Dr Ola Hekselman

Ola is a battery scientist with over 10 years of research experience (ICL, Oxford, St Andrews, CSIRO) and is focused on the development of materials and processes for battery applications.

Solveteq was founded based on her research work with Prof. David Payne at Imperial College London. In 2019/2020, as a Faraday Institution Entrepreneurial Fellow, she co-designed & managed the production and successful delivery of Solveteq’s first prototype, recycling 1kg of battery paste per hour, and she established strategic relationships with international industrial partners and future customers. Prior to joining Imperial and setting up Solveteq, Ola was a Research Fellow at the University of Oxford and she obtained her PhD in chemistry under the supervision of Prof. Peter G. Bruce at the University of St Andrews.

Beyond battery recycling, Ola’s interests extend to material discovery for solid-state Li-ion batteries. This ranges from polymer, ceramic and hybrid electrolyte systems to organic electrodes. She combines her expertise in inorganic and organic synthesis with characterisation methods to tailor electrochemical, chemical and mechanical properties of the next-generation battery materials and technologies.

In addition to her academic career, Ola regularly advised investors in the Li-ion battery sector, e.g. leading technical DD in a Series A investment round into a Li-ion recycling company or supporting Li-ion battery component manufacturer in their investment round closed at a $1B valuation.

 

Ola received a Women in Innovation Award from Innovate UK in March 2023.
Ola’s recent profile by The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA).

Paul Arwas

Paul is a co-founder of UTP Consulting, working with clients to deliver growth and performance by using disruptive technologies and business model innovation to navigate the energy transition. Formerly Director and VP at Arthur D Little working with leading oil and gas and chemical companies. Extensive experience of interim management in start-up companies including CEO and Chair at Inflowmatix (an IoT start-up). Advisor to ventures and investors including Cognis Capital and Charles Street Capital. Run major innovation and policy reviews for the UK Government around energy and renewables. Working with Dr Hekselman as a business mentor (Imperial Enterprise IVMS programme) since March 2019.

Prof David Payne

David Payne is a Professor of Materials Chemistry and leads the Solid State Electronic Structure Group in the Department of Materials, he is also head of the Advanced Photoelectron Spectroscopy Laboratory. David obtained his DPhil in 2008, followed by a Junior Research Fellowship at Christ Church and the Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford. From 2011 – 2019 he held a Royal Society University Research Fellowship. He is also currently the Director of the Research Complex at Harwell, a position he holds jointly between Imperial College and RCaH.

Mark Stevenson

One of the lead industry’s most popular and best-known veterans, was awarded the Lifetime Achievement in Lead Award in 2019 for his expertise and contributions to the lead acid battery industry. He joined Simsmetal in 1980, working at the lead smelting unit while he studied Material Sciences part-time, he then joined Pasminco, which operated zinc and lead mines, refineries and the world’s largest lead smelter. He joined Eco-Bat Technologies in 2010 as technical manager for the Asia region. As organizing the biennial Asian Battery Conference and Secondary Lead Conference.

Dr Andrew Ballantyne

Currently, a Senior Lecturer in Leather Technology at the University of Northampton with experience in education and research. Andrew is also a co-inventor of IP behind Solveteq’s technology as he previously worked with Prof. David Payne at Imperial College London. Andrew supports Solveteq with his expertise in the area of Deep Eutectic Solvents, gained during his research in the groups of Prof Karl Ryder and Prof Andrew Abbott at the University of Leicester. Andrew obtained his PhD in Chemistry from The University of Manchester and 1st Class Honours from UMIST.

Lysander Tennant

Lysander has over twenty years’ experience in the financial sector, for the past 13 years specialising in corporate and project finance in the renewable energy sector. Following a career in the City managing institutional equity portfolios Lysander moved into private equity management. For seven years he worked at Tamar Energy, one of the UK’s largest developers and operators of anaerobic digestion plants, where he was involved in raising £130m in debt and equity.  Since 2018 Lysander has been Finance Director of BasePower, a sustainable and renewable energy project developer focussing on the provision of onsite energy centres for industrial users, including combined heat and power plants and roof-top solar PV arrays.