Our team

We bring decades of experience to the industry which enables us to build best in class solutions

Team

Zheng Li, Ph.D.
Co-founder & CEO

Dr. Li is the primary inventor of our direct lithium-ion battery recycling technology. Dr. Li has more than 16 years of experience in battery research and development, including the design, manufacturing and recycling of lithium-ion and flow batteries. Dr. Li has been the first inventor and led the prototype design of several game-changing battery technologies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Virginia Tech. These inventions have attracted multi-million dollar funding rounds from state and federal government, and institutional investors, such as Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

Nolan Schmidt
Co-founder & CSO

Prior to joining Li Industries, he was Vice President of BAE Systems Platform Solutions, a manufacturer of vehicles for both military and civilian applications, and was responsible for a $1.3B division that designed and produced electrically-powered vehicles. Mr. Schmidt also has over 20 years of leadership in the US defense sector.

Xu "Henry" Han, Ph.D.
Co-founder & CFO

Dr. Han has more than 10 years of research and teaching experience on entrepreneurship, strategy, and entrepreneurial financing at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He has won both research and teaching awards in the field of entrepreneurship and management. He also has multiple years of experience in advising and investing in startup companies in both United States and China.

David Young
Co-founder & CTO

Prior to joining Li Industries, Mr. Young led a 14-business unit, $600M division at Inteplast Group, a manufacturer of polymer products for healthcare, consumer goods, and construction industries. An MIT graduate with an SM in materials science and engineering, he has worked and published in the areas of energy storage and biologically-derived nanoparticles.

M. Stanley Whittingham, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist

Dr. Whittingham is the 2019 Nobel Laureate and Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Director of the NorthEast Center for Chemical Energy Storage at Binghamton University. He is the founding father of lithium-ion batteries and a member of the US National Academy of Engineering.

Carl Smith
Chief Strategy Advisor

Mr. Smith is the President Emeritus and former CEO of Call2Recycle, the first and largest consumer battery stewardship and recycling program in United States. Mr. Smith has served as CEO of Call2Recycle from 2008-2020, as well as other various key managerial roles in both the private and public sectors.

Michael W. Ellis, Ph.D.
Chief Engineer

Dr. Ellis has 25 years of experience in engineering design, research, and education related to the development and application of advanced energy systems. His work has been funded by DOE, NSF, major industry and small business organizations.

Interested in partnering? Get in touch.

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