15.8.24: Updated with details of new partnership with Australia
The UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) has appointed Richard LeCain as its new chief technology officer (CTO). He comes from industry and brings two decades of practical experience to the role.
He will join the executive team with responsibility for technical process design, product development and R&D activities across UKBIC. This is the UK government’s national battery manufacturing facility that provides manufacturing scale-up and skills for the battery sector. It serves start-ups and established players alike.
LeCain has more than 20 years’ experience working in the battery industry, having previously held technical and leadership positions at A123 Systems and the now defunct Britishvolt, where he was director of cell and process engineering.
He began his batteries career at A123 Systems in the US as a process engineer. He developed LFP cells in cylindrical and pouch formats for energy storage applications such as power tools, medical devices and automotive. He eventually became head of cell design for low voltage applications.
At Britishvolt, LeCain and his team worked closely with UKBIC and WMG, at the University of Warwick, to quickly develop an energy-dense 21700 cell for customer evaluation. Most recently, he was director of cell development at US-based silicon anode company GDI, where he worked on integrating 100% silicon anodes into lithium-ion cells for high energy density and fast-charging applications.
UKBIC said his international work has taken processes and designs from the laboratory into manufacturing. He joins UKBIC on 19 August.
Sean Gilgunn, managing director of UKBIC, told BEST: “We are dealing with very technical companies a lot of the time. These are folks with who’ve spun out from universities, so very academic, very research-minded people. So it’s having somebody that can speak their language and help them understand the complexity of their overall project, not just the chemistry side of it, but that whole development and technology roadmap.
“It’s a multi-year process with a lot of ups and downs. So having somebody who’s been there and done that is going to be invaluable.”
And on 15 August, UKBIC said it signed a collaboration agreement with Powering Australia, covering battery research, technology and innovation between Australia and the UK. Powering Australia was established six months ago to help Australian businesses succeed in clean-tech manufacturing.
The agreement includes critical minerals and aims to strengthen international supply chains, meet net zero objectives, remove technology adoption barriers and help create the jobs and the workforce of the future.
