LONDON, UK: Gelion Plc (AIM: GELN), the Anglo-Australian battery storage innovator, announced the appointment of Mr. John Wood as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who commences his role on 21 November 2022, succeeding interim CEO Hannah McCaughey who has now completed her tenure.

It is intended that John will become a Director of Gelion and join the Board following the Company’s AGM to be held on 9 December and following satisfactory completion of the required regulatory due diligence.

John Wood has a 30-year track record of successful entrepreneurship and establishing global businesses in emerging technology markets, having both founded and led several enterprises and teams to develop multiple breakthrough technologies and solutions during significant industry transitions.

Prior to joining Gelion, John was CEO at Ecoult, a company founded to develop and commercialise an advanced Lead Acid battery technology. During his 12-year tenure as CEO, John initiated and led the fundraising process to facilitate commercialisation of Ecoult’s products whilst at the same time worked to establish the company’s product development roadmap and market positioning.

Ecoult was acquired in 2010 by East Penn manufacturing, one of the world’s largest lead-acid manufacturers.

Prior roles include founding StepNexus in 2005 (Now MULTOS International Secure Services), the security provider for smartcard platforms and Keycorp, the global payments technology service provider where he spearheaded product development and rollout and grew the company’s market value from A$1m to A$400m in eight years, during which time he was also responsible for overseeing the group’s listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

In addition to his wealth of commercial experience, John also brings significant advisory experience having previously been appointed to a number of boards, committees and panels in both the US and Australia either in an advisory or non-executive capacity.

John Wood joins the team with the aim of executing Gelion’s ambitious commercial timetable to take its breakthrough battery technology to the global markets.

Hannah McCaughey was appointed interim CEO in March 2022 to review and drive the commercialisation plan, and notably supported the Company in executing its production plans. Hannah has now completed her interim engagement with the Group and resigned as Director with effect from 28 October 2022.

Dr Steve Mahon, Chairman of Gelion, said: “John is an experienced CEO with a track record of growing technology companies and delivering shareholder returns. With his wealth of commercial, battery and manufacturing experience, I am confident that under his leadership we can take Gelion to the next level of growth. Having now successfully transitioned the battery manufacturing from laboratory to production, John’s depth of knowledge and proven record of creating shareholder value will help Gelion plan for scale. We are excited to welcome John to the leadership team and look forward to Gelion’s future success.

“On behalf of the Board, I would also like to personally thank Hannah McCaughey for her hard work and contribution since March; she has helped us to achieve a significant milestone in September with the first industrial production of Gelion’s zinc-bromide battery at Battery Energy and we wish her every success for the future.”

Commenting on his appointment, John Wood, CEO, said: “The energy storage industry is a critical contributor to the clean energy transition that is growing very quickly. There are two principal manufacturing streams today, lithium and lead acid. Gelion’s innovative team has created exciting new optionality in terms of a zinc bromide cell that has strong overlap with lead acid production line methodologies, offering a path to very strongly enhanced relative performance in energy density, temperature, and cycling capabilities. The team has also created a potentially breakthrough extension to lithium battery chemistry with its approach to combining a lithium-silicon anode with a sulfur cathode, moving toward not only high energy density but also safety enhancements.

“It is an honour to lead this effort and I look forward to helping the team achieve strong commercialisation and to deliver success for all stakeholders of Gelion by introducing the technologies into an industry and community of suppliers and customers I know well and respect.”