Atraverda appoints new Vice President for North America

Advanced materials company, Atraverda Limited, has made a key appointment to its senior management team with Dr George Brilmyer coming on board as Vice President, North American Business Development.

Dr Brilmyer joins South Wales-based Atraverda from Daramic, and brings with him over 28 years research and development experience in batteries, fuel cells, electroplating and corrosion engineering.

Atraverda is rapidly progressing with its plan to deliver the world’s first commercially viable bi-polar lead acid battery, using its patented Ebonex® technology. The company has already secured $33.4m (£17.6m) from global investors in order to commercialise its bi-polar battery technology and is currently working with eight global battery producers including East Penn in the US and Exide Industries in India.

With a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry and specialisation in electro-chemistry, Dr Brilmyer has spent time as manager of separator development at Daramic, director of research and development at Microporous Products, director of product / market development at Corus Special Strip, principal consultant at Batt-Tek Consulting, and manager of product and process engineering at the Specialty Battery Division of Johnson Controls.

Dr Brilmyer has also published over 30 technical publications on a variety of chemical, battery and fuel cell related-issues, as well as having four patents in the chemical and engineering sciences and a further three pending patent applications.

In his new role Dr Brilmyer will be tasked with commercialising applications of Atraverda’s Ebonex® technology and developing new applications and opportunities for Ebonex®, as well as working closely with battery manufacturers and forming customer partnerships to drive the development of innovative battery designs.

Atraverda’s technology base is founded on the properties of its versatile proprietary Ebonex® technology, a titanium sub-oxide material which has a unique combination of metallic-like conductivity along with the characteristic high-corrosion resistance of ceramics.

Ebonex® bi-polar batteries are an environmentally strong technology with significantly less lead used than conventional batteries. They are set to revolutionise a host of markets including standby power, mobility, military, telecoms, automotive and the emerging hybrid electric vehicles sector. Further applications for Ebonex® technology include water and effluent treatment and the cathodic protection of concrete.

Dr Brilmyer says: “This is an exciting time to be joining Atraverda. My immediate goal is to make use of my background in customer-focused product development to help drive Atraverda towards delivering the world’s first commercially viable bi-polar lead acid battery. I look forward to working closely with the technical staff within Atraverda to devise technical improvements, optimise prototyping capabilities and develop new applications and opportunities for Ebonex®.

“In addition to the bi-polar battery, I believe the battery industry as a whole can also make good use of Ebonex® to improve the efficiency and cycle life of the positive active mass in all types of lead-acid batteries.”

This marks the first appointment since Michael Gilchrist took over as CEO at Atraverda in August 2008.

Mr Gilchrist says: “George has a solid reputation throughout the global battery industry and, having worked with him both at Daramic and Microporous Products, I knew he was the perfect fit for our organisation where we could draw upon his experience, knowledge and contacts. He has proven experience in battery technology, product research and development, new business development and taking products to the market.

“George’s appointment marks an important step as we look to enhance our position as a leading global supplier of bi-polar lead acid battery technology.”

Atraverda’s investors are EnerTech Capital, OnPoint Technologies, Scottish Equity Partners Bank, Finance Wales, Invest New Energy Solutions, Espirito Santo Ventures and Chord Capital.

ENDS

For more information, please contact Angharad Neagle or Mitchell Gadd on 029 20 545387 or aneagle@freshwater-uk.com

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