BatteRIes Europe Elects its First Governing Board in Brussels, Belgium

The European Technology and Innovation Platform on Batteries, Batteries Europe, held its first General Assembly on 22 October in Brussels, Belgium. The day was dedicated to setting up the ground of the  initiative, through the election of its very first Governing Board. EASE is involved in this important platform supported by the European Commission, that will shape the research ecosystem for batteries in Europe.

More than 180 battery experts from the European industry and research community, as well as 13 Member States - represented through the National and Regional Coordinators Group - were present at the event hosted by the European Commission at the Charlemagne building.

Ditte Juul Jorgensen, the new Director-General for Energy of the European Commission opened the afternoon, followed by Working Group presentations. The European Commission also presented Important Projects of Common European Interest and the entire ecosystem of European funding initiatives for batteries. Attendees then voted on a list of more than 20 candidates to choose the group of nine people that will steer the work of BatteRIes Europe in the next year.

The final composition of the Governing Board, which mirrors the scope of the Working groups, is as follows:

Chair: Michael Lippert - Saft

Vice-Chair for Research and Innovation: Paolo Cerruti - Northvolt

Vice-Chair for Manufacturing: Tobias Lösche-ter Horst – Volkswagen

Future and Emerging Technologies: Rosa Palacin Peiro - Spanish National Research Council

Raw Materials and Recycling: Jarkko Hakkarainen - Outotec

Advanced Materials: Kurt Vandeputte - Umicore

Cell Design and Manufacturing: Stefano Saguatti - Manz Italy

Mobile Applications: Matthias Brendel - AVL List

Stationary Applications: Etienne Briere - EDF

EASE congratulates its Vice-President Michael Lippert from Saft and our Treasurer, Etienne Briere, from EDF for being elected to the Governing Board of this important initiative.