects focused on die casting of aluminum structural components and led the permanent mold casting working group. Since July 2019, I have been working as a Senior Expert in research management at TÜV Rheinland, and serving as a member of the Accompanying Research Team for the IPCEI European Battery Innovation on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

Simone Cailotto is working as Global End Market Developer for Batteries and Renewable Energies in PerkinElmer. He studied Chemistry at the University Ca’ Foscari of Venice and he obtained his PhD in Chemistry with a thesis focus on the synthesis of innovative materials and their characterization. After his PhD he focused his attention on the synthesis of nanomaterials from renewable resources. Then he moved to PerkinElmer where he is now involved in the development of the applied market segment with a particular focus on renewable energies and batteries market.

Nicolo` is a battery experienced professional. He supported tens of client around the world while working as an expert consultant for McKinsey and company. In 2021 he founded Battery Insights, a McKinsey solution (subsidiary) dedicated to support clients and develop insights for the battery industry. Since then he has been leading a team based in Korea, Europe and the USA, keeping fresh knowledge and models to support clients along the battery value chain. Before joining McKinsey he earned his PhD in electrochemistry between KU Leuven (Belgium) and MIT (USA), and is currently scientific collaborator at UC Louvain (Belgium) where he supports students researching in the fields of new anode and new electrolytes.

Emmanuel Cantel joined the Credit Agricole Group in 1992 and has over 30+ years of banking experience, including 13 years in Debt Advisory in London and Paris and 6 years in Arranging Natural Resources Project Finance transactions. Until recently, Emmanuel was the Global Head of Metals & Mining for structured finance where he implemented a strategy on the EV value chain. Emmanuel is now Global Head of the Tech Transition Group (“TTG”). The latter assists the front officers on the technical due diligence of transactions (either advisory or debt) related to the energy transition.

Dr. Johann Chable is a solid-state chemist in the “Synthesis and Ceramic Powder Technology” group in the “Institute for Applied Materials-Energy Storage Systems” at the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT) in Karlsruhe, Germany. His research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of NMC cathode active materials for Li-ion batteries in a scale-up context. Dr. Chable is currently involved in the German LiBinfinity project, which aim is to close the raw material loop in e-mobility, by bringing industrial and academical expertise together.

Geoffroy is responsible for the leadership and coordination of due diligence assignments at WSP in Central Europe. Geoffroy has been advising Financiers and Sponsors as to the technical risks carried by the asset being considered and the associated financial and commercial consequences for the past fourteen years.

Over the past seven years he has advised clients on projects and technologies in the battery value chain including battery cells manufacturing, pCAM manufacturing, CAM manufacturing and EV battery recycling.

Rémi CORNUBERT is the founder of Strat Anticipation a Strategy Consultancy Boutique created 3 years ago and focused on sustainable mobility, energy transition and associated materials. He has more than 30 years of experience in Strategy & Operations consulting mainly with Oliver Wyman. His expertise in batteries & their upstream supply chain has been developed thanks to many strategy projects for leading players in the value chain since 20+ years. Rémi has also a strong know-how in powertrains and their electrification. He has been working for OEMs, their suppliers, Chemicals, and materials producers… His sectorial expertise is in automotive, trucks, chemicals, energy, aerospace, railways, maritime and light mobility. Rémi started his career in R&D at Bertin & Cie for 8 years. He graduated from Ecole Normale Supérieure in Physics and got after a PhD and an MBA from INSEAD

Thomas Courbe was born in 1972. He is ingénieur general de l’Armement, and is a graduate of l’Ecole supérieure de l’aéronautique et de l’espace (SUPAERO).

Thomas Courbe began his career in 1995 at the Ministry of Defense as head of fighter aircraft programs then Chief of Staff of the Director of aircraft programs.

He joined the Directorate General of the Treasury in 2002 where he was successively deputy head of the Asia office, head of the Africa – Maghreb office, head of the aeronautical, military and naval business office, Secretary General of the Paris Club and then Deputy Director of bilateral economic relations.

In 2010, he was appointed Chief of Staff of the State Secretary in charge of Foreign Trade (Pierre Lellouche) and Deputy Chief of Staff of the French Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry (Christine Lagarde and then François Baroin).

In 2012, he returned to the Treasury Department where he served as Secretary General, then Deputy Director General from 2015 to 2018.

In August 2018, Thomas Courbe was appointed Director General for Entreprises.

Laurent Courtois is energy and climate Director at Aluminium Dunkerque. He has spent the last fifteen years working for various industrial groups. Committed to local development, he is also President of the Pôlénergie association, which promotes the attractiveness of the Hauts-de-France Region through energy and decarbonization. He is also vice-chairman of the UNIDEN’s electricity technical committee, an association of energy-intensive industrial companies

Alexandre Delannoy is a seasoned professional with a strong background in business development, project management, and technical innovation. With a dual degree in engineering and management from Grenoble-INP and Grenoble École de Management, Alexandre has honed his expertise in building and scaling cutting-edge solutions across various industries. His experience ranges from developing real-time quality inspection systems for high-value manufacturing sectors to leading partnerships and commercial strategies in the field of sustainable technologies.

