Sparkz is the energy startup challenging China’s dominance of next generation energy storage. It is commercializing the only high energy-density cobalt-free, lithium-ion battery made in America. Sparkz was founded in late 2019 and has completed the transfer of 6 patents from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, while continuing its groundbreaking research and development focused on re-engineering the rest of the battery 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.
Richard has been a founder, adviser, engineer and executive during a more than three decades career in business including time at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Richard most recently served as an Executive in Resident at the Knoxville Entrepreneurship Center and worked directly with the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce to create an access to capital strategy for entrepreneurs and small businesses in the region.
Nicole has spent 25 years managing operations of previous energy companies and other start-ups including working with Sparkz founder Sanjiv Malhotra at Oorja. Nicole supports the team’s daily and ad-hoc needs.
Dr. Abouimrane joined Sparkz, from the Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute QEERI (Qatar Foundation) as the principal scientist. Previously, he spent more than a decade at national labs in the U.S. and Canada, including as a materials scientist at the National Argonne Laboratory.
Bella runs the streamlined financial side of Sparkz with speed and precision. She began her career at Deloitte before moving into private industries. She has a history of building, managing and restructuring all financial aspects of many different types of companies (SAAS, Architectural & Design, Media Production and Consulting). She has grown the finance side of a company (from 10 to 65 employees), and successfully led an audit and 2 rounds of due diligence. She’s a numbers gal. To her, accounting is both an art and a science.
Antonio has over 25 years of experience in engineering and manufacturing with a comprehensive hands-on background in energy storage systems. His experience includes all areas of product and process development including the engineering and manufacturing of Lithium-Ion cells and battery systems.
If you want to elevate your career and contribute to the future of sustainable energy, contact us to inquire about available positions. We are looking for talented individuals from a variety of backgrounds who are passionate about energy innovation.
Sparkz Inc., is looking to hire a Senior Material Scale-Up Engineer at their Knoxville, TN location. Job Description Synthesize cathode active materials at the kilogram level for use in lithium-ion batteries, with particular attention to characterization of each batch
Sparkz Inc., is looking to hire a Battery Material Scientist at their California location. Posted Jan. 25, 2022. Job Description Synthesis, design and optimize solid oxide electrolyte materials for use in lithium batteries with particular attention to the characterization,
Corporate Office
5625 Brisa Street, Suite B
Livermore, CA 94550
Phone
925-533-5903
Hours
Mon – Fri
9am – 5pm
Innovation Center
11020 Solway School Rd., Suite 104
Knoxville, TN 37931
Phone
865-896-0118
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.