By Dr. Michelle Tokarz, VP of Partnerships and Innovation

I recently attended the NAATBatt 2023 conference in Litchfield Park, AZ. In addition to the beautiful weather and wonderful accommodations, I interacted with many lithium-ion battery experts and learned more about current trends within the industry, from some of the brightest minds the field has to offer. 

NAATBatt (National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Batteries) was formed as a consortium, based upon the model of Sematech over 10 years ago, and has been growing steadily ever since. It is a non-profit organization that includes members from the battery industry, academia, and the government, all focused on the development and commercialization of energy storage technologies. 

In recent years, energy storage and cleantech technologies have emerged as major focal points within the global economy. As a result, NAATBatt has become an increasingly pivotal organization in the industry. This year’s annual conference attendance – 600 persons – doubled last year’s attendance. Over 150 companies conducted presentations for the attending members throughout the conference. In contrast to other energy storage-focused conferences, NAATBatt aims to serve its members as a true trade organization, by actively supporting their continued growth within the field. In alignment with members’ needs, NAATBatt currently sponsors 13 cross-industry committees, with several more proposed during last week’s gathering. These committees span all aspects of the supply chain; I am currently representing The Coretec Group on the Manufacturing, Materials, and Markets committees.   

Our strategy of engaging with downstream partners aligns well with our work within these committees. We intend to work side-by-side on these industry-advancing activities with fellow committee members, from component suppliers to OEMs, as well as gaining insights from and forging connections with academic, automaker, and government members.   

Our participation in NAATBatt and its committees is a tremendous learning and networking opportunity, which will propel the development and commercialization of our Endurion battery. We look forward to the advancements we will make toward further lithium-ion battery development through the support and collaboration of these new relationships.