Currently serving as Business Development & Partnerships Manager at MECAWARE, Alexandre plays a key role in driving the company’s vision of creating a fully integrated battery recycling value chain. His entrepreneurial mindset and technical acumen have been instrumental in shaping MECAWARE’s multi-technology platform in Béthune, aimed at addressing critical gaps in end-of-life battery management and recycling. Alexandre’s passion for sustainability and innovation positions him as a key advocate for advancing circular economy practices in the electric vehicle industry.

Cédric Demonthy obtained his Master of Science in Business Engineering from HEC Liège (Belgium) in 2002.

He began his career at NMC in 2003, where he held several key positions, including Chief Executive Officer of NMC America, Inc. In 2010, he joined Lhoist, progressing through various leadership roles before serving as Director of Corporate Development & Strategy. Moving to EverZinc in 2019, he ultimately became Vice President of Fine Zinc Powder & Battery Materials, leading the global FZP and Zinc Battery Materials business.

In February 2024, Cédric joined Umicore as Vice President of Battery Recycling Solutions. As Global Head of the business unit, he is driving the upscaling of the current industrial pilot plant in Hoboken, Antwerp, while preparing future growth plans of Umicore’s battery recycling business, with operations expected to start in 2032 at the earliest.

Christian Dertmann is a materials engineer specializing in lithium extraction and hydrometallurgical processing. He currently leads these efforts at ACCUREC-Recycling GmbH, focusing on battery recycling and sustainable metallurgy.

He holds a Master’s degree in Materials Engineering from RWTH Aachen University, where he later worked as a Scientific Engineer at the IME – Institute for Metallurgical Processing and Recycling for five years, publishing research on hydrometallurgy and battery recycling.

His PhD research introduced a fluorine-free hydrometallurgical process for recovering niobium and tantalum from tin slags, advancing sustainable resource recovery.

With expertise in circular economy solutions, Christian bridges research and industry to drive innovation in critical material recycling.

Dr. Christian Dietrich is Director of Business Development at Nanoramic Laboratories GmbH, a battery technology company headquartered in the Boston area (US). He received his PhD from Justus-Liebig University of Giessen for his work on sulfide all-solid-state batteries under the supervision of Prof. Jürgen Janek. Before joining Nanoramic, Christian served as a specialist in Volkswagen’s Partnering & Strategy and Materials department at VW’s Centre of Excellence in Salzgitter. Working over 10 years in the field of batteries, Christian gathered experience from materials to innovative technologies and from automotive battery cells to pack development.

• DUT GEII + Licence CESI
• 23 years in North Industries Plants
• 10 years with SMC
• 5 years Sales Ingineer
• 2019: Key Account Manager CP Group
• 2021: Start Gigafactories Management
• 2023: Key Account Manager FR Gigafactories

Klaus is a proven technology leader with more than 25 years international experience in the global high-Tech industry, with current focus on the Battery Industry. He has an in-depth knowledge of the worldwide battery market, the equipment supplier landscape as well as of the key requirements on how to design and construct cost effective and sustainable factories. He acts as the Senior Director Technology Management in Exyte’s business unit ATF (Advanced Technology Management). Klaus supports on a global scale all projects for Battery Cell manufacturing from Exyte with the focus of driving down costs for new Factories with innovative solutions for the Design of Sustainable Gigafactories with low Carbon footprint and making sure that the most stringent Safety requirements are fulfilled. The scope of services encompasses Consulting such as Site evaluation, building concept development, Cost estimates, Site Master Planning, Value Engineering, Benchmarking, Safety Concepts and Energy saving concepts followed by the Design and subsequent Construction of the Factories.

Filippo works at KnowMade as Patent & Technology Analyst in the field of Energy Storage and Conversion. He holds a PhD in Materials Chemistry from the University of Montpellier (France). After spending few years in industry (Morgan Avanced Materials, EcoLab), he has been working since 2015 on materials for batteries and fuel cells at University of Montpellier, CNRS and CEA-LITEN (France).

Brice Fiorentino is a seasoned professional in the field of advanced materials for thermal management, safety, and energy efficiency, with a particular focus on high-performance solutions for batteries. As the Business Development, Marketing & Innovation Manager at Enersens, he plays a key role in driving the company’s growth, forging strategic partnerships, and spearheading innovative initiatives.

Brice has built a robust network of stakeholders in the battery market, enabling him to establish high-value collaborations with global players in sectors such as e-mobility, energy storage systems, aerospace, and defense. His expertise spans lead generation, market opportunity exploration, and the successful deployment of Europe-wide projects. A notable achievement includes leading the EN.MOTION project, a €5.5M initiative funded by the European Commission, aimed at advancing innovative technologies for the battery market.

Prior to joining Enersens, Brice honed his expertise in various international roles, including positions at CEA LITEN, Imerys, and Solvay, where he contributed to breakthrough projects in materials science, nanotechnology, and clean technologies.

Academically, Brice holds a PhD in Materials Science from the National Institute of Applied Sciences (INSA) in Lyon, earned in 2012. Recently, he completed an Executive MBA at EmLyon Business School, further enhancing his strategic vision, leadership, and business acumen. This program has been instrumental in shaping his ability to navigate complex challenges and deliver innovative solutions in the highly competitive field of advanced materials for energy technologies.

