Speaker

Professor Y. Shirley Meng is the Distinguished University Professor and Vice President (Industry) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. She is also the Liew Family Professor in Molecular Engineering at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and serves as the founding Faculty Director of the Energy Technologies Initiative at the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth (ICSG) at the University of Chicago. She is the principal investigator of the Laboratory for Energy Storage and Conversion (LESC), a research group established in 2009 at the University of California San Diego. From 2017 to 2022, she held the Zable Chair Professorship in Energy Technologies and founded the Sustainable Power and Energy Center (SPEC) in 2016.

Professor Meng's accolades include the Shep Wolsky Battery Innovation Award (2025), the NATTBatt Lifetime Achievement Award (2025), the ACS Research Excellence in Electrochemistry Award (2024), the ECS Battery Division Research Award (2023), the C3E Technology and Innovation Award (2022), the Faraday Medal (2020), the IBA Research Award (2019), and the NSF CAREER Award (2011). She is an elected Fellow of the Electrochemical Society (FECS), the Materials Research Society (FMRS), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

With over 350 peer-reviewed publications, two book chapters, and eight patents, her research has made significant contributions to the advancement of energy storage science. Professor Meng received her Ph.D. in Advanced Materials for Micro & Nano Systems from the Singapore-MIT Alliance in 2005 and her B.S. (First-Class Honours) in Materials Science from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, in 2000.

Martin Winter has been researching in the field of electrochemical energy storage for more than 35 years. His focus is on the development of new materials, components and cell designs for lithium-ion, lithium-metal batteries and alternative battery systems. He holds a professorship for “Materials Science, Energy and Electrochemistry” at University of Münster.

Professor Winter is founder and scientific director of MEET Battery Research Center at University of Münster with a team of 150 scientists, engineers and technicians. Since 2015, he has also serves as founding director of Helmholtz Institute Münster (HI MS) “Ionics in Energy Storage”, an institute branch of Forschungszentrum Jülich hosting 80 scientists.

Martin Winter has received more than 70 scientific awards and recognitions.

Dr. Karim Zaghib is a globally recognized electrochemist and battery innovator.

He earned his MSc and PhD in electrochemistry from the Institut national polytechnique de Grenoble, France, and a Habilitation à diriger la recherche in physics from Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris.

Over more than 30 years, he has been a pioneer in lithium-ion battery technology. During his 28 years as Director of Research at Hydro-Québec, he led the development and commercialization of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode materials and advanced large-scale energy storage technologies.

Dr. Zaghib is the CEO of Volt-Age, Concordia University’s $123M CFREF program, co-Director of the Collaborative Centres on Energy and its Transition (C2ET), and Professor of Chemical and Materials Engineering at Concordia University.

He has authored more than 730 scientific publications with over 37,000 citations, and co-invented more than 1,000 patents. He has received numerous international honours including becoming a Fellow of the Electrochemical Society, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society of Canada, and the Royal Society of Chemistry, and was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2025.

Dr. Eric Han, CEO of A123 Systems LLC and a globally recognized battery technology leader with nearly 15 years of experience in advanced lithium-ion batteries for electric mobility and energy storage.

He has led international R&D and industrialization teams across China, Germany, and the United States, driving the development of high-power, fast-charging, high-safety, and next generation battery technologies for leading global automotive and energy customers.

His technical leadership has supported cell platforms ranging from 135 Wh/kg to 860 Wh/kg, as well as landmark innovations in 48V systems, high-nickel chemistries, solid-state batteries, and Formula 1 applications.

Dr. Han holds 259 granted patents, has published 12 SCI papers, and has contributed to 29 industry, national, and international standards. He has also received multiple major science, technology, and automotive innovation awards in China and the United States.

Philipp Welz is an electrical engineer with a background in applied mathematics and control theory.

He manages the Battery Science and Data team at Munich Electrification in Munich, Germany.

Together with his team he works on the next generation of battery management systems, from battery models and state estimation to impedance spectroscopy and thermal event detection.

Francesco Monti is CEO of Podium Advanced Technologies.

An engineer with a PhD in Mechatronics, he leads the company’s development of high-performance battery systems and vehicles.

Podium is active in major international motorsport programmes, including Formula E, MotoE, Dakar and endurance racing, where extreme operating conditions accelerate innovation in BMS, safety and battery performance.

Marcello Spinelli, Computer Engineer, joined FIB S.p.A. FAAM in 2014 and is now Battery System Logics Director at FAENIX S.p.A. He drives advancements in digital system behaviour and control logics for battery products through research, innovation, industrialization and continuous evolution, enabling engineering continuity towards next-generation energy storage systems.

Eric Huang, Ph.D, works at Sunwoda Mobility Energy Technology Co., Ltd.

He has been deeply involved in the core technology research and development of the automotive electronics industry for a long time, with over ten years of experience in front-line new product development and the full-process management of engineering implementation. He is familiar with intelligent battery systems, next generations of BMS, xEV powertrain systems, and cloud platforms.

He has participated in 8 major new technology research and development projects, published 15 papers, contributed to 1 GB/T standard, 3 industry standards, holds 30 patents, and has won 7 provincial awards.