Speakers 2026

Zach Tanghetti is an expert in manufacturing workforce development, operator qualification, and technical training content development. His work focuses on manufacturing training systems, supplier knowledge transfer, and the creation of detailed technical documentation, including standard work instructions for battery processes. Half of Zach’s 13-year career has been in the battery industry. He has held the role of Senior Expert at PowerCo SE in Germany, where he supported global factory planning and technical training initiatives. Prior to that, he was Manufacturing Training Program Manager for Northvolt AB in Sweden, focused on scaling operator training content and supporting technical documentation to achieve IATF [...]

Dr. Zijie Tang is Head of Ni-Zn Battery Technology at Gerchamp, where he leads the development and commercialization of Ni-Zn batteries for high-power applications. He received his PhD from the City University of Hong Kong, where his research focused on Zinc-based battery technologies under the supervision of Prof. Chunyi Zhi. Dr. Tang has extensive experience in the industrialization of Zinc-based batteries, having worked in the field for seven years, from early-stage technology development and pilot production through manufacturing scale-up and commercial deployment. He has published more than 20 research papers and contributed to over 30 patent applications in battery materials, technologies [...]

Susana Suttor began her studies in Chemical Engineering in Brazil in 2012 and transferred to the Technical University of Munich in 2014, where she completed both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Chemical Engineering. She then worked at the Fraunhofer Institute for Casting, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV, focusing on the upscaling of all-solid-state batteries (ASSB), lithium-ion batteries (LIB), and sodium-ion batteries (NIB). Since 2024, she has been working at BMW on the topic of her doctoral research, which is supervised by the Technical University of Munich and focuses on the investigation of ion conduction mechanisms in sulfide-based solid electrolyte composites [...]

Dr. Subra Herle is the Chief Technology Officer of Elevated Materials, a company scaling ultra-thin lithium metal films that enable higher-energy and faster-charging batteries. With over two decades of experience in lithium-ion and lithium metal technologies, he brings deep technical and leadership expertise. At Applied Materials, he led the lithium metal battery program from concept to pilot-scale commercialization. Earlier, at Panasonic, he developed advanced materials for Li-ion batteries. Dr. Herle holds a Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Science and has authored 20+ publications and holds 25+ patents in energy storage technologies.

Léa Sponem is a PhD student at CEA-Liten in Grenoble, France, working on lithium-ion battery safety and thermal runaway characterization. Her research focuses on multiphase ejection dynamics during battery failure and their associated thermal impact, combining experimental investigations and modeling approaches.

Economist with over 10 years of international experience in industrial and consulting sectors, advising global companies on market dynamics, pricing, and long-term growth. At Project Blue, she leads research across the battery supply chain. As Market Intelligence Manager at Ecobat, she led research on metals, battery recycling, and cross-functional projects. Her previous experience includes metals research at Standard & Poor’s and Nexa Resources. She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of São Paulo, where her research focused on global copper demand and the energy transition, and has published in peer-reviewed journals.

With over 15 years of experience, Mr. Seniut has successfully managed new product and technology development projects across diverse industries, including the lithium-ion battery, energy storage, electric vehicle (EV), chemicals, and biotechnology sectors. His career began in the technology sector, where he served as CEO of an early leukemia diagnostics start-up for two years. In 2014, he transitioned to OCSiAl, where he has dedicated 11 years to driving technological and business development projects within the lithium-ion battery and energy storage realms. After progressing through various roles, he currently holds the position of Senior Vice President, leading strategic initiatives in the lithium-ion [...]

Francisco Pinto has a Masters' Degree in Business Administration from the Nova School of Business and Economics, Lisbon, where he also worked as a Teaching Assistant for several Statistics and Marketing subjects. In 2017, he joined the International Nickel Study Group as Manager of Statistical Analysis, contributing to data collection and analysis covering the world nickel market.

Stefan Schwarz is head of the division cathode materials at IBU-tec. His team of over 40 specialists is working on the development, production and sales of lithium iron phosphate and other cathode materials provided to cell manufacturers worldwide. Since 2018 he is working at IBU-tec in Weimar, Germany. The focus of his work is direct customer communication and the steady growth of IBU-tec’s expertise in R&D and cathode material production.