PEOPLE NEWS
First member picked for the team to build UK’s first battery gigafactory
Isabel Sheldon
Britishvolt, the start-up planning to build the UK’s first lithium battery gigafactory, has hired the first member of its technical team, Isabel Sheldon, as chief strategy officer, the company said on June 15. Sheldon is described as a ‘battery industry veteran’ by Britishvolt, having worked for nearly 20 years in the industry and is joining from the UK government-backed Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC). “As one of the first pioneers to integrate lithium-ion batteries in road vehicles, including the first commercially available plug-in hybrid in the world based on the Toyota Prius hybrid in 2003, I have developed a wealth of knowledge on a wide range of disciplines — from cell technology, chemistries and system integration to how the global industry and supply chain works, as well as the processes involved in manufacturing the cells,” says Sheldon. “I take great pride in having grown over time with this nascent industry, which is now of global strategic significance as the world transitions to electrification and green technologies, having learnt some hard lessons through trial and error to spot the industry’s pitfalls and opportunities.” Sheldon will also be head of an advisory board with Britishvolt, which was founded by Swedes Lars Carlstrom and Orral Nad-
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jari in December 2019. “Lars Colstrom was a senior figure in the automotive industry, and Orral Nadjari has a strong background in finance, with a good knowledge of raising funds,” said a spokesperson for Britishvolt. “The joint project was born out of their specialities.” She said the plans were to have capacity of 10GWh in production by the third quarter of 2023, with a further 10GWh added the following year and then the full amount, 30GWh, in production by 2025/6. While the main market would be electric vehicles, energy storage applications would also be part of the market, she said, and while at first the UK would be the focus, the option remained for the batteries to be sold overseas as well. In May, Britishvolt signed a memorandum of understanding with the Scotlandbased battery firm AMTE Power to build the gigafactory. Kevin Brundish, CEO of AMTE Power, said the coro-
navirus crisis had highlighted the importance of having a robust onshore supply chain given the disruption experienced as a result of it. “The creation of a gigaplant would place the UK in a strong position to service automotive and energy storage markets,” he said. “The scalable production of lithium ion cells is key to electrifying vehicles and would drive new manufacturing revenues and new employment, and can be built on AMTE’s focus on the supply of specialized cells.” “It is costly and carbon intensive to have lithium batteries imported from Asia, and this giga-plant would cement a solid onshore supply chain to ensure quality and eliminate future uncertainty of supply,” said Carlstrom. A location for the new plant has yet to be confirmed, although sites are being assessed in Wales and Teesside, with the possibility of operating two plants at separate sites.
Powin Energy appoints Kate Stock as CFO Powin Energy, a battery energy storage system developer, announced on June 18 it had appointed Kate Stock as chief financial officer. She was previously CFP with the packaging and logistics firm TransPak.
Kate Stock
Powin Energy, based in Oregon, US, says Stock is one of a series of new hires made to ‘address the increase in demand for large commercial and industrial and utilityscale energy storage applications’. The firm has 2.2GWh of projects awarded, 241MWh in construction and 222MWh in operation, it says. In April ESJ reported that the company had launched three storage systems, using Chinese lithium giant CATL’s battery cells, for any application from residential behind-themeter to microgrid to utility-scale.
Clarion names Wallace as new CEO and president Clarios, the largest lead battery maker in the world, named Mark Wallace as its new CEO and president on May 18. Interim CEO John Barkhouse steps down but will continue as board chairman. Wallace joined from Dana Incorporated. He was previously executive vice president and president of commercial vehicle drive and motion systems with the firm. Dana is a supplier of integrated drivetrain and electrified propulsion systems which are used in automotive applications. He had worked there since 2008. Before that he spent almost two decades with Webasto Products, most latterly as its CEO. “Mark has a demonstrated history of driving revenue growth and improving profit margins. His experience as a leader with extensive knowledge of the OE and aftermarket industries ensures Clarios and its customers are in good hands, and our strategic plan will continue to advance globally,” said Barkhouse. Former CEO and president Joe Walicki retired in September 2019, when he also stepped down as president of Battery Council International’s board of directors. He had been with Johnson Controls for 30 years, and made president and CEO of the battery business when it was sold to the asset management firm Brookfield Business Partners in 2018 and renamed Clarios.
Energy Storage Journal • Autumn 2020 • 3