International EV Batteries 2022: Cost-Effective Engineering for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles

Richard Boyd: Senior Technical Specialist, Altair

Dr. Richard Boyd is a professional engineer with over 20 years’ experience in the application of linear and non-linear structural analysis and optimisation across a wide variety of engineering sectors including aerospace, rail, defence and automotive. Deep domain knowledge of engineering solutions of a multi-disciplinary nature, supporting customer-driven design and test activities at various stages of product development, from concept design to final certification. Project managed several EU and UK government-funded collaborations, most recently £2.6million with Rolls-Royce to develop and deploy multi-physics optimisation solutions to UltraFan. This included the development, implementation, and application of Altair’s electro-thermal battery simulation capability.

Alex Groombridge: Co-Founder and CTO, Echion Technologies

Alex is a co-founder and Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of Echion Technologies Ltd. He is responsible for the technology vision, the industrialisation of Echion products and strategic development and direction of the business.

Echion Technologies was spun out of the Engineering Department at the University of Cambridge in 2017. Alex has been instrumental in the growth of the business from its early days. He is excited by disruptive innovation and the challenge presented by the decarbonisation of transport and tackling climate change. He is a keen implementer of rapid change and brings that energy and mindset to his role at Echion.

Alex holds an MChem from the University of Sheffield, and a PhD in Materials Chemistry from the University of Cambridge. He is further associated with the Royal Academy of Engineering and is a Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Douglas Johnson-Poensgen: Co-Founder and CEO, Circulor

Circulor offers a software solution that enables its customers to track raw materials through industrial supply chains to demonstrate responsible sourcing and sustainability.

Doug has 25 years international experience working both in leadership roles for large corporates as well as starting and growing companies.

Jane Wright: Systems Engineer, Transport for London

Jane Wright is a Systems Engineer with expertise in whole life carbon assessment and zero emission vehicle strategy. She is an Institution of Civil Engineers Carbon Champion. She currently works for Transport for London in the Engineering Directorate managing the zero emission bus strategy and designing carbon management processes and training for TfL’s Major Programmes.

Julian Fletcher: Systems Engineer, Vivarail

Julian Fletcher read Mechanical Engineering at the University of Leeds, then worked at Perkins Technology (now Caterpillar) developing off-highway diesel engines for a couple of years before spending over twenty years at Rolls-Royce. There he was involved in a broad range of development projects, including vibration and thermal imaging work, testing prototype civil gas turbines and responding to major in-service events. He then moved to Vivarail in response to the environmental and climate change emergency, and over the last 18 months has been working on battery conversion of rolling stock, including shunting locomotives, maintenance vehicles and the pioneering Class 230.

Manos Polioudis: Co-Founder and Director – Electrical Powertrain Technology, Talos Technology

Manos has over a decade experience within the Electric Powertrain Development industry. Having held various engineering and management roles in companies like Arrival, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo Trucks and Semcon, has a wealth of understanding on state of the art EV PT development. Currently Manos is the founder and CEO of Talos Technology and Talos Mobility, a pair of companies that develop, design and deploy Electrical Vehicles and Systems for Tier1, OEM's and other industry customers. Trained in Six Sigma as a Black Belt and Management he believes in the optimisation of systems as whole, instead of the optimisation of individual components. Beyond EV powertrains, Manos is interested in new technologies, and their integration with traditional engineering and manufacturing, such as AI and artificial neural networks. Automated manufacturing and robotic assembly as enablers for more efficient end to end systems.

Keith Pullen: CTO, Levistor

Keith Pullen began his career with Rolls-Royce who sponsored his first and doctoral degrees at Imperial College London. After two years in the oil and gas sector, he took up academic posts at Imperial and his research in microturbine generators formed a key part of what is now Turbo Power Systems. Developing research in hybrid vehicles and energy storage, he later moved to City University of London, receiving a Chair in 2010. Following consultancies for two F1 teams and co-founding three spin outs, he received a Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Fellowship. This facilitated the setting up of Levistor Ltd, focussed on low-cost flywheel energy storage. He now divides his time between CTO responsibilities for Levistor, consultancy in energy technologies and retains links with City University of London as Visiting Professor.

Andrew Halfpenny: Director of Technology - HBK nCode Products, Hottinger Bruel & Kjaer UK Ltd

Dr. Halfpenny has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from University College London (UCL) and a Masters’ in Civil and Structural Engineering. With over 25 years of experience in structural dynamics, vibration, fatigue and fracture, he has introduced many new technologies to the industry including: FE-based vibration fatigue analysis, crack growth simulation and accelerated vibration testing. He holds a European patent for the ‘Damage monitoring tag’ and developed the new vibration standard used for qualifying UK military helicopters. He has worked in consultancy with customers across the UK, Europe, Americas and the Far East, and has written publications on Fatigue, Digital Signal Processing and Structural Health Monitoring. He is a founding member of NAFEMS PSE Certification scheme and sits on the NAFEMS committee for Dynamic Testing. He is a visiting lecturer on structural dynamics with the University of Sheffield.

