Speakers 2025

Shmuel De-Leon, Founder and CEO of Shmuel De-Leon Energy Ltd., is a leading international expert in the business of energy storage. Prior to founding the company, for over 21 years, Shmuel held various positions as an energy storage, electronic engineering, and quality control team manager. Shmuel holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Tel Aviv University, and an M.B.A. in Quality Control and Reliability Engineering from the Technion Institute in Haifa, as well as an Electronic Technician's diploma.

Dr. Hui Dong is the R&D Manager of Energy Storage at Ingevity Corporation, a global leader in the manufacturing and supply of specialty materials for emissions control in the automotive industry, where he leads the development of advanced battery materials. Dr. Dong has accumulated over 10 years of experience in various battery technologies. He holds both a PhD and a Postdoctoral fellowship in electrochemistry, having published numerous research papers in prestigious journals such as Nature Energy. Throughout his career, Dr. Dong has gained extensive experience across various sectors of the battery industry, including upstream lithium supply at Albemarle Corporation, midstream battery [...]

Yves Doessant works in ANDRITZ Sovema as Sales Manager of the product line focused on equipment for lithium-ion cell production. With an educational background in biology and foreign languages, Yves joined the company in 2014 after many years spent as University Professor. In the first few years, he worked as Sales Manager of our power electronics product line; then, he added Sovema lead-acid battery equipment to his portfolio, and since 2020 he has been in charge of the business development for li-ion cell assembly and formation equipment.

As a final-year Ph.D. researcher, Raymonda DIAB specializes in Li-ion battery fast-charging technologies, working collaboratively across One-sixone, IREENA (Institut de Recherche en Énergie Électrique de Nantes Atlantique) and IMN (Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel). Her research integrates electrochemistry and battery modeling to address critical challenges in energy storage and charging dynamics. She holds a dual degree in Mechanical Engineering and Energy Sciences, awarded jointly by Nantes Université and the Lebanese University, which has provided her with a strong technical foundation for tackling interdisciplinary problems in energy systems.

Air Liquide is a world leader in gases, technologies and services for industry and health. Guillaume is in charge of the strategy and the marketing for the automotive market. He coordinates actions between battery ecosystem, R&D and operations to bring innovative added value solutions to customers. In an open innovation mode, Air Liquide aims at better understanding industrial gas impact on battery quality and sustainability. He graduated from EDHEC business school. He has experience in sales, marketing and strategy in both automotive and industrial gases business.

Dr. Robert Burrell is a Research Manager at Project Blue leading downstream coverage of the lithium-ion battery supply chain. A core focus of this is end-use demand and supply-side development, spanning EV sales projections through to regional battery recycling developments. Robert combines prior battery market research experience with his PhD in chemistry to develop forward-looking views of the evolving lithium-ion battery landscape. Project Blue provides market-leading intelligence on raw material supply chains for the energy transition.

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 [...]

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 [...]

Mark brings his experience in lithium, battery materials and cells manufacturing knowledge in commercializing processes: Mark has over 28 years of experience in Metallurgical Engineering, including study management and sponsorship, flowsheet development and plant design. Mark was the study manager and a consultant on the CTR Hell’s Kitchen Li Project, and ERAMET MHP to Battery Grade Sulphates Process Study. Mark was also deeply involved in CAM studies for NanoOne who wish to commercialize a novel CAM manufacturing process. Mark is overseeing several battery recycling initiatives, including Hatch internal-development projects to establish game-changing IP and Equipment Technologies. He is Hatch’s Global Director [...]

Varnika is a Battery Research Analyst at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, where her primary focus is on the technical side of batteries electric vehicle, energy stationary storage and battery market analysis. She has been with the company for 2.5 years, covering key regions. Headquartered in London, offers the most comprehensive and well-informed forecasts and analysis for the energy transition.