Brice is passionate about driving sustainable innovation and developing cutting-edge solutions that address the evolving challenges of energy efficiency and safety in high-performance applications.

Justo Garcia is the Head of the Financing Strategy for the Battery project at Orano. He manages the team in charge of the EU and French fundings and is responsible for coordinating consortium activities. He is the coordinator of the RECYVABAT project, supported under the French recovery Plan “France Relance”.

Justo has more than 25 years of professional experience at Orano Group where he has held various positions as engineering manager, project manager, product manager, head of R&D department and R&D program manager.

In 2019, Justo launched the project dedicated to the development of innovative battery recycling process and set up a joint research laboratory with the CEA at Grenoble, France.

In December 2021, Justo was elected member of the Executive Board of the BEPA (Batteries European Partnership Association) as a representative of the battery recycling industry.

Justo holds an executive MBA from Paris Dauphine-PSL University and a Master’s degree in Energy Systems Modelling from Aix-Marseille University (France).

Luc Geysen is currently heading the Battery Business as Global Director for PSA BDP. He has more than 7 years in the lithium-ion battery space growing business, leading technology transfers, and scaling Operations. Luc Geysen started up the Battery business 3 years ago in Dunkirk and main focus is now on creating circularity in the battery space. He obtained a chemical engineering degree and holds a MBA at London Business School combined with a management executive course at MIT.

Jakob Gross is an experienced professional with over seven years of consulting and engineering practice in the field of electromobility and battery technology. Throughout his career, he has provided expert consultation to clients across various industries including automotive, chemistry, and investment banking. His expertise lies in advising battery manufacturers, suppliers, and OEMs, assisting them in identifying and implementing innovations within the rapidly evolving landscape of battery technology.

Philippe Hatron, who holds a master’s degree in finance from the University of Rouen and an Executive MBA from Georgetown University (USA), began his career in 1988 with Price Waterhouse, becoming Manager in 1993. In 1995, he joined COGEMA’s Finance Department. In February 1998, he was appointed Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of Transnuclear, Inc. in the United States. In 2001, still in the United States, he was appointed CFO of the Nuclear Measurements Business Unit, where he was also in charge of Human Resources from 2003 to 2005. In 2006, he became Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of AREVA North America. In 2008, Philippe Hatron was appointed Vice President, AREVA Audit. In 2012, he was appointed Senior Vice President, Mining and Front End Sales, deputy to the Executive Vice President, in charge of Sales. Since May 2016, based in Beijing, Philippe Hatron has been Director China, Taiwan and South Korea for the Orano group.

Calvin Hsieh oversees ProLogium’s production capacity establishment and mass production strategy in Europe, assisting the group in achieving its goals of accelerating global production deployment and transitioning to always smarter manufacturing. Currently, Calvin leads the expansion team stationed at ProLogium’s office in Dunkirk, France to ensure the smooth progress of the Dunkirk gigafactory project, while adhering to local regulations, to fulfil ProLogium’s commitment to supplying the European market.

With over 25 years of management experience, Calvin possesses profound expertise in both engineering and corporate management domains. Prior to joining ProLogium, he held senior executive positions in multinational corporations in the telecommunications and touchscreen industries. He excels in leading international teams, integrating strategies and management in manufacturing, finance, and supply chain to achieve the company’s strategic goals in manufacturing and business.

Jakob Jenner, born in 1984, studied mechanical engineering after successfully completing an apprenticeship as a materials tester.

Over the years, Jakob has gained extensive experience in the technology, design, and sales of solutions within the industrial process industry, successfully applying his expertise in various application areas.

As Area Sales Engineer at Willy A. Bachofen AG, Jakob underwent a detailed and intensive training programme, during which he acquired a profound knowledge of how to support customers with all their needs. Jakob is responsible for WAB customers in Belgium, Egypt, France, Saudi Arabia, South of Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates.

As a solution-oriented expert in wet grinding, milling and flow chemistry, he is the right contact person for all your questions regarding WAB solutions for the battery industry.

1994 – 2002 Studies of mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Vienna in the field of vehicle development and control theories
2002 – 2005 PhD at the Technical University of Vienna in the field of Data Driven Modelling and Model based controls for automotive applications

2005 – 2009 Software development and project management
2009 – 2011 Software project management
2011 – 2017 Department and Product Manager for Calibration Software Products
2017 – 2022 Senior Group Product Manager for Data Processing and Analytics Products since 2022 Head of Product, Solution Management and Support for Data Processing and Analytics

Head of Product and Solution Management for Data Processing, Analytics and Intelligence Software Products. Responsible for shaping the product offering of AVL to drive innovations of our customers and our own engineers in the development of new and modern vehicle concepts.

Otto Kivi is working as a Business Development Manager at Stora Enso, focusing on company’s bio-based anode material Lignode. He has over 20 years of experience in international sales and business development of diƯerent bio-based solutions. Stora Enso is a leading Global biomaterial company from Scandinavia, operations in 50 countries and turnover around 10 billion EUR.

