CHASM Advanced Materials, Inc. (CHASM) today announced the appointment of Michael Fetcenko as Chairman of the CHASM Board of Directors, effective January 18, 2023. Mr. Fetcenko is CHASM’s second independent board member and his appointment comes at a time of rapid growth for the pioneer in the use of Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) to develop a new class of advanced materials for safer, more connected and sustainable living.
Michael Fetcenko brings extensive experience in the battery industry to CHASM, having served as Chairman of the Board for Sion Power since April 2019. Michael was President of Ovonic Battery Company, the inventor of NiMH batteries, when it was acquired by BASF in 2012. He then became Managing Director of BASF Battery Materials, North America before taking on the role of Director of Global Licensing. Michael holds over 70 patents and has authored 100+ publications in the NiMH and Li-Ion field. He is an expert in patents and licensing, with over 40 NiMH licenses and leading the successful Argonne National Laboratory NCM patent enforcement and licensing effort which resulted in 14 licenses and sub-licenses. He has led R&D, scale-up and commercialization and had P&L responsibilities. His inventions are used in all NiMH batteries for consumer, stationary, and hybrid vehicle applications such as the iconic Toyota Prius with over 10 million vehicles on the road. Michael served on the Board of Directors and Technical Steering Committee for Sion Power for 5 years, a leader in advanced ultra-high energy Lithium battery systems including protected metallic lithium anodes for Li-Ion batteries.
Michael Fetcenko commented, “The potential for carbon nanotubes to deliver benefits such as improved battery performance has been known for some time. What is new is that CHASM has achieved breakthroughs which will lead directly to widespread adoption: affordability, production at massive scale, methods for safe and easy handling and tunability to customer specifications. I will leverage my background, knowledge and experience to help CHASM achieve their full potential.”
“We are pleased to welcome Mike Fetcenko as CHASM’s Chairman of the Board,” said David Arthur, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CHASM. “This appointment comes at a critical time for CHASM as we accelerate the development and commercialization of our advanced materials solutions. Mike’s expertise and professional network in the battery industry are enormously valuable and highly relevant to CHASM’s current commercialization efforts. His experience in the areas of intellectual property, building strategic partnerships with large corporations and his successful track record of scaling businesses are equally important.”
Mr. Fetcenko has immediately embraced his Board responsibilities and is highly engaged with the management team at CHASM, advising both the CEO and the rest of the team in a variety of areas that will accelerate the company’s growth and development.
