Sparkz Appoints Diana Furchtgott-Roth to Board of Advisors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Sparkz Appoints Diana Furchtgott-Roth to Board of Advisors
Former U.S. Department of Transportation Deputy Assistant Secretary Brings Policy and Infrastructure Expertise

 

Sacramento, CA – January 29, 2026 – Sparkz, a U.S.-based advanced battery materials company building a fully domestic lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery ecosystem, today announced that Diana Furchtgott-Roth has joined its Board of Advisors.

 

Ms. Furchtgott-Roth brings decades of experience at the intersection of energy policy, infrastructure, and economics, including serving as Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Labor and Chief of Staff of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors. Most recently she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology at the U.S. Department of Transportation, where she advised on infrastructure investment, supply chains, and technology deployment. She is currently Director of the Center for Energy, Climate, and Environment at The Heritage Foundation and Adjunct Professor of Economics at George Washington University.

 

Her appointment comes as Sparkz scales domestic production of LFP cathode active material, battery cells, and systems to meet accelerating demand from AI data centers, grid-scale storage, defense, and industrial energy markets.

 

“Diana’s deep understanding of energy policy, infrastructure, and federal priorities is invaluable as Sparkz scales manufacturing and builds critical domestic supply chains,” said Sanjiv Malhotra, CEO of Sparkz. “Her perspective will help guide our engagement with policymakers and ensure our growth aligns with national energy and economic objectives.”

 

“Sparkz is addressing a real and urgent need—bringing critical battery materials and manufacturing back to the United States from China, thereby increasing American security and employment,” said Diana Furchtgott-Roth. “I’m honored to join the Board of Advisors and support the company’s mission to create more high-paying jobs for Americans while strengthening domestic energy resilience and industrial capacity.”

 

Founded in 2020, Sparkz operates the first LFP cathode active material production facility in the United States and is expanding its manufacturing footprint to support a fully integrated, U.S.-based battery ecosystem. The addition of Ms. Furchtgott-Roth further strengthens Sparkz’s advisory bench as the company continues its next phase of growth.

 

For media inquiries, please contact Abby Rodriguez at media@sparkz.energy.

Founder & CEO

Dr. Sanjiv Malhotra

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.