US-based Dr Katharina Gerber is a project manager at the California Energy Commission (CEC) where she provides scientific & technical leadership in determining research priorities for R&D programs with a focus on emerging energy storage technologies and lithium extraction from geothermal brine. She also directs and executes requests for proposals and leads the evaluation of project applications & contract bids. Dr Gerber participates in multiple inter-agency working groups such as the California Lithium Valley initiative, conducting complex technological and market assessments on future availability of critical minerals used in lithium-ion battery technology, and develops recommendations for policy makers and stakeholders. Prior to joining the CEC, she conducted research developing and characterising new electrode materials for lithium-ion battery as a part of her postdoctoral studies at the University of California and part of her doctoral thesis at the University of Bonn.
