Firefly Energy Inc., (www.fireflyenergy.com) the Peoria, Illinois-based company developing innovative technologies for lead acid batteries for commercial and military applications, today announced that David R. Smith has joined the company as vice president product development and applied engineering. Smith has a wide background in technology development and new product commercialization, with more than 25 years of experience in the automotive, aerospace and battery industries.
Additionally, the company announced that Dr. Robert H. Nelson will return to the Firefly Energy Advisory Board in a prominent consulting capacity following his interim role as vice president engineering.
Smith, 48, will lead and expand the company’s Peoria-based applied engineering operations, broadening and accelerating the application of Firefly Energy’s technologies to various lead-acid battery designs and markets. Smith’s leadership and expansion plans will build on the highway truck and U.S. military battery products currently under development.
“Dave Smith brings to our company and to Peoria the perspective and record of accomplishments found in a seasoned engineering leader,” says Firefly Energy Chief Executive Officer Edward F. Williams. “He will lead the development of a full suite of battery products and customer-funded applied engineering projects and will help ensure the smooth, successful introduction of our offerings to a market now demonstrating its interest in applying our breakthrough battery technology. And, Bob Nelson’s return to our advisory board will bolster Firefly’s visionary consultant team who think, work and advise at the forefront of our technologies.”
“I’m very excited to have joined the Firefly Energy team,” said Dave Smith. “I’ve been a part of many types of battery programs, and I believe that Firefly has the right combination of technology and cost, along with a high performance team and financial resources to be the industry leader in energy solutions. I look forward to helping make Firefly Energy into an industry benchmark for battery products.”
Smith’s broad U.S. and international background includes the technical development and marketplace introduction of hybrid transportation technologies, high performance electronics and energy storage products.
Among his more recent positions, Smith was vice president and general manager at Wavecrest Laboratories where he directed Wavecrest Energy Systems, LLC, a battery technology subsidiary. He was also vice president of emerging technologies at Exide Corporation, directing worldwide R&D teams, and manager of advanced technologies at Chrysler Corporation, where he helped in the transfer of a dual graphite battery program to a supplier. In the 1980s, he served as electronics development manager for Northrop Corporation.
His previous industry affiliations include serving as chairman of the technical advisory committee of the United States Advanced Battery Consortium. He serves on the board of directors of Lion Compact Energy and the U.S.-China Chamber of Commerce.
Nelson re-joins fellow Firefly Energy board members Michael Kepros, president, Kepros Battery Consultants, Chuck Mahan, retired Army Lieutenant General and vice president and general manager, Law Enforcement and Security for DynCorp International, and James O. Wilkins, Sr., president and principal consultant, SCI Consulting.
About Firefly Energy (www.fireflyenergy.com)
Firefly Energy Inc. (“Firefly”) is a Peoria, Illinois-based battery technology company developing a portfolio of next generation lead acid battery technologies, enhancing lead acid battery performance for major portions of the $30 billion worldwide battery marketplace. Firefly’s first innovation, the carbon-graphite foam-based battery technology, can deliver a unique combination of high performance, extremely low weight and low cost, all in a battery which utilizes the best aspects of lead acid chemistry while overcoming the corrosive drawbacks of this same chemistry. This product technology delivers to battery markets a performance associated with advanced battery chemistries (Nickel Metal Hydride and Lithium) but for one-fifth the cost, and can be both manufactured as well as recycled within the existing lead acid battery industry’s vast infrastructure. The company is backed by multi-billion dollar product companies such as Caterpillar (www.cat.com) NYSE: CAT), BAE Systems (www.baesystems.com) (London Stock Exchange over the counter symbol: BAESY), and Husqvarna (www.husqvarna.com Other OTC: HSQVY.PK). Additional investors include Chicago-area Venture Capital firm KB Partners (www.kbpartners.com) and the State of Illinois’ Illinois Finance Authority.
Contacts:
Dave Reiners
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Dave.Reiners@techimage.com
