Fireside Chat on Future of LFP Battery Economics at Sacramento Climate Week

May 8, 2026-Sacramento, CA
Sparkz CEO and Founder Sanjiv Malhotra, took the stage at the inaugural Sacramento Climate Week for a featured conversation titled “Where the Money Meets the Cell” — a timely discussion on the economics and future of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in America’s clean energy transition.
Joining Malhotra during the fireside chat was Dan Baldi, SVB’s National Head of Climate Tech, bringing a leading investor and financial perspective to the conversation. Susan Su moderated the discussion exploring the real costs driving LFP battery development, what the market is signaling to manufacturers, and why domestic production is becoming a competitive and strategic imperative.
As the U.S. works to reduce its dependence on foreign battery supply chains, Sparkz is at the forefront — building LFP batteries on American soil. This conversation sits at the intersection of innovation and capital, spotlighting what it takes to scale clean energy manufacturing in the United States and what investors are looking for in the next generation of battery companies.
Watch the conversation here:

 

 

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.