Building better batteries for a cleaner, greener future.

We believe the future is electric — so we’re working to deliver the best batteries to drive this future. Determined to push through the realms of what’s possible, on our horizon we see EVs with a range of over 1000km, drones that fly for hours and electric aviation at a commercial scale.

Our story

Lithium sulfur battery chemistry has been known to battery scientists for quite some time, but until now cells always failed too quickly — making them unviable commercially. A solution was needed to eliminate the main failure mechanisms, and to find that solution we turned to some unique nanotechnologies.

Li‑S Energy was born through the collaboration of two teams of specialist nanomaterials scientists, who combined their expertise to create a lightweight lithium sulfur battery with a cycle life approaching that of lithium ion:

  • Deakin University Institute of Frontier Materials – with over a decade of fundamental research into the use of Boron Nitride Nanotubes (BNNTs) and advanced battery technologies, including the patent for “flexible lithium sulfur batteries”
  • Brisbane company BNNT Technology Limited (under their parent company PPK Group) who have pioneered a new way to manufacture BNNTs in high volume and at far lower cost than previously possible.

Combining advanced electrochemical and nanomaterials research skills, patented materials and process technology, and the ability to produce the nanomaterials needed cost-effectively and in volume, Li‑S Energy is now driving optimisation and scale up to deliver these revolutionary batteries to accelerate the progress to global carbon zero.

Board & Senior Management

AllDirectorsSenior Management
Ben Spincer
Non-Executive Director & Chairman

Dr Benjamin (Ben) Robert Spincer 

Robin Levison
Non-Executive Director

Mr Robin Levison 

Hedy Cray
Non-Executive Director

Ms Hedy Cray

Marc Fenton Li-S Energy Director
Non-Executive Director

Mr Marc Fenton

Dr Lee Finniear Li-S Energy CEO
Chief Executive Officer

Dr Lee John Finniear

Sarah Price Li-S Energy CFO
Chief Financial Officer

Ms Sarah Price

Dr Steve Rowlands
Chief Technology Officer

Dr Stephen (Steve) Rowlands 

Tim Hanley Li-S Energy Operations Manager
Facilities & Operations Manager

Mr Tim Hanley

Dr Paul Bayley Li-S Energy
Research & Development Manager

Dr Paul Bayley 

Chief Strategic Advisor

Mr Glenn Robert Molloy 

Ben Spincer

Non-Executive Director & Chairman

Dr Benjamin (Ben) Robert Spincer 

MA, PhD, GAICD.

Appointed as a Non-Executive Independent Director on 18 March 2021.

Ben has extensive experience supporting and developing businesses and applied research. For six years he was the Executive Director of Deakin Research Innovations, responsible for Deakin’s commercial research partnerships, as well as the commercialisation and translation of the University’s research and oversight of the ManuFutures advanced manufacturing scale-up facility. He was a member of the Victorian Government Innovation Taskforce in 2020 and represented Deakin on a number of research centre and institutes Boards.

Prior to joining Deakin in 2015, Ben was Director of Technology Strategy and Innovation at Telstra, working with the Chief Technology Officer to oversee the long-term technology strategy of the company and to instil a culture of innovation in the company. From 2007 to 2013, Ben was the Director of Investor Relations for Telstra, managing relationships between the company and its shareholders after its full privatisation.

Previously, Ben was Vice President and financial analyst at Credit Suisse in London covering the European telecom industry.

Robin Levison

Non-Executive Director

Mr Robin Levison 

CA, MBA, F.A.I.C.D.

Appointed as a Non-Executive Independent Director on 12 July 2019 and a member of the Audit Committee.

Other listed public company directorships held in the last 3 years:

  • Director of PPK Group Limited and Executive Chairman from 22 October 2013 to 29 April 2015, Non-Executive Chairman from 29 April 2015 to 28 February 2016, and re-appointed Executive Chairman from 28 February 2016. Member of the PPK Group Limited Audit Committee 14 August 2017 to 25 January 2018.
  • Non-Executive Director and Chairman of Mighty Craft Limited (formerly Founders First Limited) since 17 December 2019.

