Milwaukee-based nanomaterials maker COnovate has appointed new president and chief executive officer Craig Rigby to succeed founder Dr. Carol Hirschmugl, who will become the company’s chief technology officer.

Since 2007, Rigby has held numerous leadership roles at Johnson Controls and its power solutions spin off Clarios, assisting the companies’ technology deployment, business models, strategic partnerships and government engagement, according to a press release.

Prior to his time at Johnson Controls and Clarios, Rigby worked at Ford Motor Company helping to develop its hybrid battery systems, and at Marinette Marine Corp. as a naval architect, among other roles. He previously served on the board of directors at Amara Raja Battery and led engineering for a joint venture with French battery maker Saft. He has served on COnovate’s board of directors since 2022.

Hirschmugl, a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee professor, will become the company’s chief technology officer. She will focus on accelerating material and process development of COnovate’s advanced composite material for lithium-ion battery anodes called eCOphite. eCOphite charges over six times faster than graphite anodes, which make up 95% of the lithium-ion battery market. The eCOphite composite stores twice the amount of energy per charge and has been classified as critical to electrification efforts.

The material was discovered by Hirschmugl and Marija Gajdardziska, another UW-Milwaukee professor, in 2016.

“COnovate is dedicated to the development of domestically produced next-generation anode materials that address critical performance and supply chain needs of the battery industry”, said Rigby. “eCOphite anodes provide a safer, higher-capacity alternative to graphite-based anodes in lithium-ion batteries. I’m honored to lead this outstanding team on the journey to delivering commercial impact across the value chain.”

The leadership transition was made in efforts to commercialize and scale COnovate’s materials production.

“(Rigby’s) leadership experience in global battery manufacturing and commercialization makes him the right person to lead COnovate through its next phase of growth,” said Hirschmugl. “As CTO, I’m excited to drive our next-generation materials development and working with our team to bring high-performance, domestically sourced anode materials to market.”