Cellmates by Lumicity

Mike Norton and Jackson Lyons
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Technology
  • Updated Weekly

Cellmates provides a focused, expert-led exploration into battery tech, energy and storage in the US renewable energy sector - whether materials, manufacturing, testing & analytics, business models, policy, or recycling. Co-hosts Mike and Jackson talk with the brightest minds in battery tech; featuring in-depth conversations with engineers, founders, researchers, and experts shaping the energy transition. Key topics include battery innovation, grid-scale storage, clean energy policy, supply chain challenges, and the role of energy storage in decarbonization. www.linkedin.com/company/lumicity/

  1. Emily Litt, Dragonfly Energy — Safer Batteries and the Road to Solid-State

    5d ago

    Emily Litt, Dragonfly Energy — Safer Batteries and the Road to Solid-State

    Dragonfly Energy's Director of Product Development on building safer lithium-ion batteries - and why solid-state is the only real end goal. Mike Norton and Jackson Lyons sit down with Emily Litt, Director of Product Development at Dragonfly Energy - a Nevada-based battery company that's been making lithium-ion packs for off-grid applications since 2012, and quietly building toward something much bigger. Emily's background is anything but linear. A decade leading sales and marketing teams, then a deliberate decision to retrain in materials science because she wanted to work on something that genuinely mattered. She joined Dragonfly as an intern, held every role in the R&D lab, and is now directing product development for a publicly traded company with a patented dry electrode manufacturing process and solid-state batteries on the roadmap. In this episode: Why Dragonfly's patented dry electrode process - which eliminates toxic solvents from battery manufacturing - was always designed for solid-state, not just cleaner lithium-ion The one word that drives every product decision at Dragonfly: safety How understanding what's happening at the electrochemical level inside a cell is what makes genuinely innovative product development possible Why the Lithium Loop forming in Reno, Nevada is one of the most exciting developments in US battery supply chains right now What it actually means to work at a company where your opinion counts even as an intern - and why that culture translates into better products Dragonfly's take on the US supply chain challenge and why vertical integration matters Plus: Emily's honest perspective on the non-linear career path, and why the skills she built outside of tech turned out to be some of the most valuable she has. Emily Litt | LinkedIn  (36) Dragonfly Energy Corporation: Overview | LinkedIn

    24 min
  2. Eric Chaves, Terrament — Gravity Storage and the End of the Grid Waitlist

    May 26

    Eric Chaves, Terrament — Gravity Storage and the End of the Grid Waitlist

    Pumped hydro is 95% of the world's energy storage. We're running out of mountains. So what comes next? Mike Norton sits down with Eric Chaves, founder of Terrament - a company building large-scale, long-duration energy storage that replicates what pumped hydro does, but without needing rivers, reservoirs, or geography on your side. Eric's path to founding Terrament is genuinely unusual: architecture degree, industrial design, a decade in software, and then a moment of deliberate research where he asked himself what the single most important unsolved problem in energy actually was. The answer pulled him toward gravity storage - and a solution that's both ancient in principle and entirely new in execution. In this episode: Why pumped hydro still dominates global energy storage - and why we can't build much more of it Why lithium-ion hits a hard cost wall beyond 8-10 hours of duration, and what the grid actually needs instead How Terrament uses deep underground shafts and a modular train of weights to replicate the physics of pumped hydro — buildable almost anywhere with suitable geology The AI data center energy crisis: grid connections are now backlogged 5+ years, gas turbines the same - and why Terrament can be built right on-site Why across-the-aisle political support exists for what Terrament is building - energy is universal The grant process, building research partnerships, and what early-stage looks like when you're validating a technology that's genuinely never been done at scale Plus - Eric's honest take on the administration's impact on the energy transition, and why he's still optimistic. Eric Chaves | LinkedIn  (36) Terrament: Overview | LinkedIn

    22 min
  3. Chaitanya, Nascent Materials - Building the Battery Supply Chain the West Actually Needs

    May 12

    Chaitanya, Nascent Materials - Building the Battery Supply Chain the West Actually Needs

