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At Sparkz the team is the foundation of everything we accomplish. We thrive on pushing boundaries and embracing challenges with an unwavering commitment to innovation. Our curiosity fuels our desire to explore new possibilities, while our determination ensures we turn those possibilities into reality.
Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do. By fostering a culture of teamwork, we harness the diverse strengths of our people, knowing that together, we can solve complex problems and create meaningful impact. We celebrate progress and resilience, recognizing that every challenge is an opportunity to grow, learn, and achieve greatness.
We believe the best ideas come from the most unlikely places. The more opinions and ideas in the room the better Sparkz will be. To this end we make Sparkz a safe place for everyone.
We’re recruiting and training technicians, operators, and engineers to help us launch and manage our manufacturing plant.
We manufacture lithium-ion battery components in the United States, driving affordability in lithium-ion batteries. Our Metro Air Park (MAP) facility marks the first step in building a world-class lithium battery ecosystem domestically.
On October 8th, Sparkz, with Gavin Newsom and our partners, celebrated the grand opening of the MAP facility, marking the start of its operations.
We’ve teamed up with SMUD and the United Auto Workers to create the industry’s first battery workforce training center at the MAP facility. This center features both classroom instruction and hands-on training on the production line.
We’re seeking motivated and curious individuals to join Sparkz in building a world-class battery industry in the United States. Explore our open positions or join our workforce training center to build an electric future.
Our dedicated partners in developing the MAP Workforce Center.
Essential support for the MAP Workforce Center as well as advising Sparkz to be the best it can be.
Sparkz is dedicated to sourcing resources from the local economy and forging direct connections with the business community to strengthen and grow the regional economy.
Sparkz is committed to sourcing resources from minority- and women-owned businesses to the greatest extent possible.
Dr. Sanjiv Malhotra is the founder and CEO of Sparkz—the battery start-up reinventing the energy supply chain.
Malhotra has been a leader in the energy sector for nearly three decades as a founder, investor and executive. Most recently, he served as the inaugural director for the Energy Investor Center at the U.S Department of Energy (DOE), serving under both Democratic and Republican administrations.
At DOE, Malhotra led the Obama Administration’s initiative to boost public-private partnerships to accelerate the commercialization of technologies developed in national research centers like Oak Ridge National Labs.
Malhotra was recruited to the Department of Energy after a successful exit of Oorja Protonics—the world leader in methanol fuel cells—which he founded and led as CEO for 10 years. Oorja raised $50 Million in equity financing from leading VCs such as Sequoia, DAG Ventures, Artis Capital and others during his tenure. He boosted Oorja’s revenue and profitability growth, while expanding operations globally in Japan, China, South Africa, Mexico, and India.
Oorja was acquired in 2014 by the Private Equity firm MinXing Growth Fund.
As an investor and consultant, Malhotra has worked at leading venture capital firms, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers as an advisor on clean energy and advanced materials.
Earlier in his career, Malhotra led the engineering and product development team at H Power, a pioneer in hydrogen fuel cells. As part of the management team, he managed the successful IPO, which raised more than $100 million in August 2000.
He began his career as a post-doctoral fellow at the renowned Lawrence Berkeley National Labs on electrochemical storage systems. Dr. Malhotra has authored seven patents and more than 40 publications in various fields of energy storage technology and materials. He holds a PhD in chemical engineering and an M.B.A from University of Iowa.