Saad Abbasi: Head of Electrochemistry, UK Battery Industrialisation Centre

Dr Saad Abbasi was appointed the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre’s first ever Head of Electrochemistry in May 2022, having previously joined as Cell Design Lead in November 2019.

A senior scientist with 15 years of industrial R&D experience, and five years of academic research experience, he has worked with a range of companies including IQE, Nexeon, Surrey Nanosystems and Infineon Technologies.

Dr Saad has expertise in lithium-ion cell design and analysis, test procedure development and validation, electrochemistry and materials characterisation as well as semiconductor and electronics.

He has a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, U.S.A.

Claire Miller: Director of Technology and Innovation, Octopus Electric Vehicles

Claire Miller is Director of Technology and Innovation at Octopus Electric Vehicles (OEV), part of the Octopus Energy Group. Claire is passionate about solving real world problems, delivering new technologies to market and, most importantly, into the hands of users to make a positive impact on the world around us. She works at the cutting edge of EV adoption, energy tech, and the smart connected grid, including the Powerloop vehicle to grid (V2G) project which she led from January 2019. Claire has a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College London. In 2022 she has been recognised as one of the 30 leaders 'most likely to usher the automotive industry to its electrified future' by Business Insider, a finalist in Autocar’s Great Women in the British Car Industry, and a Top Woman in EV Technology by the EV Summit.

Dig Vijay: Simulation Solutions Consultant, Gamma Technologies

Dr. Dig Vijay earned his master’s degree from Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India and his Ph.D. from Technical University Freiberg, Germany in mechanical engineering. Since 2017 he has been working at Gamma Technologies in Germany. In his current role as Simulation Solutions Consultant his primary focus is on the system simulation of conventional and electrified vehicles.

Hugh Sutherland: Chief Technical Officer, Carbon-Ion Energy Inc. and the UK R&D subsidiary, Oxcion Ltd

Hugh is an experienced technical leader and scientist with a track record of delivering complex development programs. His broad expertise includes fundamental and applied research into low-carbon energy devices and polymers. In addition to his doctorate in polymer chemistry, Hugh holds an MBA from Henley Business School and has also consulted on technology, market, and business strategies to facilitate the spin-out of low-carbon technologies.

In his role as CTO, Hugh is focused on expanding the Oxcion team and augmenting competencies, both internally and through collaboration, to execute Carbon Ion Energy’s ambitious technology development plans.

James McKergan: Head of Engineering, Alexander Dennis

James is an engineering professional with over 20 years’ experience in developing public transport vehicles. James started his engineering career studying mechanical engineering at Queens University Belfast and after a short spell in the electronics sector moved into design and development of public transport vehicles where he has led numerous class leading vehicle developments. He joined Alexander Dennis in 2019 and is currently driving multiple initiatives to help decarbonise public transport and provide Alexander Dennis with a complete range of zero emission vehicle solutions.

Pam Thomas: CEO, The Faraday Institution

Professor Pam Thomas is the CEO of the Faraday Institution, the UK’s flagship energy storage research organisation. Its mission-inspired programme is delivered by a consortium of over 20 universities and 50 businesses, including 450 researchers. Prof Thomas is a Professor of Materials Physics and was formerly Pro Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Warwick. As a scientific leader, she is a member of the STFC Council and has served as a trustee of both the Turing Institute and the Faraday Institution. She holds both a bachelor’s degree and a DPhil in physics from Oxford University.

Will Roberts: Senior Research Analyst, Rho Motion

Will is a Senior Research Analyst at Rho Motion, a specialist EV & Battery research house and consultancy based in London. Here he works on electric vehicle, motor, battery, charging and energy storage market analysis, bringing together intelligence from across the industry for Rho Motion’s subscription reports. Will has led the development of Rho Motion’s EV Motors Monthly Assessment tracker as well as the newly launched EV Motors and Systems Outlook. 

Will holds a first-class BSc in Physics and an MSc in Mechanical Engineering, graduating from the University of Exeter.

Dario Bignamini: Chief Project Engineer, REE Automotive

Dario Bignamini is REE’s Chief Project Engineer. He is instrumental in designing and engineering REE’s P7 electric vehicle platform based on REEcorners™ technology which compacts critical vehicle components (including steering, braking, suspension, powertrain and control) into the area between the chassis and wheel. REE’s P7 EV platform is fully-flat end-to-end, capable of packing up to 35% more cargo and passengers than comparable EVs. Dario leads a team of Project Engineers, Technical Project Managers and Engineering Managers to coordinate all the engineering effort and cross-functional development for the programs that have passed the concept phase.

