Skeleton Technologies strengthens its management team

Skeleton is moving ahead with its plans to strengthen its management team, with this announcement following the recruitment of Daniel Weingarth as CTO and the promotion of Sebastian Pohlmann as VP of Innovation.

Commenting on this announcement, Taavi Madiberk, CEO and cofounder of Skeleton Technologies, said: “True power comes from within. Ants has joined the company in 2015 and he has played a critical role in Skeleton’s main milestones from starting up production to develop the product portfolio and successfully build the most advanced ultracapacitor factory in the world in Grossröhrsdorf, Germany. Ants has a wealth of operational and managing expertise and he will use his talents to help the entire team execute and achieve our strategic goals."

“The current context of Covid19 is not affecting our original plans to proceed with the strengthening of our management team. The other nominations will improve the performance of our products and technology and having Ants in this position will allow us to scale. In terms of price and performance, the ultracapacitor sector is at a stage where the lithium-ion battery industry was in 1999. Skeleton is at the forefront, so we have great ambitions that require continuing significant development and improvements”.

Up until now, Ants Vill was VP of Product at Skeleton, where he was in charge of the entire product cycle from development to production to ensuring proper shipment to customers. He led the efforts to improve the inhouse development teams' development cycle time, resulting in high flexibility to cope with customers and market needs for new products. He also started up Estonian and German factories and consolidated the manufacturing footprint in Germany.

“I am excited to become Skeleton’s COO at this transformational time, not only for the company but also for our industry as a whole. I enjoy challenges and I am very goal-oriented, which is why I look forward to working with the team to help them exceed expectations and to enhance our efficiency. These are the conditions to make us the biggest ultracapacitors manufacturer in the world," commented Ants Vill.

Prior to joining Skeleton, Ants Vill has co-founded DeltaE engineering company (former Hoiame Kokku Grupp), that operates in the field of building automation and renewable energy based solutions. He started his career as a production manager at Victor Stationery, Europes' third largest paper stationery manufacturer.

Dr. Sebastian Pohlmann, former Head of Cell Development of the company, is promoted to Vice President of Innovation. After joining the company 4 years ago, he will now lead all of Skeleton’s innovation efforts as well as the company’s involvement in large projects on local, federal and European levels.

“Sebastian is one of the best experts in the field of ultracapacitor technology globally as well as a very high performer and we want the best people in strategic positions in order to keep innovating. I'm deeply convinced that with Sebastian at the helm of our innovation efforts, him and the company will continue developing new superpowers and reach new heights," said Taavi Madiberk.

Up until now, Dr. Sebastian Pohlmann was in charge of Cell Development at Skeleton, where he and his team have developed the highest energy density ultracapacitors to date and are working on the next generations of energy storage devices. His new position will include strengthening Skeleton’s innovation-driven culture but also leading its participation in innovative initiatives such as a large European project focused on the production of energy storage technologies, coordinated by the German federal government

Dr. Sebastian Pohlmann commented: “As VP of Innovation, I will lead innovation effort on a strategic level, forming and strengthening partnerships with industry and academia in order to spark highly innovative projects in Europe. While the current challenges of the COVID19 epidemic are at the forefront of public attention, the challenge of climate change is not going away, and I am very happy to be able to contribute to the fight against climate change with novel, innovative solutions in energy storage.”

Dr. Sebastian Pohlmann has been working on ultracapacitor technology for over 8 years and obtained his PhD in Chemistry in 2014 from the University of Münster, Germany. A respected global expert of ultracapacitor technology, author of multiple key patents and a highly cited author on the topic.

The third big change is that one of the leading experts on ultracapacitors globally, Dr. Daniel Weingarth has appointed as new Chief Technology Officer. As CTO, he will lead Skeleton’s development team in increasing the energy density of its ultracapacitors ten times over current market levels.

“It is well known that Skeleton has technical and competitive advantages against other actors in the market, but we are competing against big names like Tesla. So if we want to keep European innovation ahead, we must attract the best experts in ultracapacitor technology and Daniel is one of them," said Madiberk.

Until recently, Dr. Weingarth was the Head of Application Engineering at Heraeus Battery Technology GmbH, where he led the technical and scientific development of Li-Ion batteries and the planning and commissioning of new facilities, among other things. During his time at Heraeus, he also developed new carbon materials for electrochemical energy storage systems.

„The opportunity to join Skeleton Technologies brings me back to my electrochemical roots. I am really looking forward to contribute with my knowledge and make an impact by bringing my ideas from the laboratory to production. Skeleton is already a successful supplier to the automotive and industrial sector but I’m particularly excited about the long-term roadmap to increase ultracapacitors’ energy density tenfold. It’s a challenge I’m willing to take," commented Dr. Weingarth.

Dr. Daniel Weingarth has authored more than 30 publications about ultracapacitors and is one of the most cited authors on the topic globally. He obtained his PhD in 2013 from ETH Zürich, where he worked with Dr. Rüdiger Kötz at the Paul Scherrer Institute.

Skeleton Technologies is the global technology leader in ultracapacitor energy storage in automotive, transportation, grid and industrial applications. Since foundation in 2009, Skeleton Technologies has raised over 60 M EUR to support manufacturing scale-up in Germany and in Estonia and grown its headcount from 4 to more than 120 people.

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