2026 Steering Committee

Founder and CEO of Redoxion Limited. a UK-based start-up developing a western supply chain for LFP and LMFP. 

Co-founder and CTO of Faradion Limited – a UK-based start-up developing a high energy density Na-ion battery technology. Company was founded in 2011 and was acquired my Reliance Industries Limited of India in 2022. PhD in solid-state electrochemistry from the University of Exeter, UK.

In his early career worked at British Petroleum (BP) and spent time at the University  of California, Santa Barbara, (UCSB). More than 30+ years in advanced battery research and development. Li-ion,  Na-ion, Li-metal anode, Mg-batteries, Li2FeS2, Li//S, Li-silicon anode, Zn-air, All  Solid-State Batteries (ASSB), Gel Li electrolytes, Conducting Polymers, Proton  conductors. 

Worked with over 40 battery companies worldwide (multinationals, government  labs, start-ups). 

1992 to 2005. Chief Scientist and Research Director at Valence Technology Inc. – the first company globally to introduce a commercial Graphite//LFP  battery in 2002.  

Published extensively in LIB and NIB fields. 100+ technical publications (hindex = 66, >15,000 citations). 

Named inventor on more than 120 issued and 25 pending US battery patents.  

Inventor of the Carbothermal Reduction (CTR) manufacturing method – the industry-standard method for the low-cost synthesis of LiFePO4/C composites. 

Widely regarded as a pioneer of Na-ion battery technology IBA Technology Award (2012) for contributions to Li-ion battery materials. 

ECS Europe Alessandro Volta Medal 2022. 

2019 was appointed Honorary Professor within the School of Chemistry at the  University of St. Andrews, UK.  

Member of the Faraday Institution Expert Panel

Professor Martin Freer joined the Faraday Institution as CEO in September 2024. He was previously Director of the Birmingham Energy Institute (BEI) at the University of Birmingham, a pan-discipline research centre. He also served as Director of the Energy Research Accelerator delivering a £200m programme to accelerate university research into regional, national and international impact linked to 1,400 researchers. Prior to that, Martin was Director of the Birmingham Centre for Nuclear Education and Research, which he established in 2010. Martin has co-led several policy commissions with the UK Government, including one that resulted in the creation of the Energy Innovation Zone in the West Midlands.

Martin is a nuclear physicist. His main research area is the study of the structure of light nuclei using nuclear reactions. He received the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Prize, Humboldt Foundation, in 2004 and the Rutherford Medal from the Institute of Physics in 2010.

Dr Valentina Gentili is a senior executive with over 20 years of experience in lithium-ion battery innovation and automotive R&D. In June 2025 she was announced as the new Battery Innovation Programme Director at Innovate UK. Prior to this she was Vice President of Global R&D at Agratas and led international teams across the UK and India, advancing next-generation energy storage solutions and aligning technology strategy with commercial goals
She previously held senior roles at Jaguar Land Rover, driving battery technology development and strategic collaborations, and at Johnson Matthey, where she led electrochemical R&D and supported global OEMs in pioneering battery innovation. Valentina actively contributes to the UK’s energy strategy through advisory roles with the Faraday Institution, Faraday Battery Challenge and Automotive Council.
She holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of St Andrews and an MBA from LUISS Business School.

Jamie North is a senior manufacturing leader with expertise in building and scaling advanced manufacturing systems from the ground up. As Head of Global Manufacturing Engineering at Agratas, Jamie leads the end‑to‑end industrialisation of next‑generation cell technologies; spanning factory design, equipment strategy, automation and high‑volume process development. 

Since graduating form the University of Aberdeen with an MEng in Mechanical Engineering Jamie has held roles at Jaguar Land Rover and Agratas, working his way up from a Graduate Industrial Engineer to Global Head of Manufacturing Systems.  

Jamie is passionate about developing engineering talent, embedding a culture of continuous improvement, and accelerating the industrial transition to electrification. 

• 22 year veteran of the Lithium Ion battery industry
• Awarded an OBE (2020) from HM the Queen for long service to EV batteries and their development
• Multiple world firsts:
• Worlds first commercially available PHEV (2004)
• Highest power density battery in automotive on two occasion’s (Infiniti e-merge and McLaren P1)
• Worlds first 12 meter EV bus battery

Career History
• Multiple Senior Director positions in battery development:
• Consultant and expert on battery technology and supply chain
• Chief Strategy Officer at Britishvolt
• Engineering and Technology Director, Johnson Matthey Battery systems
• Engineering and Technology Director, Cummins Electrified Power
• Development Director UK Battery Industrialisation Centre
• Global battery specialist Ricardo Plc Hybrid and Electric Division
• 10 years running own start up business, battery system development
• Extensive experience in China and Japan working with CATARC, JAC, GAC,
Nissan and Subaru
• NED Offshore Wind Growth Partnership
• Board of trustees, The Faraday Institution
• Chair of funding Faraday Institution review panels for UK academic research (battery
research)
• UK Automotive Council working group member that established the need for battery
eco-systems in 2016
• Led Britishvolt negotiations with UK Gov for £100mn grant, part of cap raise team
raising £200mn in equity