Shantel
Today, Group1, a company aiming to revolutionize the energy industry by developing Potassium-ion battery technology, announced the addition of Dr. Martin Z. Bazant to its Advisory Board.
Professor Bazant is the E. G. Roos (1944) Chair Professor of Chemical Engineering and Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is known for his groundbreaking research that combines mathematical modeling, transport phenomena, and electrokinetics of electrochemical systems. Professor Bazant is a world leader in using data-driven approaches and materials informatics as applied to electrochemical systems, such as batteries. Professor Bazant’s expertise and insights will significantly enhance Group1’s technical capabilities and accelerate the commercialization of Potassium-ion batteries (KIBs), a viable alternative to the Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) commonly used in today’s electric vehicles.
“The addition of Professor Bazant to our Advisory Board is a significant milestone that will help us bring KIBs to market in the coming years,” said Dr. Yakov Kutsovsky, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder of Group1. “With Dr Bazant’s appointment to our Advisory Board, his fundamental understanding of electrochemical and transport processes and material informatics expertise better positions Group1 to accelerate KIB adoption using the G1 SMART™ Platform for materials and cell development.”
Group1 enables KIBs, an energy storage solution free of critical minerals such as Lithium, Cobalt, Nickel, and Copper, while facilitating domestic manufacturing and further strengthening U.S. energy security. Its product, Kristonite™, a 4V cathode material — Potassium Prussian White (KPW) — enables KIBs that can deliver faster charging with enhanced safety and higher energy density when compared to Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP)-based Lithium-ion batteries or Sodium-ion batteries, making them the future of the energy industry.
“Electrification is key to addressing the climate crisis, but we need sustainable battery solutions that can meet the future global demand,” said Professor Martin Z. Bazant. “Lithium-ion batteries face dire supply-chain issues and are expensive to mine. Recycling batteries and improving the refining capacity of critical minerals are necessary solutions, but practical alternatives to Lithium will also be needed to meet society’s ambitious plans for electrification. I am excited to be a member of Group1’s Advisory Board and bring my expertise to help the company develop a more sustainable and cost-effective battery solution that can help power the future.”
Professor Bazant earned his PhD in Physics from Harvard and had academic appointments in the Departments of Mathematics and Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
In addition to his academic achievements, Professor Bazant is the Director of the Toyota Research Institute’s Center for Data Driver Design of Rechargeable Batteries (D3BATT), Director of the Center for Battery Sustainability, and the Chief Scientific Advisor for Saint Gobain Research North America. He also serves as the Chief Scientist for Lithios, an MIT startup company he co-founded to pioneer advanced lithium extraction from brines using electrochemistry.
For more information about Group1, visit www.group1.ai.
About Group1
Founded in 2021 and based in Austin, TX, Group1 is an engineered materials company focusing on the commercialization of Potassium-ion batteries. The company is revolutionizing the energy industry by enabling sustainable, efficient, and cost-effective energy storage — expanding beyond the limitations of Lithium-ion batteries while building on the best of Lithium-ion technologies.