Dr Franziska Klein is group leader of the ‘Batteries’ group in the ‘Applied Electrochemistry’ department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT in Pfinztal, Germany. Her research focuses on the material development of NextGen batteries (i.e. sodium-ion batteries and solid-state batteries) and their characterization (e.g. operando analytics), special safety investigations of batteries and small modules including gas analytics, and production and data research. Dr Klein is involved in setting up the battery cell research production facility (Fraunhofer FFB) in Münster.

Olivier Kueny is a Senior Loan Officer in the Project & Structured Finance department at the EIB, where he is covering Project Finance activities, notably in relation to EV Battery Gigafactories, Battery Energy Storage Systems, CRM value chain and renewables in Western Europe. He notably led the EIB structuring and lending teams on the Verkor gigafactory in Dunkirk and AESC one in Douai. Previously, Olivier worked as Senior PPP Specialist at the Asian Development Bank in Manila advising Central Asian Governments on PPPs; Chief Investment Officer at AMEA Power in Dubai developing power projects in Africa and Asia and Director in Project Finance at HSBC in Dubai and London. Before his MBA, he was an Operations Manager in an EDF nuclear power plant in France. Olivier has an MBA from London Business School and is an engineer from Mines Paris – PSL.

As Director of Employment and Talents Acquisition for the Communauté Urbaine de Dunkerque, I have been involved for over 10 years in the urban and industrial transformation of this area of French maritime Flanders, which, according to the World Economic Forum, makes it « one of the 20 territories that will save the world ».

I make an active contribution to this thanks to my ability to embrace the complexity of territorial development and explore new levers of innovation, based on cooperation and the search for concrete results.

Since 2019, I have been contributing to the transformation of Dunkirk’s industry, based on decarbonisation and reindustrialisation, putting skills, employment, training and education at the heart of the approach, with a collective of many public and private partners.

Emmanuel is a chemical process engineer with a strong background in air treatment developed since more 20 years. Graduate of Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Industries Chimiques – ENSIC Nancy, Emmanuel has joined several international engineering companies dedicated to the management of air treatment projects like odor control, VOC and acid treatments, using technologies such as gas scrubbing, biofiltration and activated carbon adsorption. Emmanuel works currently at DESOTEC, a Belgium company with liquid, water, air and gas mobile filter solutions using activated carbon in order to develop battery market. The DESOTEC’s solutions are very suitable and efficient regarding the treatment of the VOC like carbonates or NMP coming from battery process manufacturing.

Sophie Laurent is Eco-Innovation Project Manager at MTB Group, where she leads the scientific development of battery recycling. An engineering graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Montpellier and holder of a PhD in materials chemistry, Sophie brings valuable scientific expertise to MTB. In particular, she guides the technical team’s developments to deploy the best solutions for the mechanical pre-treatment of batteries at the end of their life.

Frédéric is the Western Europe Battery and Automotive Segment Manager at Waygate Technologies. For the past seven years, he has been supporting the automotive sector’s transformation toward electrification and the development of a new battery ecosystem through industrial projects combining computed tomography and advanced inspection technologies.

Prior to this role, he spent two decades as a global sales manager for automation and condition-based and predictive maintenance software systems in the energy sector at GE and Baker Hughes. With his experience on large-scale projects in multi-cultural environment, he has a deep understanding of production challenges & industrial quality issues.

Richard LeCain has been Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for UKBIC since August 2024 with responsibility for technical process design, product development and R&D activities across the business. He has more than 20 years of experience working in the battery industry, having previously held technical and leadership positions at A123 Systems and Britishvolt, where he was Director of Cell and Process Engineering. Richard began his career in batteries at Lithium Iron Phosphate pioneer (LFP) A123 Systems in the US as a process engineer where he developed LFP cells in cylindrical and pouch formats for energy storage applications such as power tools, medical devices and automotives, eventually becoming the head of cell design for low voltage applications. As Director of Cell and Process Engineering at Britishvolt, Richard and his team worked closely with UKBIC and WMG, at the University of Warwick, to develop an energy dense 21700 cell for customer evaluations. Before joining UKBIC, Richard was Director of Cell Development at US-based silicon anode company, GDI, where he worked on integrating 100% silicon anodes into lithium-ion cells for high energy density and fast charging application.

Jeremy LEMAIRE has over twenty-five years of working experience in the fields of Project management, control systems and dynamic simulators for industry. He started his professional career in 1998 as a software development engineer and then became a project manager in control systems for various industries. For the last ten years Jeremy has been managing large Operator Training Simulator (OTS) projects for process industries such as chemicals and oil & gas processing. One of his most recent assignment is the role of Project Director for the development of dynamic simulators for battery value chain. This includes lithium-ion battery cell production plant simulators for the Ecole De La Battery and Electro’Mob Project.

Ms. Maud Lenfant is the Project Director of Energy Equipment Manufacturers at the General Directorate for Enterprises, overseeing the battery, hydrogen and thermal and electrical equipment sectors. An engineer trained at École Polytechnique, she has 12 years of experience in the energy sector in France and abroad. Her expertise spans electricity and gas supply, the development of renewable energy production projects, and the financing of innovation and industrialization for energy equipment manufacturing industries. She has been working with the French battery industry for 5 years.

