Prof. Rachid Yazami Appointed Technology Advisor

Gelion PLC

15 January 2026

 

15 January 2026

Gelion plc
("Gelion", the "Company" or the "Group")

Renowned Scientist Prof. Rachid Yazami Appointed as Technology Advisor

Gelion (AIM: GELN), the global energy storage innovator, is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Rachid Yazami as a Technology Advisor to the Group, effective immediately. He will provide strategic guidance on battery technology development, supporting Gelion's development of sulfur battery innovations.

Professor Yazami, widely recognised as a world leading battery technologist, is well-known for his pioneering work in establishing the reversible intercalation of lithium into graphite in an electrochemical cell, a breakthrough which led to the lithium-graphite anode which is now used in commercial lithium-ion batteries, a product with over $80 billion in market value[1].

Prof. Yazami is highly awarded and recognized within global the battery science community. He is personally motivated by the potential of advanced energy storage technology and Gelion is honoured to have him recognise and share the same vision for sulfur battery technology to make a positive contribution to the energy transition and to join Gelion on its mission to unlock its full potential.

Gelion is developing its sulfur cathode material toward being a drop-in alternative for the existing standard Lithium-Ion Cathode material options used in LFP and NMC cells.  As such, Gelion's goal encompasses pairing the Gelion Cathodes with the standard Graphitic anodes that use the intercalation methods that Prof. Yazami invented and pioneered.

John Wood, CEO of Gelion, said: "Sulfur battery chemistry has enormous potential to extend the capabilities of the energy storage industry. Gelion is moving quickly to explore new technological frontiers. Advanced battery technology requires expansive thinking by people who can visualize and conceptualize at a deeper level. 

"Prof. Yazami is a powerful thinker who understands the fundamental mechanisms inside the cells in a comprehensive way. Being able to bring Prof. Yazami together with our founder Prof. Thomas Maschmeyer and advisor Prof. Markus Antonietti establishes an exciting nexus of brilliance available to Gelion both for what they can contribute directly and for the technology leadership, inspiration and experience they can bring to our talented science team. 

"I am very grateful for Prof. Yazami's support for Gelion's important mission."

Prof. Rachid Yazami added: "I am thrilled to join Gelion's team as an advisor on this exciting Li-S battery commercialisation project. The Li-S technology offers great improvement opportunities and is seen as a serious alternative to the lithium-ion battery in various domains of applications.

"Li-S batteries are cost-effective, high-energy density, safe and long-lasting. With the Gelion team under the guidance of John Wood, I will strive to make the commercialisation of the Li-S technology a successful reality."

About Prof. Yazami

Prof. Yazami is very active today advancing battery effectiveness, capabilities, and safety.

In terms of battery effectiveness, Prof. Yazami has established a universal (empirical) law that applies to primary and rechargeable batteries, that is the state of charge is a linear function of entropy and enthalpy which makes it possible to better establish the state of charge of any cell. This breakthrough is being advanced within Prof. Yazami's independent startup KVI PTE LTD.

In terms of safety, Prof. Yazami has developed a new method based on entropymetry to detect an early stage of an internal short circuit within a battery cell, therefore making batteries safer.

Most recently Prof. Yazami invented a new method enabling ultra-fast charging (UFC) lithium-ion batteries in 10 minutes and below, even while increasing battery capacity that uses breakthrough fundamental understanding that has recently been proven by testing with Caltech.

CONTACTS

Gelion plc John Wood, CEO Amit Gupta, CFO	via Alma
Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated and Financial Adviser) Christopher Raggett / Rob Patrick / Harry Marshall	[phone]
Oberon Capital (Joint Broker) Nick Lovering / Mike Seabrook / Adam Pollock	[phone]
Allenby Capital Limited (Joint Broker) Jos Pinnington / Lauren Wright (Sales and Corporate Broking) Alex Brearley / Ashur Joseph (Corporate Finance)	[phone]
Alma Strategic Communications (Financial PR) Justine James / Hannah Campbell / Rose Docherty	[phone] [e-mail]

About Gelion

Gelion ("gel: ion") is a global energy storage innovator, supporting the transition to a more sustainable economy by commercialising globally important next generation battery technologies: Sulfur based, Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S), Sodium-Sulfur (Na-S) and Zinc-based (Zn) hybrid cells to electrify mobile and stationary applications. Gelion plc (the Group) is listed on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market and wholly owns UK based Gelion Europe Ltd and Battery Minerals Ltd and Australia based Gelion Technologies Pty Ltd. Gelion is designing and delivering innovative battery technology to enable that transition and return value for its customers and investors.

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[1] https://globalenergyprize.org/en/2024/02/12/rachid-yazami-singapore/

 

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