VESTAL, N.Y. — Battery-NY, part of the Binghamton University-led New Energy New York (NENY) initiative, has named its first executive director.
NENY selected British engineer Paul Malliband for the role following a worldwide candidate search, per its announcement.
The New Energy New York initiative is designed to establish a “strong” lithium-ion battery–manufacturing infrastructure in upstate New York.
Malliband brings more than 25 years of experience in academia, manufacturing, and management to the executive–director role. He comes to NENY and Battery-NY from WMG’s Energy Innovation Centre at the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, where he served as chief engineer and head of battery scale-up. In that role, he oversaw pilot–line operations, including a facility that houses more than 60 assets for manufacturing and testing battery electrodes, and pouch and cylindrical cells.
“I am excited to welcome Paul Malliband to Binghamton University and the New Energy New York initiative,” Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger said in the announcement. “His experience in both research and business is going to be crucial in Battery-NY launching its prototyping capabilities, which are the first of its kind in the U.S, and working with industry partners. The NENY project, which is built around its great people, has been fortunate to have received external support through the EDA’s Build Back Better Regional challenge, the U.S. National Science Foundation and New York state. We’re proud to now include Paul as a member of the NENY team.”
EDA is the U.S. Economic Development Administration, which is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
In addition to Malliband’s role at the Energy Innovation Centre, he also worked with the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) team on the development of its volume industrialization line (VIL) and also co-managed its new flexible industrialization line (FIL).
“When I first met Paul at Warwick, I knew he was our leader,” M. Stanley Whittingham, distinguished professor at Binghamton University and Nobel Laureate, saidin a statement. “He had all the desired experience, was excited about batteries, and made a great impression. He will be a great asset in building and leading the Battery-NY facility, the centerpiece of NENY, and will attract the leading battery companies to the region to accomplish our and [U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles] Schumer’s goal of energy storage ‘Made in America by Americans.’”
Malliband, who began work March 4, will work with Whittingham to usher Battery-NY into its operational phase, NENY said.