Johnson Mattey Fuel Cells
With Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells (2001), Jon was responsible for development of a component at the centre of the Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA), the Proton Exchange Membrane for Hydrogen Fuel Cells. As Laboratory Manager, Jon worked with the team to develop a reinforced membrane for extended life expectancy of the end product, which was supplied to numerous large OEM’s.
At this time, he gave seminars on Fuel Cells using a simple demonstration model, which was quite unique at the time. In conjunction with his affiliation with the South Wales and Western Polymer Group, of which he became Chairman in 2011, he was occasionally invited by regional scientific institutes to present on his chosen topic of “The Great Energy Storage Adventure”, which looked at the bigger picture of how the grid worked, and the distinct lack of energy storage infrastructure at that time.
Zap & Go
In 2013, having completed an MBA type training in 2007 (Business Coaching), Jon co-founded a company who’s aim was to develop and commercialise advanced supercapacitors, or ultra-fast-charge energy storage/ delivery devices. As Chief Scientific Officer, Jon was primarily responsible for the science, and research and development behind the company, where he established facilities at Rutherford Appleton Laboratories, and hired a team of Scientists and Engineers.
Jon led the team to develop Gen 0 cells at Warwick Manufacturing Group, and then Gen 1 to Gen 2 at AGM Batteries in the North of Scotland, tentatively working with numerous large OEM’s.. During his time with the company, they won several prestigious awards and were featured on the likes of ‘BBC Click’ and ‘The Gadget Show’ in 2015/2016. The above image shows the zapGo Charger on test.
AGM Batteries and Technical Advisor
In 2018 Jon simultaneously became a Technical Advisor to Natrion Inc., a company developing Sodium-ion and Lithium-ion Solid State Electrolytes for Solid State Batteries (SSB’s) in the US (Alex (CEO) and Tom (Co-Founder) shown in the image below), and joined AGM Batteries in the (very) North of Scotland at a relatively early stage of their growth.
At AGM Batteries (Thurso site shown in the image below), who became AMTE Power in 2020, Jon was primarily responsible for their IP portfolio, which saw him work across all areas of development in the energy storage arena, and extensively with IP Lawyers and Attorneys. Here he had exposure to the complete portfolio of interests, for example, Lithium-ion, Sodium-ion, ‘smart cell’ technology, Lithium metal anode, silicon anode, and Solid State Batteries.
Jon wore many hats, and his experience and expertise also saw him as Project Manager/ Technical lead for numerous government funded multiple-partner collaborations (up to 12 partners!), including Niche Vehicle Applications, Smart Cells, and Quantum measurement for optimised battery cell ageing processes, which is seen as one of the holy grails for new product and bespoke cells.
The image below shows Paul from Cosworth with Colin Arnold of AGM Batteries at the Low Carbon Vehicle event in 2019 at Millbrook in the UK demonstrating the worlds first ‘Smart Cell’ enabled electric vehicle battery platform.
Silent Koala
Jon now works with various start-up companies in an advisory capacity, focussed on early stage investment and establishment, proof of concept, materials and supply chain, manufacturing and scale-up, and general coaching and mentoring.