Peter Miller: Chief Engineer – Batteries, UTAC

Peter joined what is now UTAC in 2018 as the Chief Engineer for Battery. Based at UTAC’s site in Millbrook UK, Peter provides expert knowledge and experience in the technical and practical aspects of battery technology. 

Previously he worked for Johnson Matthey Battery Systems for 6 years as Chief Electronics Technologist, prior to this he was Director - Electrical/Electronic Engineering at Ricardo a large automotive consultancy where he specialised in batteries.

Greg Bogie: Commercial Director, Green Lithium

Senior leader with 18 years’ industry experience as a key resource between large-scale complex engineering programmes and their corporate owners. Currently the Commercial Director of Green Lithium, the UK’s first merchant lithium refinery, which, when complete, will create 50,000 tonnes of output capacity for the unserved UK and European lithium-ion battery and EV supply chains.  Previous experiences include commercial leadership positions at EDF Energy, Highways England, Babcock International.

Hadi Moztarzadeh: Head of Technology Trends, Advanced Propulsion Centre UK

Dr Hadi Moztarzadeh is a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and a Fellow of IMechE (FIMechE) with over 20 years’ experience in both academia and industry. He collaborates with technology organisations, academia and industry, to de-risk innovation, accelerate technology transfer, and drive growth across the UK manufacturing and transport sectors. As the Head of Technology Trends, Hadi leads the technology strategy and roadmaps at the APC.

Before joining APC, he was the Director (& Associate Dean) of Research and Innovation at Salford University, where he developed the research and innovation strategy. Prior to that, Hadi had a 9-year career with WMG, University of Warwick, most recently led the cross-Catapult portfolio at WMG High Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVMC), with a focus on Net Zero Transport.

Hadi has a PhD from University of Warwick and an MSc in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Management from University of Sheffield. He has been the honorary treasurer of the IMechE Birmingham Automotive Division for over a decade and has been elected the Vice-Chairman of the IMechE Midland region in 2022.

Paul Shearing: Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, University College London

Paul Shearing is a Professor in Chemical Engineering at University College London where he holds The Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Battery Technologies. His research interests cover a broad range of electrochemical engineering themes with a particular interest in the relationship between performance and microstructure for energy materials.

He co-directs UCL’s Electrochemical Innovation lab and leads the UK STFC Global Challenge Network in Batteries and Electrochemical Devices. He was a founding investigator of the UK’s Faraday Institution, where he chairs the Training & Diversity Panel and is PI of the LiSTAR programme investigating Li-Sulfur battery technologies, and the SAFEBATT programme exploring the Science of Battery Safety.

Sam Haig: Battery Recycling Business Manager, RS Bruce Metals & Machinery

Sam is Battery Recycling Business Manager at R S Bruce Metals and Machinery, a precious metal recovery company in Sheffield, UK, and was previously Head of Engineering and Research at Axion Recycling. Sam has more than a decade’s experience in the waste management and recycling sector and has worked on a diverse range of projects from commissioning of residual waste treatment facilities to developing a patented process for fuel cell membrane recycling. Over the last five years, Sam has worked on the development of novel recycling techniques for lithium-ion batteries, collaborating with companies including Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan, and Johnson Matthey. Sam is a chartered chemical engineer and member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Anup Barai: Associate Professor, WMG, University of Warwick

Dr Anup Barai is an Associate Professor with over 12 years’ experience in energy storage system performance and safety research, at the Energy Innovation Centre (EIC), WMG, the University of Warwick. His current research focuses on Battery Safety, with a particular interest in Aerospace applications. Building on his expertise in energy storage technologies for the Automotive industry, he is working to develop safe battery systems for Electric Aircraft. Dr Barai have led research funded by Innovate UK, the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult, the UK Department of Transport and other funding bodies and industries. Dr Barai has published more than thirty high-impact peer-reviewed articles and was invited by several organisations to talk about how we can make batteries safer for aerospace and other applications.

Denis Pasero: Product Commercialisation Manager, Ililka

Denis Pasero joined Ilika Technologies in 2008, as a scientist specializing in battery technology, to manage commercial lithium ion projects. He became part of the Ilika team to apply his strong academic knowledge to commercial applications and saw the potential to be part of the development and success story of an enterprising smaller company with exciting technology and novel product ideas. Today, as Product Commercialization Manager, Denis interfaces between customers and technical teams.

Robin Lloyd: Patent Attorney, Kilburn & Strode

Robin brings a host of industrial experience in the automotive, defence and chemical sectors to the profession allowing him to understand his clients’ commercial and technical needs. His ‘practical and helpful’ approach led to his recommendation in The Legal 500, 2017 and was recognised by The Legal 500 2018.