Ludovic Leroy is a business engineer and trainer in the energy sector. After a career in various field like energy and aeronautics, he now works at IFP Training, a leading training organization created by the French Petroleum Institute and New Energies (IFPEN). Specializing in the challenges of the energy transition, Ludovic Leroy contributes through training, technical expertise and regularly appears in press releases to explains technical aspects about energies.

Jens is a seasoned professional with three decades of experience in the non-destructive testing industry. Jens’ expertise is particularly strong in X-Ray computed tomography. He was one of the founding fathers of the Phoenix X-Ray Systems. And executed numerous CT projects in the electronics, automotive, aerospace, and battery sectors. Jens is a polyglot fluent in German, English, French, and Spanish. His mission is to introduce innovative inline CT solutions from the Chinese battery manufacturing arena to the growing European market.

Lukas Malinowski is Sr. Sales Manager at Cabot Battery Materials, a leading global specialty chemicals and performance company with sales to 9 of the top 10 global battery manufacturers.

Prior to Cabot, Lukas worked for blue chip companies such as Daimler, BASF, German technology company Heraeus and most recently for E-magy a European silicon anode materials start-up where he led the commercial activities and initiated strategic partnerships as Sr. Business Development Manager. He has experience working with leading international technology companies in Europe, North America, Japan, Korea and China in the battery materials sector.

He has an engineering background in Energy- and Process Technology and hold’s a Master’s degree in Sales Engineering and Product Management from Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany.

Guillermo Martinez is the Battery Sector Lead for Turner & Townsend, and works on the construction of multiple battery projects globally. Guillermo has an in-depth understanding of the global battery market, and the risks and opportunities that affect construction of battery production assets. As a subject matter expert, he supports the delivery of project management, cost management, project controls and PMC services across a portfolio of more than 600 GWh of battery production to date. Previously, Guillermo has also been actively involved in projects in sectors with similar challenges and technical characteristics, as manufacturing, life sciences and datacenters. Thanks to the broader view acquired in other mature industries, Guillermo actively contributes to support all involved stakeholders in establishing and implementing best practices to manage construction projects across the battery value chain.

Steen McCollin brings over two decades of experience in the automotive, energy and technology sectors, with a proven track record in scaling businesses and fostering strategic partnerships. (Jaguar Land Rover, Bee Lighting, Nexeon). His expertise aligns seamlessly with CarbonX’s mission to revolutionize the battery supply chain by providing sustainable and locally produced active anode materials to replace graphite in batteries. In this role, Steen spearheads the company’s global commercial strategy, driving growth and expanding market presence.

Rory is the Product Director of New Technology at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, the world’s leading price reporting and market intelligence agency for the lithium-ion battery supply chain. During his 3 years at Benchmark, Rory has built market forecasts detailing the emerging solid-state, lithium metal, silicon anode, and sodium-ion battery industries and has played an active role in the development of Benchmark’s battery recycling coverage.

Briséïs Mercadier is a research scientist, part of Echion Technologies’ Research and Development team.
She earned a Bachelor’s in Chemistry and Master’s in Electrochemistry from Sorbonne Université, focusing on Fuel Cells and next-generation solid-state batteries.

Following her Master’s degree, Briséïs embarked on a PhD program in Material Chemistry and Electrochemistry. Her doctoral research was centered around the development of next-generation solid-state electrolytes for F-ion batteries.

Currently, she works at Echion Technologies, concentrating on developing next-generation electrode materials and studying fundamental material degradation.

I have been working for 15 years as an automation and industrial data processing engineer. I have worked as a developer, project manager, project coordinator in different industries (waste recovery, power plant, pharmaceutical). A year ago, I joined Verkor where my first goal is to coordinate all the stakeholders on our BMS project.

• Deputy to the Director of port planning and environment – Dunkerque Port
• Experience in industry and energy sectors (Saint-Gobain, EDF, Bpifrance)
• Engineer degree from Mines Paris & Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (IPEF)

Greg serves as the Regional Sales Manager for the EMEA region at AMETEK Surface Vision. With over 20 years of experience in the machine vision industry, he has held various technical and sales positions. Greg helps his customers tackle complex quality challenges across multiple market segments, including metals, plastics, nonwovens, paper, and batteries. He holds an MSc degree in Medical Electronics and an MBA form UQAM.

Commercial Manager with 29 years’ experience in the specialty chemicals industry with versatile experiences in Sales, Marketing, Plant Operations, ERP and CRM implementations. Moved to Battery eco-system 3 years ago from nickel mining to cathode active materials project. Working on CAM business implementation in France to fulfil current and future Battery market needs.

A seasoned leader, advisor and investor, Rodrigo has almost 20 years of industrial experience on dynamic and technology intensive strategic platforms in relation to energy transition, particularly in the EV/Battery value chain where he has over 10 years’ experience. Currently, he is taking the helm at SOLiTHOR, an innovative European solid-state battery technology company. Prior to this, he advised executive clients around the world supporting corporates, investment groups and emerging companies in their growth, ecosystem build-up and/or strategic investment initiatives as part of the management consultancy Arthur D. Little. He has also worked for the multinationals Philips, NXP Semiconductors and DSM where he led Corporate Development and Venture teams. Rodrigo has engineering degrees from Brazil, Italy and Switzerland and Financial / Investment qualifications from Oxford Saïd and London Business School.

