- Press Release
Change of management in the battery area at Bern University of Applied Sciences
21.08.2023 Energy storage has a key function in the energy transition and has been a long-standing focus of research at Bern University of Applied Sciences BFH. Andrea Vezzini, who has built up and strongly shaped this area at BFH over the past decades, handed over the management of the Battery and Storage Systems Laboratory and the Energy Storage Research Centre to his successor, Priscilla Caliandro, at the beginning of August.
Priscilla Caliandro joined the team in charge of the Energy Storage Research Centre in 2019. She is a specialist in lithium-ion batteries and has just been appointed as Professor for Electrochemical Energy Storage and Conversion. In this role, she will also teach in the bachelor’s degree programme in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology. Her focus is on testing and modelling lithium-ion batteries to extend their performance and lifecycle. Furthermore, she supports research in the field of hydrogen and fuel cell systems. This was the subject of her doctoral thesis at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).
Andrea Vezzini stays at BFH
As of 1 August 2023, Andrea Vezzini will reduce his activities at BFH and concentrate on his primary field, electric drive technology. This will allow him to devote more time to the spin-off ennos. ennos ag sells solar pumps for irrigation systems on small farms and for the supply of drinking water in developing countries. Andrea Vezzini will also continue to work for the Energy Storage Research Centre and lead the Innosuisse Flagship project CircuBAT. Its aim is to close the loop between production, application and recycling of lithium-ion batteries for mobility purposes.
Potential for the future
Caliandro’s wish for BFH’s battery areas is “to keep the momentum with business and research projects and improve further [its] activities in battery data management.” She would also like to continue participation in European research programmes and work on the EU’s Battery Passport, which promises a truly sustainable and circular battery life through digital value chains.