    Battery cathode materials startup Nascent Materials: founded by a former Tesla Gigafactory engineer fixing the supply problem he saw from the inside. Mike Norton and Jackson Lyons kick off Series 8 with Chaitanya Sharma, founder and CEO of Nascent Materials - a battery cathode materials startup based in Newark, New Jersey, that just closed its seed round. Chaitanya's CV is unlike most founders in this space. He was one of the first engineers hired at Tesla's original Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada - the facility where the term Gigafactory was literally coined. From there: a stint at Lithium Americas working on novel lithium extraction from soil deposits in Nevada, then co-building Imperium 3 New York - a ground-up Gigafactory startup in upstate New York. Every step pointed to the same problem: getting hold of consistently high-quality cathode materials is one of the hardest things a battery startup has to do. Nascent Materials exists to change that. In this episode: Why materials control ~80% of a battery cell's cost - and yet get a fraction of the attention The brutal reality of scaling up from lab to production - why a process that works perfectly in a small container can fail completely in a larger one Why the Western world can't simply copy the Chinese manufacturing model - the raw materials, labor structures, and government support systems are fundamentally different How Nascent is designing cathode materials with the end-use case embedded from day one, drawing on Chaitanya's experience running factories that consume these materials Closing a seed round in a tough investment climate - and why the technology spoke for itself What it actually means to be a CEO: speaking every department's language and aligning your whole team behind the mission If you work in battery manufacturing, materials supply chains, or you're building a deep tech startup and want a masterclass in thinking from the ground up - this is the episode. Chaitanya Sharma | LinkedIn (35) Nascent Materials: Overview | LinkedIn

    31 min

  4. 12/16/2025

    CIBI Episode 7: What’s Next for CIBI

    In this closing episode, we sit down with Dean Hossein Haj-Hariri to reflect on the major themes of the series and look ahead to the future of CIBI. We cover: Key learnings from across the series Why the Carolina Institute for Battery Innovation is central to South Carolina's energy strategy The power of partnerships and ecosystem building A vision for the future of US Battery InnovationCIBI University of South Carolina

    31 min

  5. 12/02/2025

    CIBI Ep.6 - Phenogy and the Power of Partnerships

    This episode spotlights Phenogy, with CEO PeterBraun and Director North America Suzanne Dickerson,exploring how industry partnerships accelerate energy storage innovation. CIBI University of South Carolina

    35 min

  6. 11/18/2025

    CIBI Episode 5: Strategic Partnership Spotlight: Siemens

    In this week's episode, we speak with Sam Phillips, Digital Strategies Lead at Siemens, about the company’s role in driving innovation at the intersection of research and industry.  We cover: CIBI University of South Carolina

    30 min

  7. 11/04/2025

    CIBI Episode 4: Building South Carolina’s Clean Energy Ecosystem – Inside SC Nexus with Cristina Paredes

    This week's exciting episode spotlights SC Nexus, a key player in building the collaborative ecosystem surrounding CIBI.   We talk with one of the most informed and influential women in South Carolina, Cristina Paredes (Executive Director of SC Nexus) covering: How SC Nexus connects research, industry, and investment The strategic importance of ecosystem thinking for energy innovation South Carolina's role in strengthening US clean energy leadership CIBI University of South Carolina

    26 min

  8. 10/21/2025

    CIBI Episode 3 - Alumni Success: Guiding a Fast Growing Industry

    This week's episode highlights how USC alumni are driving impact across national labs and industry. We hear from: Drew Pereira, NREL – early-career researcher at the frontline of battery R&D Will Rigdon, Stanley Black & Decker – mid-career leader bridging engineering and real-world deployment Venkat Srinivasan, Argonne National Lab – late-career visionary shaping the national research agenda for energy storage Key themes: How USC talent is contributing to global battery leadership Bridging academic research, government labs, and industry Alumni insights on scaling innovation in a fast-moving sector CIBI  University of South Carolina

    1h 2m
See All (42)

About

Cellmates provides a focused, expert-led exploration into battery tech, energy and storage in the US renewable energy sector - whether materials, manufacturing, testing & analytics, business models, policy, or recycling. Co-hosts Mike and Jackson talk with the brightest minds in battery tech; featuring in-depth conversations with engineers, founders, researchers, and experts shaping the energy transition. Key topics include battery innovation, grid-scale storage, clean energy policy, supply chain challenges, and the role of energy storage in decarbonization. www.linkedin.com/company/lumicity/

Information

  • Creator
    Mike Norton and Jackson Lyons
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    42
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Mike Norton and Jackson Lyons
  • Show Website
    Cellmates by Lumicity

You Might Also Like