Robin Levison has more than 25 years of public company management and board experience. During this time, he has served as Managing Director at Industrea Limited and Spectrum Resources Limited and has held senior roles at KPMG, Barclays Bank and Merrill Lynch. He is a Non-Executive Director of a number of PPK Group Limited’s related companies including White Graphene Limited, BNNTTL, BNNT Precious Metals Limited, 3D Dental Technology Pty Ltd, Ballistic Glass Pty Ltd, Craig International Ballistics Pty Ltd, Strategic Alloys Pty Ltd and AMAG Holdings Australia Pty Ltd.

Robin holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Queensland, is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and NZ and is a Graduate and Fellow of Australian Institute of Company Directors. Robin recently retired as Chair of the University of Queensland Business, Economics and Law Alumni Ambassador Council.

Hedy Cray

Non-Executive Director

Ms Hedy Cray

LL.B. (Hons), LL.M.

Appointed as a Non-Executive Independent Director on 21 April 2021 and a member of the Audit Committee.

Hedy Cray graduated with a Bachelor of Laws with Honours in 1996 and a Master of Laws in 1999 from Queensland University of Technology. After more than 26 years years in private legal practice — including becoming partner at Clayton Utz in 2001 — Hedy is now the Executive Vice President of Global Affairs for Korea Zinc, one of the world’s largest smelting operators with interests in green and renewable energies.

She has extensive experience in commercial and corporate strategy, risk management, corporate governance, acquisitions and company restructuring as well as employment, human capital and safety and has worked with multinationals across energy, renewable resources, manufacturing, transport and logistics and the government sector.

Marc Fenton Li-S Energy Director

Non-Executive Director

Mr Marc Fenton

B.SC. Computer Applications, Graduate Diploma in Business

Appointed as a Non-Executive Independent Director on 1 February 2024.

CEO of PPK Group — Li-S Energy’s largest shareholder — Marc was previously the Head of Technology with Australian Agricultural Company (ASX: AAC) and held various General Manager technology roles with Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) across technology strategy, organization design, technology governance, outsourcing and cost reduction. Prior to that Marc worked in Deloitte across a broad range of industries and projects, both locally and internationally.

Marc holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) from Dublin City University, Ireland and a Graduate Diploma in Business from the AGSM, Sydney.

Dr Lee Finniear Li-S Energy CEO

Chief Executive Officer

Dr Lee John Finniear

BSc (Hons), PhD, F.A.I.C.D.

Appointed Chief Executive Officer on 14 February 2021.

Lee has more than 25 years’ experience as a senior executive, including 10 years with Intergraph Corporation, (a US-based Fortune 1000 technology company) in roles including Vice President – Asia Pacific, plus 5 years as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of NASDAQ and ASX listed technology companies. Over the past six years, Lee has been the founder and director of a company delivering innovative Internet of Things (IoT) products to business and consumer markets. He was also the Vice President – Asia Pacific for a European telecommunications operator with a market focus on automotive manufacturers and enterprise IoT solutions.

Lee has a First Class BSc. (Hons) degree in Civil Engineering and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence and Geographic Information Systems.

Sarah Price Li-S Energy CFO

Chief Financial Officer

Ms Sarah Price

CA, BCom

Appointed Chief Financial Officer on 23 May 2023 following time serving as Group Financial Controller.

Sarah has over 20 years’ experience as a financial controller, including key roles at Technology One, Cardno, Xstrata and PwC. Across these positions, Sarah has built extensive knowledge of group finance and taxation with a focus on global reporting, financial strategy and risk management. In her role as CFO, Sarah works across the PPK Group, Li-S Energy, White Graphene, BNNT Technology Ltd, Craig International Ballistics and Advanced Mobility Analytics Group.

Sarah holds a Bachelors of Business from Queensland University of Technology, is a Chartered Accountant and Affiliate of the Governance Institute of Australia.

Dr Steve Rowlands

Chief Technology Officer

Dr Stephen (Steve) Rowlands 

BSc. (Hons) PhD

Appointed Chief Technology Officer on 12 July 2021.

Steve has over 20 years’ experience in the energy storage sector, including the last eight years as Deputy CTO at OXIS Energy, a pioneer of lithium sulfur battery technology. At OXIS Energy, Steve managed the cathode, electrolyte, cell test engineering and production development teams. He has extensive knowledge of nanomaterials and their effect on the detailed mechanisms of lithium sulfur technology. Managing the OXIS Energy production development team, he gained detailed knowledge of the scale-up processes required in delivering a pilot production line for lithium-sulfurbattery manufacture.

