More energy dense, faster charging batteries. Batteries, or any energy storage of all natures, are so critical to the ongoing energy and mobility transitions. One of the areas that doesn’t get much thought, but is so critical, is material science, the materials which enable bigger, better, faster, more efficient batteries. This week I speak to Francis Wang, CEO of Nanograf. From PhD to entrepreneur and CEO, he has a great story to tell, and some superb insights into both the startup entrepreneurial journey, and the whole battery industry. I hope you enjoy the episode.About Francis Wang: Francis serves as the Chief Executive Officer for NanoGraf Technologies, a leading advanced materials company in the energy storage space. He brings over 20 years of experience in technology innovation and commercialization in the energy storage and clean energy spaces. Prior to NanoGraf Technologies, Francis was a founder and Director of Energy Storage Center at the National Institute of Clean Energy in Beijing, China from 2010-2015. Francis’s experience in energy storage spans a range of magnitudes from very small (uW-mW) forms of storage for portable electronics and medical applications to very large (kW-MW) for transportation and the grid. He has held positions in some of the world's largest battery, consumer products and energy companies, including Duracell, Proctor & Gamble, Gillette, Boston Scientific and the Shenhua Group. Francis received his Ph.D. in 1998 from the Department of Chemistry at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is the author of over 45 US and International patents, over 20 scientific publications and a recipient of the National Thousand Talents award in Energy Storage.About Nanograph:NanoGraf is an advanced battery material start-up and spinout of Northwestern University and Argonne National Laboratory whose novel silicon-graphene anode battery material enables a quantum leap in lithium-ion battery energy and power density. NanoGraf’s patented battery material enables longer-lasting, higher-energy, and higher-power, lithium-ion batteries for electronics ranging from consumer electronics to electric vehicles to grid-scale energy storage.Social links: Francis Wang LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francis-wang-3643273/ Nanograf LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sinode-llc/ Nanograf Twitter: https://twitter.com/NanoGrafTech Nanograf website: https://www.nanograf.com/ About Hyperion Executive Search:Hyperion are a specialist executive search firm working with some of the most innovative cleantech companies in the world, helping to find extraordinary talent to enable their growth and success. Partnering with leading cleantech VCs, as well as directly with founders and entrepreneurs in the sector. With our clients we are transforming business and growing a strong and prosperous cleantech economy.If you want to grow your team, or move forward your career, visit www.hyperionsearch.com, or email [email protected] EPISODE LINKS The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers, Ben Horowitz - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hard-Thing-About-Things-Building/dp/0062273205 Follow us online, write a review (please) or subscribeI'm very keen to hear feedback on the podcast and my guests, and to hear your suggestions for future guests or topics. Contact via the website, or Twitter. If you do enjoy the podcast, please write a review on iTunes, or your usual podcast platform, and tell your cleantech friends about us. That would be much appreciated.Twitter https://twitter.com/CleantechleaderFacebook https://www.facebook.com/DavidHuntCleantechGuideInstagram https://www.instagram.com/davidhuntcleantech/