AGENDA

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM PT

Registration & Mixer

2:30 PM - 3:15 PM PT

Opening Remarks

Adrian Yao, Founder & Team Lead, STEER

Yen T. Yeh, Executive Director, Volta Foundation

3:15 PM - 4:30 PM PT

Launching the STEER Open Cell Project

Adrian Yao, Founder & Team Lead, STEER

4:30 PM - 5:30 PM PT

Battery Report 2025 Deep Dive

Michael Liu, Director, Research & Insights and Lead Author, 2025 Battery Report, Volta Foundation

5:30 PM - 7:30 PM PT

Battery Social Networking Reception

Stanford University's Redwood City Campus Cardinal Hall.

8:00 AM - 9:00 AM PT

Registration & Breakfast

Stanford University Redwood City Campus Cardinal Hall

Breakfast will feature curated tables for roundtable-like discussions

9:00 AM PT

Opening Remarks

Yen T. Yeh, Volta Foundation

9:15 AM - 10:00 AM PT

Fireside Chat

Kurt Kelty, Vice President Battery, Propulsion and Sustainability, General Motors

Bob Galyen, CEO & Owner, Galyen Energy

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM PT

Networking Break

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM PT

Critical Links to Build Resilient Materials Supply Chain

Panelists include:

• Christophe Mille, Co-Founder & Executive Technical Advisor, Verkor
• Dr. Halle Cheeseman, Program Director, ARPA-E
• Chirranjeevi Gopal, Co-Founder & CTO, Mitra Chem
• Jessica Roberts, Research Director, Project Blue

11:30 AM - 12:30 PM PT

Bridging the Gap in Battery Deployment for EVs

Panelists include:

• Celina Mikolajczak, Industry Advisor
• Brian Spatocco, Senior Director Battery Engineering, Lucid
• Kyle Gordon, Principal, Roland Berger

Additional panelists will be updated throughout January 2025.

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM PT

Networking Lunch

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM PT

How Do We Efficiently Deliver Reliable Grid Storage?

Panelists include:

• Landon Mossburg, CEO, Peak Energy
• Freddy Reyes Falck, VP Global BESS Engineering, Fluence
• Chris Habuda, ESS Business Development, Samsung SDI
• Kasim Kahn, Senior Research Analyst, WoodMac

2:30 PM - 3:30 PM PT

Realities, Needs, and Requirements for Data Centers

Panelists include:

• Robert Lee, President, North America, LG Energy Solutions
• Brad Li, President of the Americas, BESS, Ampace
• Julia Attwood, Research Director, Sightline Climate

3:30 PM - 4 PM PT

Networking Break

4:00 PM PT - 5:00 PM PT

Opportunities in Addressing Defense Battery Shortages

Eric Shields, Senior Battery Advisor, OUSD Industrial Policy

5:00 PM PT

Closing Remarks

11:30 AM - 12 PM PT

Coffee & Networking

Stanford University Redwood City Campus Cardinal Hall

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM PT

Alternative BESS Markets Working Group

Closing the Loop on ESS 

What alternative revenue mechanisms can we leverage to properly incentivize more BESS deployment? This working group will focus key BESS markets.

Leaders:

• Julia Souder, CEO, LDES Council
• Brandt Vermillion, US Market Lead, Modo Energy

12:00 PM PT - 1:30 PM PT

Battery Materials Qualification Working Group

Common Language for Materials Qualification 

This working group will convene Volta 2026 attendees and industry SMEs on creating aligned specifications and data expectations that reduce friction between innovators, suppliers, and integrators.

Leaders:

• Adam Boies, Professor, Stanford University
• Eric Dufek, Integrated Energy Technologies Division Director, Idaho National Laboratory

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM PT

Coherent Policy for Cell Makers Working Group

Unifying the Battery Industry's Policy Voice 

This working group will bring together voices in the industry with a purpose of developing mechanisms for coordination so diverse stakeholders can respond coherently to evolving policy opportunities and risks.

Leader:

• Grayson Shor, Program Director - Policy & Government Affairs, Volta Foundation

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM PT

Lunch

Stanford University Redwood City Campus Cardinal Hall

2:30 PM PT - 4:00 PM PT

Battery Workforce Readiness & Development Working Group

Pre-Requisites for a Battery-Capable Workforce 

This working group will focus on coordinating universities, vocational schools, training centers, and employers to create reliable pipelines for technicians, engineers, and operators.

Leaders:

• Ajay Gnanasekaran, Sr. Program Director, Battery Workforce Development, Argonne National Laboratory

• Renu Dalal, Ph.D., Workforce Program Manager, Alabama Mobility & Power Center

2:30 PM - 4:00 PM PT

Battery Form Factor Standardization for Defense Working Group

Rethinking Form Factors for Scale 

This working group will convene Volta 2026 attendees and industry SMEs on assessing where standardization accelerates innovation, lowers cost, and simplifies integration across different verticals.

Leaders:

• Lisa King, Director, Advanced Battery Strategy, LEAP Manufacturing
• Jose Collazo-Castillo, Battery Supply Chain Resilience Advisor, Office of the Secretary of Defense

2:30 PM PT - 4:00 PM PT

Batteries for AI & Digital Infrastructure Working Group

Designing Storage for AI & Digital Infrastructure

This working group will center itself on aligning battery technologies, control strategies, and business models with rapidly growing compute and cooling demands.

Leader:

• Gabe Hege, Director of Engineering, NVIDIA
• Katherine He, Investor, TDK Ventures