THE UNOBVIOUS ONES: Novonix CEO focused on ‘critical linchpin’ of electrified future

The Unobvious Ones is a monthly look at movers and shakers who fly below the radar in the Canadian auto industry.

CHRIS BURNS

LONGER-LIFE BATTERIES ARE KEY TO EV ADOPTION

At its research facility in Halifax, Novonix is developing advanced battery materials and technology, and using a technique called coulometry that speeds up testing.

“We’re focused on supporting longer-life battery applications,” said Chris Burns, CEO and co-founder. “That’s the critical linchpin in vehicles and energy support systems.”

The 34-year-old’s parents were engineers, and he grew up interested in science and technology. He studied physics at Dalhousie University in Halifax and worked with professor Jeff Dahn, a pioneer in advanced lithium-ion battery materials.

“I could take my efforts in physics and direct them to something that felt impactful,” Burns said. “It was the early days of this age of [vehicle] electrification, and I saw the opportunity to be part of this exciting sector.”

The company grew out of a partnership with Dahn’s research group in 2013 while Burns was working on his PhD. The company collaborated on a research project with Tesla, and in 2017 it became part of the Novonix Group, based in Australia.

Halifax remained headquarters for the R&D division, while a factory opened in Tennessee to manufacture battery materials. Burns oversees both facilities. The company’s clients include Honda, Bosch, LG Chem and Panasonic.

The Halifax centre builds small quantities of batteries for testing using ultra-high-precision coulometry, a process co-developed by Burns and Dahn. It dramatically accelerates the necessary battery test cycles.

“We can get results on how long a battery will last in just a few weeks, rather than months or even a year of testing,” Burns said. “We need to produce lithium-ion batteries that can last longer than they do today.”

ELPHIE GALANAKIS

MARKETING SKILLS FOR THE DIGITAL AGE

As Cadillac prepares to launch the Lyriq, the brand’s first electric vehicle, it needs vibrant advertising to reach a new audience. From Cadillac Canada’s headquarters in Oshawa, Ont., Marketing and Communications Manager Elphie Galanakis works with ad agencies on campaigns, promoting the new vehicle, which arrives this fall.

“We’re trying to sell a vehicle and we don’t have it yet, and that’s challenging,” she said. “So we’re identifying the features and benefits, and preparing [customers] for how an EV will adapt to their lifestyle.”

Galanakis, 44, manages all of Cadillac’s TV, print and digital advertising, including the various budgets, vehicle launches and the automaker’s consumer website and social media channels.

“We sometimes take what the U.S. is doing and adapt it for Canada, including French translation. But we have autonomy, and if I want something that’s Canadaspecific, I’ll put together a creative brief with the channels I want to hit, who I want to target, and I’ll send it to my agency to come up with ideas.”

Galanakis “fell in love” with advertising when she took marketing courses in university while earning a sociology degree. Out of school, she joined a Toronto ad agency as a broadcast-media buyer; it represented

General Motors and she purchased TV slots for Pontiac. She then worked on sponsorships and brand integration at a TV station for 11 years.

“I saw advertising budgets move from TV to digital, so I went to an agency that was primarily digital to develop my digital skill set.”

She joined Cadillac in January 2020 to oversee its digital presence.

“I was making sure we were spending our money wisely. Last September [the marketing and communications manager] position came up and I felt I was a natural fit with my experience. Nobody knows about anything until we promote it. You create impressions through motion, through sound, shaping your presence in the automotive space.”