Craig Rigby, a former executive at Clarios, has been appointed president and CEO of battery materials developer COnovate.

The company said on June 17 that Rigby, who has been a member of COnovate’s board since 2022, had been appointed with immediate effect.

He succeeds Carol Hirschmugl, COnovate’s co-founder and CEO since 2016, who becomes CTO to focus on accelerating the company’s materials innovation, process development and technical roadmap.

Rigby, a seasoned engineering and business development executive, brings extensive experience in leading global teams, developing product strategies and shepherding technology-driven growth.

He held multiple executive leadership posts at Clarios (formerly Johnson Controls Power Solutions), including VP of technology.

During this time, he was pivotal in driving technology deployment, innovative business models, strategic partnerships and government engagement, COnovate said.

While at Clarios, Rigby also was on the board of Indian lead manufacturing major Amara Raja Battery (now Amara Raja Energy & Mobility) — leading engineering for a joint venture with French battery maker Saft and also on a number of industry and academic advisory boards.

Earlier in his career, Rigby played a key role in launching the first-generation hybrid vehicle at the Ford Motor Company.

Rigby said COnovate continued to focus on developing domestically produced next-generation anode materials that address critical performance and supply chain needs of the battery industry.

The company said its ‘eCOphite’ anodes provide a safer, higher-capacity alternative to graphite-based anodes in lithium ion batteries.

Derived from renewable, organic, US-sourced feedstocks, eCOphite anodes can serve as a full anode replacement or as a performance-enhancing additive alongside graphite, particularly in BESS applications using LFP cathodes, the firm claimed.