Notes from the battery industry
50+ posts from BatteryMBA cohorts and faculty. For long-form guides on jobs and salaries see career guides, and for market pages see industry deep dives.
A Lithium-Ion Battery in 6 Art Styles (Drawn by AI, Corrected by Humans)
We asked an AI to draw a lithium-ion battery in 6 art styles. It invented components like "Batrolyte". Here's what the real parts are called.
Five questions to ask before enrolling in a battery training programme
Not every battery course is right for every professional. Here are the five questions that separate marketing claims from a programme that will actually move your career.
BatteryMBA 2026 cohort calendar: pick your start date
Three cohorts in 2026, each twelve weeks live, each with the same curriculum. Here is how to pick the one that actually fits your year.
Inside Cohort 17: what battery pros built this term
From a BESS revenue-stacking model in Texas to a sodium-ion qualification plan, here is what our latest cohort actually built.
Urban Mining and Critical Minerals: Closing the Battery Loop
How urban mining and critical minerals recovery build battery supply chain resilience, closing the 2035 lithium gap, as explored by Cohort 16 in 2026.
AI for Battery Design: Faster Chemistry, Smarter R&D
How AI for battery design accelerates chemistry discovery, aging prediction and qualification, and builds a European R&D advantage, as explored by Cohort 16.
Inside Cohort 16: The Battery Value Chain in 2026
A recap of Cohort 16 battery value chain trends in 2026: critical minerals, AI battery design, BESS business models, swapping, gigafactory ramp-up and recycling.
Battery Recycling in Europe: A Roadmap to Circular Value
How battery recycling in Europe creates circular value: material recovery, supply security, the EU Battery Passport and lifecycle strategy explored by Cohort 15.
BESS Revenue Stacking: How Storage Earns Across Global Markets
How BESS revenue stacking works across the UK, USA, Germany and Australia, plus ERCOT market design lessons and colocation economics explored by Cohort 15.
Inside Cohort 15: What Battery Professionals Explored in 2025
A recap of Cohort 15 battery industry trends: EU Battery Passport, BESS economics, sodium-ion, silicon anodes, recycling and manufacturing explored by professionals.
Grid-Scale BESS Around the World: Why Storage Economics Are Local
Why grid-scale BESS economics are local: Cohort 14 on congestion management, DC-coupled storage and markets from Brazil to MENA, Egypt and Eastern Europe.
Scaling Battery Manufacturing: From Lab Innovation to the Gigafactory
How battery manufacturing scales from lab to gigafactory: Cohort 14 on digitalization, metrology, DFMEA, cell-to-system challenges and yield.
Inside Cohort 14 (2025): What Battery Professionals Explored
A recap of BatteryMBA Cohort 14 (2025), where battery professionals explored gigafactory scaling, grid-scale BESS, manufacturing digitalization and recycling.
BESS Revenue Streams and Stacking: How Storage Projects Actually Earn
How BESS revenue streams and stacking strategies work: Cohort 13 on front-of-meter and behind-the-meter storage, data centres, telecom and asset management.
Battery Recycling and Second-Life: Where the Circular Value Really Is
What Cohort 13 learned about battery recycling and second-life batteries: EU factory economics, ageing, safety, remanufacturing and total-life planning.
Inside Cohort 13 (2025): What Battery Professionals Explored
A recap of BatteryMBA Cohort 13 (2025), where battery professionals explored BESS economics, recycling, cell production, second-life batteries and more.
How BESS Makes Money: What Cohort 12 Learned About Storage Economics
How does BESS make money? Cohort 12 examined battery energy storage economics, from UK revenue stacks and virtual power lines to securing BESS investment.
The Battery Passport Explained: What Cohort 12 Learned About Traceability
What is a battery passport? Cohort 12 examined how digital traceability links sourcing, carbon footprint, recycling and second-life across the battery value chain.
Inside Cohort 12 (2024): What Battery Professionals Explored
A recap of BatteryMBA Cohort 12 (2024) battery value chain insights, covering battery passports, recycling, BESS investment, graphite anodes and cell testing.
Battery Manufacturing at Scale: How Cohort 11 Tackled Quality on the Factory Floor
How Cohort 11 examined battery manufacturing at scale, from computed tomography inspection and cyclers to gigafactory material handling and cell quality.
Battery Recycling as an Industry: What Cohort 11 Learned About Closing the Loop
How Cohort 11 examined the battery recycling industry as a business, from recycling solutions and circular policy to smelters in Nigeria and recycling in Malaysia.
Inside Cohort 11 (2024): What Battery Professionals Explored
A recap of BatteryMBA Cohort 11 (2024) battery industry insights, spanning critical minerals, recycling, BESS, gigafactories and next-generation cell chemistries.
Critical Raw Materials: What Cohort 10 Learned About Battery Supply Chains
How our Cohort 10 examined the battery raw materials supply chain, from EU critical raw materials rules to lithium sourcing in Africa, India and North America.
Sodium-Ion and Beyond: How Cohort 10 Weighed the Chemistry Alternatives
How our Cohort 10 examined sodium-ion batteries alongside solid-state and redox flow, weighing cost, supply and where each chemistry fits in energy storage.
Inside Cohort 10 (2024): What Battery Professionals Explored
A recap of our Cohort 10 battery course, covering raw materials supply chains, sodium-ion and solid-state, gigafactory ramp-up, recycling, BESS and thermal safety.
