Our success is the result of the exceptional talent and unwavering dedication of our outstanding team.

JOIN THE TEAM

With over 40 members, our diverse team includes industry-leading scientific researchers, exceptional process operators, and innovative leaders. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, our reach and impact extend globally.

LEADERSHIP

Dr. Francis Wang

Francis Wang is the Chief Executive Officer for NanoGraf Technologies, an advanced silicon-anode materials manufacturer at the forefront of the lithium-ion battery industry. Under his leadership, NanoGraf raised $65 million in venture funding in 2023, one of the year’s 10 largest battery venture capital rounds.

Francis has over 25 years of experience in energy storage and clean energy innovation, commercialization, and manufacturing. Francis’s work experience in energy storage spans a range of magnitudes from very small (uW-mW) forms of storage for portable electronics & medical applications to very large (kW-MW) for transportation and the grid. His achievements extend the energy storage value chain from upstream design of novel cathode & anode materials technologies to downstream development of commercial manufacturing facilities. He has held positions in some of the world’s largest battery, consumer products, and energy companies, including Duracell, Procter & Gamble, Gillette, and Boston Scientific. In addition to his work at NanoGraf, Francis is a board director for The Sunlight Group Energy Storage Systems. He holds over 50 U.S. and international patents, has authored over 20 scientific publications, was named to the Forbes Next 1000 in 2021 and is among Axios’s 2023 Power Players. Francis holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from the State University of New York at Stony Brook where he studied under Professor Clare P. Grey.

Dr. Kurt (Chip) Breitenkamp

Chip leads business development and marketing for NanoGraf and manages partnership efforts with customers and manufacturers.

Chip brings years of experience assisting customers in the development and manufacturing of some of the world’s best-selling consumer electronic and medical device products while at Exponent, Inc. Trained as a polymer material scientist, he also previously co-founded and served as Chief Technology Officer of Intezyne Technologies, a biotechnology company focused on the development of advanced, polymer nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery. As a researcher, Chip is listed as an inventor on 20 patent families that represent 28 issued US and international patents and has published 18 peer-reviewed publications. He received a Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and a B.S. in Polymer Science from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Connor Hund

Connor leads operations and manufacturing at NanoGraf and manages organizational and financial strategy, including relationships with investors and other key stakeholders.

Connor brings experience developing and investing in clean energy and other technology projects and applications. Prior to joining NanoGraf, he managed development and financing of wind, solar, and energy storage projects. He also previously held positions in the origination and underwriting of investments in early and growth-stage energy and technology businesses. Connor holds an undergraduate business degree from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the University of Chicago.