Christophe Petit graduated from Ecole Centrale Paris and holds a PhD in metallurgy. He started his career with ArcelorMittal in the ironmaking area, at Maizières-les-Metz Research Center and held several operational and lanagerial positions in Fos-sur-mer plant. He joined then Eramet group as R&D and Engineering manager (today Eramet Ideas). He took next a VP Quality position at Aubert & Duval and was later nominated CTO until the sale of this company to Airbus-Safran-Tikehau consortium. Christophe has joined Sibanye-Stillwater in 2023 as Senior Vice President Country Manager for France.

Christophe has built up considerable expertise in the area of battery market. He joined AVICENNE 30 years ago and Spend 3 years in Japan making analysis on the Electronic, Mobile & Japanese battery market. Christophe gained large experience in marketing, strategy analysis, technology and financial studies for the battery and power management fields.

He developed the Battery market analysis for AVICENNE which counts more than 400 customers worldwide. Christophe published several annual surveys like “The rechargeable battery market 2022-2030”. He is also the founder & chairman of Batteries congress in France since 1999.

Head of Green Technologies department at bpifrance.

Engineer with 20+ years experience in industry, mainly as R&D manager at automotive OEMs.

With focus on powertrain development & light-commercial vehicles customer requirements.

Dr. Timo Rabe, Business Development with Quintus Technologies AB, holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Kiel in Germany. He has been working with battery and electrolyte chemistries in previous roles and currently works at Quintus Technologies on developing ISP technologies for use in the Solid-State Battery market.

Expert in connected devices for industrial application, I worked on many usecases including connectivity of autonomous cars, bus and shuttles. We have created BATCAPT to ease, secure, and optimize battery management through its entire lifecycle, using our innovative technology.

With more than 25 years of experience in business consultancy and management of chemical and advanced materials business in Belgium, Morocco and China, Fabrice gained strong experience on strategy, M&A, manufacturing, marketing, finance and innovation on high growth new technology business.

Prior joining AVICENNE in 2019, Fabrice was Chief Innovation Officer of the Prayon group. Over 10 years, he was in charge of the global R&D and Innovation strategy based on sustainable major trends and declined on nutrition, water, precision farming, rare elements recovery and energy. One of his core focus was the development of cathode materials. In this field, he earned a strong expertise on the battery value chain and served as COO of Belife, a joint venture with Umicore and as a Director of Prayon Pulead Technology, a Chinese-based LFP manufacturer.

He holds a Master in Chemical Engineering, a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration, an Executive Degree in Tax Law and an Executive Master in Management.

With 20 years of experience in recruitment and talent management, Lionel Resses is a seasoned entrepreneur passionate about building high-performing teams. A graduate of Sciences Po and EDHEC, he has deep expertise in energy transition industries, having worked closely with top players in the French nuclear sector to tackle their most complex recruitment challenges.

In 2024, he co-founded Piixii, France’s first recruitment firm exclusively dedicated to the booming battery industry, alongside his partner Fabrice Renard—a leading expert in battery value chain strategy and Senior Advisor at Avicenne.

Together, they blend business acumen and HR expertise to connect companies with elite battery talent across the globe, helping them stay ahead in one of the world’s most competitive industries.

Masoud began his career as an R&D Engineer in the power transformer industry in 2011. After receiving the second master’s degree with focus on BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems) at RWTH Aachen University in Germany, Masoud worked as a System Test Engineer at LG Energy Solutions in Germany, where he helped with the challenges in testing and development of EV batteries.

In 2021, Masoud joined Keysight as a Power Solution Engineer. He is now responsible for deploying Keysight’s battery testing, charging, and grid solutions. He collaborates with a large team of experts at Keysight and external partners, to deliver a turnkey test solution to a broad set of customers from major OEMs to small suppliers and laboratories.

Alicia RUL is working as Energy storage and liquid dispersion Business Unit Manager for Nanocyl, a brand of Birla Carbon (Sambreville, Belgium), one of the world leaders in Carbon Nanotubes (CNT). In this BU, Alicia’s team is working on the development and the improvement of CNTs (from lab. to production implementation) and also on the dispersion of these CNT and Carbon black (CB) into liquids like water and solvents for battery applications but also for coatings applications. These solutions for industries make Nanocyl a supplier of ready-to-use solutions; either powder of dispersed CNT. She is also in charge of the tyre and rubber goods product line and developments as the Global Elastomer coordinator.

She joined the Technical Services and Development team of Nanocyl in 2012. She was in charge of worldwide technical support for customers for thermoplastic, rubber, thermosets, and polyurethane applications and coordinates a development team for custom productions. She lead projects from development till the commercial stage. She was based in Detroit, Michigan, USA from 2018 to 2021 as Technical Sales Manager Americas. She is the author or co-author of several papers.
She graduated in Polymer Science and Engineering from ENSICAEN (Caen, France), and holds a PhD. thesis in Rubber nano-reinforcement for industrial applications from University of Caen (UCBN, France) in partnership with Hutchinson Research Center. She completed her formation with an Accelerated Management Program at the Solvay Business School from Bruxelles, Belgium.