Battery Cell Quality: What Cohort 9 Learned on the Factory Floor
How our Cohort 9 examined battery cell quality, from digital twins and scrap reduction to postmortem analysis, electrochemical modelling and testing cells at volume.
Second-Life and Recycling: How Cohort 9 Closed the Battery Loop
How our Cohort 9 examined second-life batteries and battery recycling, from EV pack reuse and LFP recovery to recycling solid-state cells and thinking circular.
Inside Cohort 9 (2023): What Battery Professionals Explored
A recap of our Cohort 9 battery course, covering supply chain investment, cell quality, recycling, second-life batteries, BESS in ASEAN and manufacturing digital twins.
Sodium-Ion Batteries: The Complement to Lithium in Storage
Why sodium-ion batteries complement lithium-ion in energy storage, covering cost, raw-material security, BESS use cases and where they fit best.
Optimising BESS Operations: What Makes Grid Storage Pay
Inside BESS operations, from grid-balancing services and O&M to hybrid solar coupling, behind-the-meter C&I storage and second-life packs from car to ESS.
Inside Cohort 8 (2023): What Battery Professionals Explored
A recap of our Cohort 8 battery course, covering solid-state and sodium-ion, BESS operations, recycling policy, the Critical Raw Materials Act and battery finance.
Battery Recycling as a Business: Closing the Lithium-Ion Loop
How the battery recycling business turns end-of-life packs into value, from second-life microgrids to lithium-ion recovery and the economics of the loop.
Lithium Supply Chain Lessons: From Mine and Brine to Cell
Inside the lithium supply chain, from mine and brine extraction to direct lithium extraction, cobalt life cycle analysis and easing the lithium supply deficit.
Inside Cohort 7 (2023): What Battery Professionals Explored
A recap of our Cohort 7 battery industry training, covering the lithium value chain, megafactories, recycling, maritime electrification and battery finance.
BESS and Net-Zero Electricity: What Cohort 6 Explored
Cohort 6 (2022) explored battery energy storage systems and net-zero electricity, from grid inertia and microgrids to explosion protection and high-performance systems.
Battery Recycling and Critical Materials: Cohort 6 on Closing the Loop
Cohort 6 (2022) explored battery recycling and the recovery of critical energy materials as supply security, linking circularity, feedstock and sustainable design.
Inside Cohort 6 (2022): What Battery Professionals Explored
A recap of Cohort 6 (2022), where the battery supply chain, US and EU policy, sodium-ion, BESS and recycling shaped what professionals explored that winter.
Second Life Batteries: Cohort 5 and the Circular Value Chain
Cohort 5 (2022) examined second life batteries, from grading and reuse economics to charging, swapping and traceability across the circular battery value chain.
How to Set Up a Battery Factory: Lessons from Cohort 5
What Cohort 5 (2022) learned about how to set up a battery factory, from cell chemistry choices to flexible pack manufacturing, validation scope and yield.
Inside Cohort 5 (2022): What Battery Professionals Explored
A recap of Cohort 5 (2022), where battery industry trends from gigafactory setup and solid-state to charging infrastructure and 2nd life batteries came together.
Lithium Mining and Sustainability: The Supply Question Behind Every Battery
Lithium mining and sustainability explained: Cohort 4 explored extraction methods, the Salton Sea, geothermal lithium, price pressures and responsible sourcing.
The Battery Passport: Why Traceability Became Policy
The battery passport explained: Cohort 4 explored how Europe turned traceability into policy, linking carbon footprint, recycled content and responsible lithium sourcing.
Inside Cohort 4 (2022): What Battery Professionals Explored
A recap of BatteryMBA Cohort 4 (2022), where battery professionals explored lithium mining, battery passports, price declines, recycling and stationary storage.
Second-Life Batteries and Traceability: From Retirement to Reuse
Cohort 3 explored second-life batteries and traceability, from reuse roadmaps for retired EV packs to material provenance and responsible sourcing.
Battery Gigafactories and the Scale-Up Challenge
How to build a battery gigafactory: Cohort 3 explored cell production setup, electrode coating, the 4680 cell format and Europe's manufacturing race.
Inside Cohort 3 (2021): What Battery Professionals Explored
A recap of BatteryMBA Cohort 3 (2021), where battery professionals explored gigafactories, cathode and anode chemistry, second-life batteries and grid-scale storage.
Beyond Lithium-Ion: The Emerging Battery Chemistries Cohort 2 Explored
Emerging battery chemistries beyond lithium-ion: how Cohort 2's participant talks explored solid-state, metal-air, fuel cells, prognostics and fast charging.
Battery Thermal Management: Why Temperature Governs Safety and Life
Battery thermal management governs safety, lifetime and performance. How Cohort 2 examined cooling design, safe temperature windows and thermal runaway prevention.
Inside Cohort 2 (2021): What Battery Professionals Explored
A recap of BatteryMBA Cohort 2 (2021): what battery professionals explored across safety standards, thermal management, energy access, recycling and digital twins.
Closing the Loop: Battery End-of-Life and the Policies Shaping It
Battery end-of-life is a design constraint, not an afterthought. How Cohort 1 explored reuse, recycling and the policies closing the loop on lithium-ion.
Battery Manufacturing Precision: Why the Factory Floor Decides Everything
Battery manufacturing precision decides cost, yield and safety. How Cohort 1 examined line performance, process data and optimization on the production floor.
Inside Cohort 1 (2021): What Battery Professionals Explored
A recap of BatteryMBA Cohort 1 (2021): what battery professionals explored across lithium-ion basics, manufacturing, recycling, energy storage and electric mobility.