Solid Power CEO Douglas Campbell to leave the company
Solid Power, the US solid-state battery specialist backed by Ford and BMW, among others, is looking for a new CEO. As the company announced, Douglas Campbell will retire from his functions as CEO and as a member of the Board of Directors with immediate effect.
President David Jansen has been appointed interim CEO of Solid Power. The company says it has initiated a comprehensive search process, with the assistance of an independent executive search firm, to find a permanent CEO and will consider internal and external candidates. In an accompanying release, Douglas Campbell and management pay tribute to each other. The statements indicate that the decision was mutual.
“As we enter the next phase in our evolution and build on our momentum as a newly public company, Doug and the Board decided that now is the right time to identify a new leader who will drive our product development and commercialization capabilities,” stated John Stephens, Lead Independent Director of Solid Power.
According to him, Douglas Campbell will start a new chapter with “more time for the family”. However, he emphasises that he intends to remain a significant shareholder in the company in the years to come. Campbell was one of the founders of the company in 2011, when it was a spin-off from the University of Colorado. Today, Solid Power is one of the world’s most promising developers of solid-state battery cells.
In the summer, the US company announced that it had completed the installation of its pilot production line and planned to deliver the first cells for qualification tests to its investors and customers Ford and BMW before the end of the year. The pilot line will produce automated all-solid-state battery cells using the company’s proprietary sulphide-based solid electrolyte material. At full capacity, the pilot line is expected to be able to produce about 15,000 cells per year. Series production is expected to start in 2026, according to earlier information.
The company had given details of its solid-state battery platform in May 2021. Conventional NMC cathodes are used, so their production does not have to be changed. In combination with a silicon anode and a solid electrolyte, Solid Power wants to be able to build a cell with a gravimetric energy density of 390 Wh/kg. If a lithium metal anode is used instead of the silicon anode, the cell (still with NCM-811 cathode) has an energy density of 440 Wh/kg.
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