Anouar Snoussi is a Global Solutions Architect at Schneider Electric, driving the company’s growth in the EV battery business. He brings a wealth of experience, having progressed from graduate engineer to lead commissioning engineer in the oil & gas industry, developing a strong foundation of both technical and interpersonal skills along the way.

Catherine Sung currently leads ProLogium’s Business Management and Supply Chain Management division. Over her 12-year tenure, she has spearheaded the establishment of operational infrastructure, the development of production cost and financial models, as well as the integration of capacity expansion planning and site selection assessments. She has further developed large-scale project evaluation mechanisms, systematic cost strategies, and supply chain management frameworks.

Catherine also supports the CEO in executing corporate development strategies and formulating strategic partnership plans, ensuring that all resources are allocated to maximize efficiency and accelerate ProLogium’s path to achieving economies of scale in next-generation lithium ceramic battery production.

At the early stage of ProLogium, she leveraged her cross-disciplinary expertise in IT and finance to lead the implementation of a comprehensive ERP system and a digitalized production system. This enabled ProLogium, as a startup, to secure orders from major smartphone manufacturers, ensure stable supply, and integrate into the global market.

Prior to joining ProLogium Catherine was an IT solutions consultant at Siemens Group and worked with the general manager at the AI software company Intumit, where she continues to hold a position as an independent director.

• Ph.D in physical chemistry & engineering degree in industrial chemistry
• 2 years battery cell expert leader at Ampere, Renault Group
• 17+ years of experience in the design, development and production launch of Li-ion cells
• Commissioned the first mass production Li-ion battery plant, for automotive application, in the US
• Worked for multiple technology startups : LTO, Semi-solid electrodes and Polymer Electrolyte
• Experience with multiple cell formats : cylindrical, Pouch and prismatic hard case
• Raised multiple rounds of financing totaling more than $70M
• IP portfolio management expertise
• Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) expert
• Trilingual: Arabic, French & English

Jean-Bernard Terrier took up his position as Sales Director North-West on January 1, 2025. Since July 2023, he had been the Deputy Director. Holder of an MBA (Master of Business Administration) from the University of Chicago, a DESS in Business Administration from the IAE of Lille, and a Master’s degree in Economic History, Jean-Bernard Terrier began his career at Auchan and Bouygues. He joined the EDF Group in 1998 and moved to Hauts-de-France in 2002. In the region of his roots, he held various positions until 2015 and gained solid commercial experience. For 4 years in Saint-Denis de la Réunion, he discovered the diversity of the group’s professions. In 2019, he took over the management of EDF’s subsidiary Izi Confort, specializing in the maintenance, installation, and repair of boilers and heat pumps.

« It is more essential than ever to significantly reduce the use of fossil fuels. Good news: in 2025, all conditions are met to accelerate the transition to electricity, one of the great virtues of which is being 95% decarbonized. The wholesale market pricehas returned to levels close to those before the crisis. This allows us to offer companies and communities new supply contracts offering competitiveness, stability, and medium-term vision. With our innovative electrification offers and solutions (electricmobility, heat pumps, solar installations…), we also support customers and territories in their decarbonization to successfully meet the challenge of carbon neutrality by 2050. »

As the Head of Sales Battery at Advanced Innergy Solutions Ltd., I lead our Business Line Battery Safety Products, focusing on developing and implementing innovative battery safety solutions. My role involves defining strategic directions, leading a team from R&D, technical support, and sales, and driving key-account development in the EMEA region, with oversight in NAFTA and Asia.

Previously, I served as Global Technical Expert at VonRoll Holding AG, where I managed global key-account projects in e-mobility, focusing on batteries, charging systems, and power electronics. I worked closely with leading automotive and electronics companies, developing strategic materials and applications.

My extensive experience in battery safety, strategic vision, and global perspective make me a knowledgeable and engaging speaker on the subject.

Laurent TORCHEUX (58 years old) obtained a PhD degree from the Paris University of in 1994. He joined the European battery company (CEAC-Exide) in 1994 in charge of studies on lead-acid batteries for different applications. He coordinated several European research projects.

In 2002 he joined the EDF group in the R&D dept. and took over the management of the battery group. At the same time, he was entrusted with the responsibility of building test facilities and laboratories to develop EDF’s activity in the field of energy storage by batteries.

Since then, he has been involved in many operational battery projects for various applications worldwide (BESS and electric mobility). He is also responsible for various international partnerships.

In 2020 he was appointed « EDF Group expert » and Fellow by the President of EDF.

Laurent TORCHEUX has spent his entire career in the field of battery technologies. He is the author and co-author of numerous publications and patents.

