Shalini Divya | |
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Academic background | |
Alma mater | Victoria University of Wellington , Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra |
Doctoral advisor | Thomas Nann, Jim Johnston |
Shalini Divya is an Indian chemist and entrepreneur working in New Zealand, specialising in developing aluminium-ion battery technology as a commercial alternative to lithium-ion batteries. She is the co-founder of battery technology company TasmanIon. Divya was awarded a KiwiNet Breakthrough Innovator award in 2021.
Divya was born and raised in India, and gained a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Delhi University and a master's degree in chemistry at the Birla Institute of Technology in Mesra, India. [1] [2] She moved to New Zealand to undertake doctoral research, completing a PhD at the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology at Victoria University of Wellington in 2021, under the supervision of Thomas Nann (University of Newcastle, Australia) and Jim Johnston. [3] Divya worked on selecting a suitable cathode element for non-aqueous aluminium-ion batteries. [3] [4] Divya co-founded company TasmanIon, of which she is also chief executive, with Thomas Nann in 2022. [5] [4] The company aims to commercialise the aluminium-ion battery technology developed by Divya. The batteries are intended to be more sustainable than lithium batteries as the components are more abundant, and are also easier to recycle. [6] [7] [8] [9] Aluminium ion batteries also do not need cobalt, avoiding the ethical problems of cobalt mining, and are safer as there is no risk of explosion. [3] [10] [11] [12] [13]
In 2021 Divya was awarded a KiwiNet Breakthrough Innovator award. [14] [15] TasmanIon was shortlisted for the inaugural Le Zero Innovation Award. [16] TasmanIon was also selected as one of three participants in Wellington City Council-supported Creative HQ Climate Response Accelerator programme. [4]