Battery Technology Veteran Timothy Ellis Joins Gridtential's Advisory Board

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jan. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Gridtential Energy today announced that battery technology scientist and executive Timothy Ellis, Ph.D., has joined the firm's technical advisory board. Dr. Ellis will advise on the rollout of Gridtential's Silicon Joule battery technology as it approaches commercial production with manufacturing partners.

Dr. Ellis is well-known in the battery industry for his work enhancing both the performance and sustainability of lead batteries. As president of RSR Technologies, Dr. Ellis championed initiatives to improve lead batteries. RSR Technologies is the R&D unit of EcoBat Technologies Ltd., the largest supplier and recycler of lead in the world, in addition to supplying large lead-based cathodes for electrowinning and battery distribution.

As chair of the Consortium for Battery Innovation he led a U.S.-based initiative to perform cutting-edge research on lead-based energy storage technologies. Prior to RSR, Dr. Ellis was the Director of Materials Research at semiconductor packaging and electronic assembly firm Kulicke & Soffa. Prior to K&S he was a researcher at Iowa State University's Ames Laboratory. Dr. Ellis is an author of dozens of scientific papers covering a wide range of disciplines such as metallurgy, semiconductor packaging technology, lead acid battery materials, energy storage, and recycling. He holds more than 20 U.S. patents.

Ellis' appointment comes after a pivotal year for Gridtential. The company's 24V Silicon Joule reference battery launched in early 2021, and it along with other batteries are now being licensed or evaluated by 14 partners for use in automotive and energy storage applications.

"If we're to decarbonize the economy, we need a way to efficiently produce millions of long-lasting, high-power batteries. Lead batteries offer the scale: they are low-cost, highly recyclable and can be produced in today's battery factories. Now, with Silicon Joule technology, they are lighter and more powerful," said Ellis. "Silicon Joule will unlock new applications for lead batteries and accelerate the shift to renewable energy. That's why I felt compelled to join the Gridtential team and am excited to help bring this breakthrough technology into homes, businesses and vehicles."

"Tim has been driving innovation in the lead battery industry for more than a decade and it's a real coup to have him join our team. His unique combination of experience in semiconductor and lead battery materials is the perfect match for Gridtential as we partner with battery manufacturers to bring Silicon Joule to market," said John Barton, CEO of Gridtential.

Silicon Joule is a revolutionary battery technology that substitutes treated silicon wafers, like those found in solar panels, for conventional lead grids to create an advanced AGM lead battery. It delivers increased power density and double the discharge rate at a 75 percent lower levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) than conventional lead batteries.

About Gridtential
Gridtential is the creator of Silicon Joule®, breakthrough advanced AGM battery technology that provides a lower-cost, safer, greener alternative to lithium-ion. Inspired by solar technology, Silicon Joule dramatically improves cycle life, power density, and discharge rate while reducing weight by 30%, delivering superior performance for deep-cycle and power applications including personal electric vehicles, renewable energy storage systems and hybrid automotive.

Gridtential Energy provides Silicon Joule reference batteries, development kits, bipolar materials and non-exclusive licenses, enabling manufacturing partners to easily adapt their factories to provide high-performing, higher voltage 24V, 36V & 48V batteries to their customers for the hybrid-automotive, Low-Speed EV (LSEV), energy storage system (ESS) & telecom backup markets, all without gigascale capital investments.

Silicon Joule is in use today by 14 battery partners and several OEMs. Based in Santa Clara, Calif., Gridtential's investors include The Roda Group and 1955 Capital.

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SOURCE Gridtential Energy, Inc.