Charlie Welch
Executive summary:
- Co-founder and CEO of ZapBatt
- Academic: Cal Poly Pomona
- Award: Engineering Showcase of Excellence Award, 2nd place for custom supercapacitors designed for long endurance electric flight. Cal Poly Pomona has continued the project based on its success for the last ten years to aid in developing electric-powered aircraft.
- Professional: Northrop Grumman Aerospace
- Award: Innovator of the year – 2015 – Custom Battery system designed for Long Endurance Electric Aircraft
- Award: 2014 – Engineering Excellence Award
What is your field of expertise?
My field of expertise is battery chemistries and fully electric and hybrid-powered systems. As an Aerospace Engineer, I worked in Applied Research at Northrop Grumman Aerospace, improving battery-powered systems for the military by testing the whole spectrum of battery chemistries available today.
Describe your journey to where you are today.
I have always had a deep passion for energy-related projects and wildlife. That came to fruition when I got to work on projects to aid in Polar Bear research and spent time in the arctic learning about sea ice and its effect on our environment. From there, I knew I wanted to work in clean tech to aid in our transition to build a more sustainable future.
What does your company do, for whom, and how does it fit into the bigger picture of solving global issues with clean tech?
Our company builds lithium titanate battery systems for a variety of customers in the mobility, consumer, and infrastructure storage space. Our battery system lasts 10X as long as current li-ion batteries, meaning they can provide nearly 1/10th the carbon footprint of standard batteries. They are also much safer with no risk of self-thermal runaway, allowing our systems to provide a reliable form of energy storage meant to last for decades.
What do you think is the most important thing we can be doing in terms of clean tech solutions?
One of the most important things we can do is figure out how to make technologies last longer. Even clean tech has a carbon footprint when produced; the primary way to offset that footprint is to make each system last as long as possible. Recycling is important, but longevity is even more important.
LinkedIn: Charlie Welch