Abingdon: Nexeon appoints new chairman

Nexeon - the Oxfordshire company developing silicon materials for next generation lithium ion batteries - has appointed Andrew Hosty as its new chairman.

Dr Hosty, who takes up the post with immediate effect, has a strong background in engineering and technology with a focus on commercial success.

Hosty spent over 20 years in senior positions at FTSE 250 multi-national engineering group Morgan Advanced Materials plc, including as CEO of Morgan Ceramics, and has extensive international experience in the US and Asia. While at Morgan Ceramics, he took the business from loss-making to mid-teen margins, leading it to become the group’s largest business unit.

Hosty combines global company experience with that of start-up/early-stage businesses. An accomplished engineer and business leader, after leaving Morgan he helped set up the Henry Royce Institute, working with a wide network of universities and government departments. He is senior independent director at James Cropper plc, guiding board discussions regarding IP protection, and an experienced non-executive director of several other commercial and private equity organisations.

“I am delighted to welcome Andrew to the Nexeon Board,” said Dr Scott Brown, CEO of Nexeon. “His appointment comes at an exciting time as we work with our global customers on the final qualification of our innovative silicon battery materials. At the same time, I would like to thank personally Christina McComb, our previous chair, whose extensive experience and wise counsel have been invaluable as the company has rapidly evolved.”

McComb said: “I am very pleased to see the commercial progress that Nexeon has made, and happy to be handing over to someone with the right skill set for taking the company through the next phase of mass production.”

Andrew Hosty has a PhD in Materials Science from the University of Sheffield, and is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Materials.

Nexeon, based at Milton Park, Abingdon, is leading a £10 million project, supported by Innovate UK, to develop significantly better materials for Li-ion batteries, and which has already produced silicon battery materials that have performed better than expected. Its NSP-1 silicon based material is in the final stages of customer qualification. Last year, Nexeon strengthened its strategic partnership with Wacker Chemie, which has invested in the company.