Next-generation battery expert Zhou Jianbin leaves US for China as nations seek tech edge
In a move that indicates a potential shift in the global race for
solid-state battery innovation and talent, a leading battery scientist with extensive academic and industry experience in the US has returned to a Chinese university to further his work on next-generation technologies.
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Zhou Jianbin earned his PhD at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 2017 before working as a researcher at USTC and then in the United States at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of California, San Diego.
He spent 16 months at Sonocharge Energy, a battery start-up in the US private sector, before returning to China in March as a special professor at USTC.
01:44
China's largest EV battery maker CATL celebrates strong debut at Hong Kong stock market
China's largest EV battery maker CATL celebrates strong debut at Hong Kong stock market
During his postdoctoral studies in 2017, Zhou was one of only 300 recipients nationwide of China's Postdoctoral Innovative Talent Support Programme, which recognised promising early-career scientists.
Zhou's research focuses on the design and development of electrode materials and electrolytes for high-performance solid-state metal batteries, as well as exploring the application of novel electrochemical materials in fields such as catalysis and biomedicine.
His notable achievements include work on lithium-sulphur and sodium-ion battery materials and the development of high-capacity energy storage devices.
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Zhou has an extensive publication record in top-tier international academic journals, with more than 20 papers published in publications such as Nature, Nature Communications, Science Advances, Joule, Chem, Advanced Materials, Advanced Energy Materials and Advanced Functional Materials.
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