Ionblox Appoints Dr. Shirley Meng to Advisory Board

Ionblox, a California-based, advanced lithium-ion battery company, has appointed Dr. Shirley Meng of the University of Chicago to their advisory board. Dr. Meng is a Professor of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago as well as the Chief Scientist for Argonne Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Science (ACCESS), and holds a Ph.D. in Advanced Materials for Micro and Nano Systems.

“I look forward to working with the Ionblox team to commercialize their high-performance lithium-ion batteries using a pre-lithiated silicon oxide anode,” said Dr. Meng. “Ionblox is unique in applying a pre-lithiation strategy to their electrode design which is critical for improving the performance and durability of their silicon-based cells.”

At her current positions, Dr. Meng focuses her research on energy storage materials and systems, specifically on rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, power sources for Internet of Things (IOTs) and sustainable grid-scale storage. Dr. Meng founded the Sustainable Power and Energy Center at the University of California, San Diego, and was the inaugural director at the Institute for Materials Discovery and Design.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Meng to our advisory board and look forward to leveraging her battery insights and expertise,” said Dr. Herman Lopez, CTO and co-founder of Ionblox. “Dr. Meng’s support of Ionblox’s unique pre-lithiated silicon oxide anode technology is a signal to the industry that we’re leading the path toward the next generation of e-mobility applications.”

Silicon anodes suffer from poor cycle life and poor calendar life. After more than a decade of research and development supported by numerous DOE-funded programs (USABC and ARPA-E), Ionblox has demonstrated high-energy, high-power and fast-charging pre-lithiated silicon anode cells with over 1300 DST cycles and 800 days of storage following USABC test protocols. Ionblox’s data in large format pouch cells has been validated by various National Labs and EV and eVTOL OEMs.

In 2022, Ionblox received a new United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) contract to develop low-cost and fast-charge silicon-based cells for EVs. This partnership with USABC will continue to help scale-up the electrification of vehicles across the country and will become especially strong under Dr. Meng’s guidance.

About Ionblox

Founded in Fremont, California in 2017, Ionblox (previously known as Zenlabs) is a next-generation energy company transforming the future of mobility by land and air. The company has more than 40 issued patents, including for the pre-lithiation of all types of silicon-based anodes. Ionblox’s proprietary pre-lithiated silicon oxide anode and cell design enable multiple performance attributes – fast charging, high energy, high power, and long life at low cost – pushing the limits of traditional battery storage technology and unlocking the viability of widespread electric transportation. Ionblox is leading the electric mobility revolution by delivering superior technology and enabling electric vehicle (EV) and electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle (eVTOL) companies to achieve their goals.

Learn more about Ionblox and how it is transforming the future of electric transportation at www.ionblox.com and LinkedIn (@Ionblox).

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