Energy storage is playing an increasingly important role in enabling resilient and cost-effective energy systems, including making possible the round-the-clock availability of power originally generated by solar and wind. Further innovations in storage are needed to reduce costs, increase efficiency, improve safety, and minimize environmental impacts. Wisconsin is home to several start-up companies in energy storage technology that are taking different approaches to addressing these challenges.
Join us on Tuesday, September 30 at 4:30 p.m. CT, either in-person at the Wisconsin Energy Institute or online via Zoom Webinar, for a discussion with several entrepreneurs at various stages of company development as they share their journeys, challenges, and insights into launching and scaling energy storage ventures.
Registration is requested for in-person attendance and required for online attendance. Click here to register.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is a barrier free campus and is committed to providing equal opportunity for participation in all programs, services, and activities. If you need an accommodation for this event please let us know by emailing outreach@energy.wisc.edu or calling 608-890-0946. Requests made with less than 3 weeks’ notice will be honored when possible.
Moderator
Eric Kazyak, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, UW-Madison
Eric joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin as an Assistant Professor in August 2022. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in 2020. His work has covered a range of topics related to energy and sustainability, with particular focus on energy storage. He has extensive experience studying both lithium-ion and lithium-metal battery chemistries, solid-state electrolytes, and atomic layer deposition (ALD). His work is primarily experimental in nature, bringing together aspects of materials science, manufacturing, electrochemistry, and mechanics. Eric is passionate about teaching and mentoring students, and is looking to foster a diverse team of well-rounded, thoughtful, technically-excellent, and passionate scientists/engineers.
Panelists
Carol Hirschmugl, CEO and Founder, COnovate
Dr. Hirschmugl has a global work history in academia spanning 30 years with expertise in condensed matter physics, oxide materials, surface-bulk interactions, materials synthesis, electron- and IR-based analysis, and is a fellow of the American Vacuum Society and Microscopy Society of America. Dr. Hirschmugl is also a founder of two laboratories at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) and founder/director of a unique infrared spectromicroscope at a synchrotron beam line. As COnovate’s CEO, Carol has led the development of COnovate’s eCOphite material from nanograms to 10kg, demonstrated key performance advantages along the way and forged key industry partnerships on the strength of this work.
Patrick Sullivan, CEO and Co-founder, Flux XII
Patrick is co-founder and CEO of Flux XII, commercializing grid energy storage systems for grid infrastructure developers and operators. Flux develops safe, sustainable, and scalable batteries to transform variable renewable energy into economical and reliable power. Patrick is a Chemistry PhD with an Energy Analysis and Policy certificate from UW-Madison, an Activate Fellow, and a Third Derivative cohort member, passionate to leverage science entrepreneurship as a tool to address climate change and support circular economies.
Jiajie Sui, PhD Student in Materials Science and Engineering, and CEO/Co-founder, FerroMX
Jiajie Sui is the co-founder and CEO of FerroMX, a startup developing ferroelectric membrane technology to enable safer, longer-lasting, and higher-performing rechargeable metal-ion batteries. She is completing her PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at the UW–Madison, where her research centers on designing novel materials for energy storage, conversion, and harvesting, with a particular emphasis on bio-derived and piezoelectric materials. Jiajie is passionate about accelerating the transition of breakthrough materials from the lab to market to advance the future of sustainable energy.