The Team

Kjell Schroder has 15+ years of experience as a battery technology expert, from materials to pack. He completed his PhD in Materials Science at The University of Texas at Austin on silicon anodes and electrolytes for LIBs and has been cited over 900 times in scientific literature. Kjell has created, captured, and advised on intellectual property and patents for 17 years, and drafted (and prosecuted) 100's of patents, including the 6 on which is a co-inventor. He was the first hire at EnPower, where he stood-up electrode coating, cell assembly, supply chain, device and materials testing, EH&S, and data pipeline functions. At Ionic Materials and Form Energy he led teams focused on materials engineering, battery cell design, product verification testing, and R&D. Kjell is a subject matter expert on design, development, manufacture, and application of lithium-ion, alkaline iron-air, and sodium-ion batteries.

David Bell has 10+ years of experience in various roles spanning the battery value chain. He was the lead analyst for the top-ranked Wall Street team covering automotive and battery stocks. At Cabot Corporation, he was the key researcher responsible for the launch of new products for lead acid and lithium-ion batteries. At Ionic Materials, he was the first cell engineer hired and stood up pilot cell manufacturing for lithium-ion and solid-state batteries before leading the product team and customer joint development agreement programs. Most recently, he led product management and customer account management functions at Group14 Technologies. David has built thousands of batteries across many different chemistries and has a deep network across the top suppliers, OEMs, and cell makers in the industry.

Aric Stocks built and led the commercial team at Group14 Technologies where he and his team were responsible for signing over $700M in binding supply commitments for battery anode material. Aric also spearheaded Group14's business development efforts in China. This included market entry, market strategy, building a China-based team, and the first commercialization of Group14's anode material in Amperex Technology Limited's (ATL) smartphone batteries. Aric made 5 trips to China in 2024 which included attending the China International Battery Fair (CIBF) in Chongqing and presenting at the 8th International Forum on Cathode & Anode Materials for Advanced Batteries in Suzhou. Aric is well connected in China's battery ecosystem and can act as a bridge for non-Chinese companies looking to better understand and leverage China's battery supply chain and knowledge.