Alwin Tuschkan successfully studied Aeronautical Engineering at the Technical University of Munich in Germany and graduated as Dipl.-Ing. in 2012. After his studies Alwin directly started his professional career in the automotive industry at AUDI AG in Ingolstadt, experiencing various technical and coordinating positions as engineer including:

• Pre-development of Vehicle Concepts as Engineer & Project Lead
• Innovation Management as Coordinator of Pre-development Activities and Innovations for Mobility Concepts and Vehicle Architectures
• Innovation Management representing AUDI AG within the VW Group Research as Coordinator Powertrain

In 2021 Alwin and his Family moved to Austria where he continued his career at AVL List GmbH in Graz as Project Manager IODP (Integrated and Open Development Platform) – Dev. Process Innovation & Implementation. In this position his mission is to innovate the product development process together with OEMs and Suppliers worldwide with the target to derive SOP relevant decisions earlier, faster, cheaper, and better.

Alwin is the responsible Project and Program Manager for focus topics like:

• Advanced DVP+R (Design Verification & Validation Plan + Report) and Virtual Validation with Focus on Powertrain Components and Vehicle Integration including DVP-Consulting
• Battery Lifecycle Management: Virtual Twins along the whole Battery Lifecycle – from electrochemical, physical models to equivalent circuits to empirical to data driven AI-based models

Tom Van Bellinghen founded Lithink in mid-2024 to provide strategic go-to-market advice in the battery industry, leveraging his 15 years of expertise. Lithink focuses on key areas such as supply chains, ESG matters, closed-loop flows, pCAM, CAM & battery quality, and complex negotiations involving metal hedging. Before founding Lithink, Tom played a crucial role at Umicore, where he led the expansion of its Rechargeable Battery Materials business into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise and introduced a direct engagement model between OEMs and cathode manufacturers, improving transparency and sustainability.

From 2019 onward, Tom managed relationships with automotive OEMs, positioning Umicore as a leading cathode supplier. He was instrumental in securing a $3 billion joint venture between Umicore and Volkswagen (Ionway). With prior experience at Intel and Flir Systems, Tom brings a strong technical and business background, holding degrees in Electromechanical Engineering and Business Administration. Now, through Lithink, he continues to advise high-tech industries on strategic commercial matters.

Auteur du rapport sur la « sécurisation de l’approvisionnement de l’industrie en matières premières minérales »

Remy has more than 15 years’ experience in Finance and Corporate Development across the lithium, copper and banking industries. Before joining Infinity Lithium as a director, Remy was head of commodities sales in Europe at Deutsche Bank. Previously, Remy was an Executive Director in the Fixed Income Sales & Trading department of Morgan Stanley, in London.

For the past 25 years Bill has held executive positions, specifically in the electric vehicle industry. He recently joined the team at SEA Electric as VP of Sales. Previously, he served as the Executive Vice President at Endera, setting up a dealer network for electrifying School Buses, Trucks and Shuttles. Prior to Endera, Bill was the Director Commercial Sales at Proterra, Inc. – focusing on Commuter Shuttle/Transportation solutions at all Airports, Universities and Corporations. He was responsible for Electric buses and infrastructure added to the fleets at SFO, JFK, SaN Diego Airport, Harvard university and University of Georgia, and a full bus fleet electrification of Alabama A&M, among others..

Prior to joining Proterra, he spent 6 years, working on EV infrastructure for airports, workplace and universities as well as smart city and DOE projects. Bill convinced Elon & the SpaceX team to install 30 level 1 chargers in their parking structure for employees. He has presented at the Pentagon, Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Energy. Bill continues to be a passionate and knowledgeable, (“EVangelist”), spokesperson for the EV Industry.

Tom has a 30+ years experience in the semiconductor industry across applications ranging from automotive driver assistance and autonomous vehicles, AI computing and healthcare, wireless infrastructure and IP networking.

Tom is focused on business development at Paragraf, a new kind of semiconductor foundry business integrating new 2D materials like graphene into standard semiconductor processes in mass production electronic components.

As an Integrated Device Manufacturer (IDM), Paragraf is delivering these new graphene-enabled electronic devices, like our graphene hall effect sensor (GHS), into a range of strategically critical applications.

Dr. Shifen holds a PhD in Environmental Chemistry and has completed postdoctoral research in Analytical Chemistry and Molecular Biology. She possesses extensive industry experience in organic analytical instrumentation, with expertise spanning the Environmental, Food, Renewable Energy, Semiconductor, Battery, Pharmaceutical, and A&R markets. In her previous roles at Agilent, Dr. Shifen has served as the China Environmental Segment Marketing Manager, China LSAG Solutions Manager, R&D Scientist in the Global MSD Division, and Agilent Labs China Manager. Her diverse roles highlight her comprehensive industrial and technical expertise.

With 17 years of experience at Rio Tinto, Allen has worked across a wide range of products and business functions. In his current role as Technical Marketing Manager for Minerals, he focuses on building strong relationships with industry associations, academia, and development partners to create value for both the business and its customers.

In the lithium-ion battery sector, Allen has spearheaded technical marketing efforts to promote the use of boric acid. He is also responsible for developing new applications for lithium-containing co-products and creating cross-product solutions to drive business growth.

Allen holds bachelor’s degrees in materials engineering from Wuhan University of Technology and Monash University, along with a master’s in commerce from the University of Queensland. He is based in Singapore.