Steve has a First-Class BSc. (Hons) degree in Applied Chemistry and a PhD in Electrochemical Supercapacitors for Energy Storage.

Tim Hanley Li-S Energy Operations Manager

Facilities & Operations Manager

Mr Tim Hanley

DipPM

Appointed Facilities & Operations Manager in September 2022.

Tim has over 30 years’ experience in project management, estimating and construction in both the private and public sectors. Having worked across a broad range of projects — including ventures worth over $100m — he has built extensive knowledge in expert procurement processes and contractor management. Over the decades, Tim has delivered many key projects including the ManuFutures Advanced Manufacturing Centre in Geelong, the Australian Future Fibre Centre (incorporating Carbon Nexus), and the Carbon Fibre Manufacturing Line.

Throughout his career, Tim has project managed many State and Federally funded projects including Deakin University’s ManuFutures, Regional Development Victoria Grant and the Export Acceleration Grant, AusIndustry. Tim has also represented Deakin University’s Advanced Manufacturing capabilities as an Austrade delegate for missions to India.

Tim has a Dip. Project Management and Green Living Builders qualifications from the Master Builders Association of Victoria.

Dr Paul Bayley Li-S Energy

Research & Development Manager

Dr Paul Bayley 

BEng. PhD

Appointed Research & Development Manager March 2023.

Paul has over 15 years’ experience working on novel electrolytes and battery materials development. During his time at Apple, Inc. in the USA he was responsible for leading battery development projects for advanced lithium metal and lithium-ion batteries for future Apple products. At Li-S Energy, Paul is responsible for accelerating our Australian and international R&D programs, enhancing our R&D processes, and scaling the throughput of high-quality test and trial cells.

Paul has a BEng Degree in Materials Engineering and a PhD in Ionic Liquid Electrolytes for Lithium Metal Batteries from Monash University. He also spent four years at the University of Cambridge, where he was awarded a Marie Curie Fellowship.

Chief Strategic Advisor

Mr Glenn Robert Molloy 

Engaged as Chief Strategic Advisor from 12 June 2021 following two years serving as Executive Chairman and then Director ahead of key appointments.

Glenn founded PPK Group Limited, then known as Plaspak Group Limited, in 1979 and has acted as a director of PPK Group Limited since that time. He has extensive experience on public company boards, and in advising publicly listed and private entities on commercial aspects of mergers, acquisitions and divestment activities. He is a director of a number of PPK Group Limited’s related companies including Executive Chairman of BNNTTL and White Graphene Limited and a Non-Executive Director of BNNT Precious Metals Limited, 3D Dental Technology Pty Ltd, Ballistic Glass Pty Ltd and Craig International Ballistics Pty Ltd.

Other listed public company directorships held in the last 3 years:

– Member of the PPK Group Limited Board since listing on 21 December 1994, currently Executive Director

Chairman of the PPK Group Limited Audit Committee since 14 August 2017.

Careers

The power to make a difference.

We’re a growing start-up based in Brisbane, Queensland with key research locations in Geelong and Melbourne, Victoria. Being a small team means each person has the opportunity to really make their mark.

Our journey towards commercialising Li‑S Energy batteries is picking up speed and we are always on the lookout for great people to join the team. That’s where you come in.

Helping you help us

A company of the future needs a modern approach to work. Here you’ll find a genuine work-life balance with meaningful perks:

Work from home

Corporate staff enjoy a flexible WFH approach with collaboration days in the office and other locations.

Flexible work hours

9-5 doesn't work for everyone! That's why we focus on outputs, and let you work the hours that suit you best.

Public holiday trades

Go ahead and swap up to 5 public holidays with those that are important to you. E.g. swap Good Friday for Diwali.

Current positions

We’re committed to empowering people to develop their capabilities and careers. Discover your career pathway with Li‑S Energy.

Current opportunities

No current vacancies

Apply via Seek

COMING SOON

Purchasing and Stores Officer, Geelong

Contact us

Registered office
Level 13
120 Edward St
Brisbane QLD 4000 Australia

Telephone: +61 (0) 7 3054 4555

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