Battery project overview: Copper is a critical material in many clean energy technologies, and demand is set to outstrip supply by 3-5 million tons in 2030. Li-ion anode current collectors, which must currently be made from copper foil, constitute a significant and rapidly growing source of demand for copper. A Tesla Model 3/Y contains roughly 88 pounds of copper foil, which costs ~$500/vehicle. Our novel foils can serve as a drop-in replacement for copper, alleviate critical material constraints, and would lightweight a Tesla battery pack by ~60 lbs.

Why Aluminio? There are few opportunities to get involved early in a clean tech company that is well funded, can quickly make a meaningful impact, has a strong value proposition and well-established customer relationships. We are hiring researchers who will help build fully functional prototypes and test with customers in 2024. What we are trying to do is audacious and hard, but it is the cheapest and most scalable solution to vitally important problems. We need help to make this technology successful, but if we make it work with our customers then we will have strong margins in a high-volume business that will meaningfully impact climate change.

What you'll be doing: We are looking for people that enjoy working in a small, motivated team on a variety of projects. As a member of the Aluminio team, you will have many opportunities to think critically about challenging problems, help build new equipment, optimize pilot manufacturing processes, make batteries, characterize materials, and work with contract manufacturers and customers.

Undergrad Level Co-Op :

As part of the battery team, you will:

• Formulate and fabricate electrodes
• Build battery pouch cells
• Design and conduct electrochemical tests
• Perform cell teardowns and investigate cell failure modes
• Help optimize and characterize our novel foils for battery applications
• Present results to the team and suggest improvements and follow-up experiments

PhD Level Co-Op :

As part of the battery team, you will perform similar tasks listed above AND :

• Travel to and work with contract manufacturers to make multi-layer pouch cells
• Visit battery manufacturing facilities to help make our product work on customer production lines

Skills We Value

• Working towards a BS/MS or PhD in Engineering or Science field
• Desire and ability to work at least six months (8-12 months strongly preferred)
• Desire to hack, build, and troubleshoot physical prototypes for quick feedback loops and testing
• Hands on lab experience running experiments, analyzing data and critically thinking about results
• Enjoys spending long hours in the lab making incremental improvements daily
• Familiarity with Python programming and common scientific packages (e.g., numpy, scipy, pandas, etc.)
• Independent thinker and strong communicator
• Authorized to work in the US and ability to work in San Carlos, CA

Bonus

• Experience fabricating and/or testing lithium-ion batteries
• Background in electrochemistry
• Familiarity with statistics and Design of Experiments
• Experience automating tools
• Experience rebuilding/repairing used equipment
• Experience using SEM/EDX, XRD, profilometer and analytical chemistry

Perks & Benefits

• Competitive Salary based on degree level
• Medical Insurance