Speakers 2025

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 [...]

Jean-Marie Tarascon is a solid-state chemistry expert whose first fifteen years of his career were spent in the United States. He was behind the creation of the European network of excellence ALISTORE-ERI in 2003 and then in 2011 of the French network on the electrochemical storage of energy (RS2E), which he still heads. His fields of research are varied and relate to the design, via eco-efficient synthesis processes, of new electrode materials with exacerbated capacity as well as to the study of new reaction mechanisms and the exploration of new battery technologies beyond Li-ion with in particular Na-ion, Zn-MnO2 or any [...]

Conrad Szczuka is a Battery Scientist at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. While working on battery performance and durability, he supports battery-related policymaking by providing technical advice, conducting tailored studies, communicating with stakeholders, following standardization activities on CEN/CENELEC/IEC level, and conducting laboratory research. Before joining the JRC, Conrad Szczuka was scientifically active in the field of lithium-based batteries for more than 6 years working at RWTH Aachen University, UC Berkeley, University of Cambridge, and Research Centre Juelich.

Matt is Technical Director of the Goliath programme at Ilika. He holds a materials science PhD and is a chartered chemist and scientist, previously he has worked in various roles developing battery materials and cells.

In his role as Application Technology Manager with LANXESS, Dirk develops new innovative applications and products in the field of battery metals waste water. Prior to joining LANXESS in 2016 Dirk pursued a Post-Doc at Harvard University, with a main focus on resin beads in bio-physics and bio-medicine. Dirk obtained his PhD in 2013 in polymer chemistry, where he developed multifunctional polymers and monomers. He is the author of 25 peer reviewed articles and 10 patents. His work was awarded by the Konrad Adenauer and Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Salil Soman is the Vice President of Business Development at Feon Energy, a Boston-area company advancing next-generation electrolytes for lithium batteries. He has previously held business development leadership roles at Sepion Technologies, Natron Energy and ZincFive, driving commercialization and growth across multiple multi-billion-dollar markets. With over 25 years in the battery industry, in the past Soman has also served in senior engineering positions at BASF Corporation and Robert Bosch Battery Systems, managing validation and certification of battery systems used in series production vehicles with leading global automotive OEMs. He holds a M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts and [...]

Dr. Mauro Sgroi, has more than 20-years long corporate research experience on electrochemical energy storage systems maturated at Centro Ricerche FIAT (now Stellantis Group). He was involved in more than 8 European projects on battery materials and was the coordinator of an Italian research project. Mauro joined the university of Torino in 2022 and is responsible for the research activities on batteries. In particular he is the principal investigator for the Stellar European project “Safe, sustainable and high-troughput production of reliable lithium metal anodes for GEN 4B/4C/5 batteries” and he is the coordinator of the proof of concept project INES “Idruri [...]

Raune Asen-Hübner, Head of Operations Management, is a seasoned operations strategist with a passion for batteries and engineering. She currently drives operational excellence at PowerCo, where she has been contributing since early 2023. Prior to this, Raune worked in the Operations Practice at Boston Consulting Group, advising global clients on complex operational challenges and transformation initiatives. Her career began at BMW, where she spent four years in engine development, deepening her technical expertise and gaining hands-on experience in automotive innovation.

Christian has nearly 15 years of experience in the battery value chain as M&A and Commercial Director for Johnson Matthey Battery Materials and Business Development Manager Battery Solutions for SGL Carbon. Christian completed two Master studies and holds a degree in Economics from university of Essen and a degree in Industrial Chemistry from university of Münster, where he specialized in Batteries at MEET institute. He also worked at BASF and Evonik for several years during his studies. Beside Chem4Batteries Christian holds a Battery Advisiory role at Roland Berger.

Lukas Ridikas, initially born in France and now living in Austria, is a young passionate about energy production and storage technologies and sustainable development. With an academic background in Materials Science and Energy Engineering from Birmingham and Karlsruhe, he has pursued his professional career, working as a laboratory assistant and engineer in different fields related to the energy industry. He now works for the company KILNTECK, located in Vienna, as internal operations manager.