NEO Battery Materials Ltd. (TSX-V:NBM) has announced the appointment of Dr Basudev Swain as chief science officer as it moves into the next phase of its silicon anode commercialization plan and expansion efforts for value-added projects in the battery materials industry.
The company said Swain’s expertise in green material sciences engineering and lithium-ion battery recycling fortifies its knowledge base and leadership team. With more than 20 years of experience in the lithium-ion battery materials materialization process development, it noted he has served in vital project management roles that include the commercialization of mass production systems and multi-million-dollar projects focused on sustainable process development and battery material recycling.
Swain has also published several high-impact scientific literature in international journals, peer-reviewed conferences, and book chapters related to battery materials engineering and resource recycling, it added.
READ: NEO Battery Materials to establish NBM America to expand silicon anodes and battery materials business in US
"Being an expert in developing and recycling high-performance materials for lithium-ion batteries, Dr Swain will add significant value and speed to NEO’s commercialization efforts and performance improvement,” NEO president and CEO Spencer Huh said in a statement. “The depth of his experience in battery recycling will also boost our silicon waste recycling efforts as a value-added project when expanding into the US.”
NEO also noted that Swain has held various research positions including research and development (R&D) institutes in South Korea, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan, and a faculty position at Indiana University Southeast, and his expertise focuses on process development for all varieties of electronics waste recycling. After completing his master’s degree in India, Swain received his PhD in Metal, Minerals, and Materials in South Korea, the company said.
“I am more than glad to help NEO to become a tier-one supplier of silicon anode materials in the EV (electric vehicle) battery supply chain,” Swain added. “Along with optimizing the current performance and economics with our R&D engineering team, I will invest my efforts into growing NBM America through silicon anode and value-added recycling expansion operations. Silicon waste recycling will come first, but as an extension, we will possess the capability to build recycling systems to recover critical battery materials, such as lithium and cobalt, and rare earth minerals in electronic waste.”
NEO Battery Materials is a Vancouver-based company focused on producing silicon anode materials through its proprietary single-step nanocoating process, which provides improvements in capacity and efficiency over lithium-ion batteries using graphite in their anode materials. The company intends to become a silicon anode active materials supplier to the electric vehicle industry.
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