Robin enjoys a diverse practice across a range of advanced engineering fields covering technologies such as rocket engines, automotive systems, engineering materials such as composite materials and alloys, greentech / cleantech, renewables, sports, exercise and lifestyle equipment, and consumer goods. Robin also has particular interests in areas of health tech, such as medical engineering, bio-medical engineering, and medical devices. His work often involves invention capture exercises to support new patent drafting. He represents clients before the UK IPO and European Patent Office and works closely with attorneys in other jurisdictions, in particular the US and China. A number of Robin’s clients also rely on his expertise to advise on international filing strategies and help manage their patent portfolios. Robin also has great knowledge of in-house work, having acted as an in-house secondee, on a secondment reporting to the General Counsel to cover an extremely busy temporarily absent colleague.

Robin has extensive experience in obtaining design protection for clients in Europe and abroad.

Robin entered the patent profession in 2004, qualifying as a Chartered Patent Attorney and European Patent Attorney before joining Kilburn & Strode in 2012.

Robin is an external examiner for the industry recognised Certificate in Intellectual Property Law at Queen Mary, University of London.

Kathryn Sayer: Patent Attorney, Kilburn & Strode

Kathryn is a UK and European patent attorney specialising in Mechanical Engineering. Her patent practice is diverse, including automotive and aerospace technologies, composite materials, medical devices, and consumer goods. Kathryn has experience in drafting patent applications relating to heat exchanger and rocket engine technologies, as well as medical devices. Also with extensive experience in obtaining registered design protection for clients in the UK, Europe and further afield, Kathryn has presented to US IP practitioners on strategies for filing registered designs in the EU and UK.

Kathryn has first-hand knowledge and understanding of in-house work, having been a secondee for a luxury OEM, reporting to the General Counsel. On secondment, Kathryn worked directly with engineers, programme managers, and senior stakeholders to coordinate freedom to operate exercises to identify risks, and to identify potentially patentable technologies. Kathryn also worked directly with designers and marketing and communication stakeholders to coordinate filings for registered design protection.

Kathryn graduated from Imperial College London in 2016 with a first class Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering. Her final year research project investigating the in vivo degradation and surface roughening of zirconia toughened alumina ceramic femoral heads for total hip arthroplasty was awarded the Institution of Mechanical Engineers prize. She also participated in two bespoke design projects for a high profile Paralympic swimmer, who used one of these designs at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games to win silver. During her studies, Kathryn also worked part-time at a multi award-winning start-up based in the Royal College of Art's incubator, Innovation RCA, where she discovered her interest in intellectual property.

Outside of her patent and design practice at Kilburn & Strode, Kathryn is also a trained Mental Health First Aider and a member of the firm's Innovation For All board.

Dr Marilyn Comrie OBE FRSA: Director, The Blair Project

Dr Marilyn Comrie OBE is the CEO of the Manchester Innovation Activities Hub (MIAH), the city’s first net zero industrialisation and electrification skills training centre for the manufacturing, transport and energy sectors. Opening in January 2023, MIAH will support the entire innovation chain from research, development and demonstration to commercialisation and deployment.

An award-winning serial entrepreneur, green tech innovator and chemistry graduate, Marilyn’s passion is growing the diverse talent pipeline to plug skills gaps and catalysing greater inclusion within the innovation ecosystem to boost growth. A Greater Manchester LEP board member, she also sits on the  National Electrification Skills Forum.

Davide Clerici Clerici: Research Associate, Politecnico di Torino

Davide is a PhD student at the mechanical and aerospace engineering department of Politecnico di Torino. He works on the experimental characterization and modeling of lithium-ion batteries, focusing on the mechanical phenomena.

In his research career, he built a test bench to measure the mechanical deformation of the battery during operation. Furthermore, he built a numerical model to evaluate mechanical stress and fracture mechanics in electrode microstructure.

Davide is a teaching assistant at the course "finite element models for mechanical design" in the master degree of mechanical engineering at Politecnico di Torino.

Davide is graduated in mechanical engineering at Politecnico di Torino.

Parmjeet Plahe: Senior Manager, High Voltage Battery Design, Jaguar Land Rover

Parmjeet Plahe has worked internationally within the automotive industry with experience from supply base and OEM including; Pininfarina, Ford of Europe, Mitsubishi Motors & Jaguar Land Rover specialising in design and industrialisation. He has led  internationally based design teams over the past 19 years to fully  industrialise mechanical, electro-mechanical, electro-chemical, electrical, electronic systems, software and calibration. Significant industrialisation projects include Engine Management System for Jaguar  Land Rover's Ingenium Engine Family, Fuel Systems, Convertible Systems, Electrical Distribution System, Instrument Cluster and Switch Gear. Parmjeet is leading the design and industrialisation of high voltage batteries for Jaguar Land Rover within the energy storage team.