Battery Cells & Systems Expo 2026 Exhibitor List

Graduated from University of Sheffield with a MEng in Aerospace Engineering and entered the Automotive industry for 5 years. Most of my experience is within Powertrain, developing and innovating testing methodologies for Powertrain-in-loop and Vehicle-in-loop test beds to left shift tests from road to rig to promote efficiency. In the past 2 years, I have shifted my focus and moved into Software-in-loop testing and development of Digital Twins to further left shift rigs to virtual testing. I am now the Subject Matter Expert for Propulsion SiL Design in JLR driving testing on virtual environment to derisk physical rigs and vehicle prototypes.

Steve has worked across a spectrum of performance engineering programmes over 30 years, in the automotive and more recently aerospace. He has provided innovation leadership to Williams Advanced Engineering, helping establish the Foresight Williams investment fund, raising government ATI funding and supporting a number of business initiatives. Steve has previously co-founded start-ups, is a visiting professor in Future Business and Materials at University of Oxford and mentors innovation at the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Dr Faye Smith OBE is the part-time Materials Specialist for DIT’s NPH team. For 15 years Faye has supported materials-related foreign direct investment (FDI) across a range of sectors. DIT’s UK Materials FDI Proposition focuses on business opportunities afforded by changes in the UK supply chain due to environmental, sustainability and resilience requirements, such as battery materials and materials recycling, as well as opportunities in the UK’s high value markets. Faye is a Director of Avalon Consultancy Services and, in her specialist area of composite materials, has been involved in the development and delivery of two UK Composite Strategies, including the establishment of the National Composites Centre and the Composites Leadership Forum and has been on the Board of Composites UK for 10 years. Faye is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.

Dr Jawwad A. Darr received his Phd in 1995 at Imperial College in Synthetic metal-organic chemistry and further postdoctoral research at Nottingham University. He worked at the IRC in biomedical materials for two years at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). From 2001 – 2006, he was holder of an EPSRC Advanced Research fellowship (and lecturer) developing research on “Next Generation Biomedical Materials using Supercritical Fluids”. In May 2007, he joined University College London (UCL), Department of Chemistry. Dr Darr has strong interactions with UK industry related to sustainable routes to the discovery and scale up of new ceramic materials in particularly energy and healthcare applications. He is the co-founder of UPSIGN, a charity that seeks to support Universities in relation to British Pakistanis in higher education and research.

With a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Biomaterials Engineering and a Ph.D. in Additive Manufacturing from Loughborough University, I possess an academic foundation in materials science. My doctoral research focused on material development for vat photopolymerization of sacrificial investment casting patterns for turbine blades, which provided a solid foundation for my current role. Since 2021, I’ve been a part of the AM Centre of Excellence, where I’ve been involved in material development for affordable ceramic vat photopolymerization. This involves designing binders and ceramic compositions such as silica, alumina, zirconia, etc. This role has allowed me to apply my academic knowledge to practical solutions, contributing to advancements in additive manufacturing. With a passion for research and a commitment to innovation, I am dedicated to making meaningful contributions to the field of ceramic additive manufacturing. In AM-COE, we blend our academic insight and hands-on experience, with a focus on problem-solving and pushing the boundaries of additive manufacturing technologies to make these technologies more accessible for small and medium industries.

Prof Chris Smith is Professor of Mechanical Engineering, deputy Assoc Dean for Research (Industry) for the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, and Director of the Centre for Future Clean […]

Francisco Carranza is the Chief Executive for BASQUEVOLT, a battery cell technology company that aims to become a world leader in solid state batteries that will enable the potential mass deployment of electric transportation and stationary energy storage. Before joining BASQUEVOLT, Francisco has developed a career in the automotive sector for more than 20 years. Before joining Basquevolt, Francisco was a member of the Executive Committee for battery cell producer ACC Automotive Cells Company. He was also Managing Director of Nissan Energy division at Nissan Motor Corporation. Francisco has two engineering degrees and holds two MBAs.