Maher F El-Kady

Maher El-Kady (Arabic: ماهر القاضي; born April 17, 1983) is a chemist, materials scientist, and entrepreneur  known for his pioneering work in nanotechnology, particularly in graphene-based materials, energy storage, and advanced materials.He is a professional researcher in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)  and co-founder and Chief Science and Technology Officer (CSTO) of Nanotech Energy, Inc.  El-Kady's work has had significant implications in the development of next-generation batteries, supercapacitors, and other energy storage technologies.

Early life and education

El-Kady was born on April 17, 1983, in Giza, Egypt, a city renowned for its rich historical significance as the home of the ancient pyramids. Growing up near these monumental structures sparked his early fascination with science and a passion for understanding the world through education. He pursued higher education in chemistry at Cairo University, where he earned a B.Sc. in Chemistry in 2004, graduating at the top of his class. He continued at Cairo University for his Master’s degree in Physical Chemistry, which he completed in 2008. During this period, his research focused on developing chemical sensors and biosensors for detecting neurotransmitters, work that earned him the Best Thesis Award from the College of Science. Seeking to advance his expertise, he moved to the United States to pursue a Ph.D. in Chemistry at UCLA, where he conducted groundbreaking research under the supervision of Professor Richard Kaner. His doctoral research focused on the design and development of advanced materials for energy storage, including graphene supercapacitors.  He completed his Ph.D. in 2013.

Career

El-Kady started his career in 2004 as a lecturer of Chemistry at Cairo University, where he taught a broad range of undergraduate courses,  including physical, organic, analytical, and inorganic chemistry.  His teaching experience also included leading laboratory sessions and discussions. In 2013, while collaborating with Maxwell Technologies, the world’s largest producer of supercapacitors, El-Kady led a team from UCLA to develop carbon-based electrodes for high-power supercapacitors.  This work aimed at enhancing the performance of supercapacitors by integrating advanced carbon materials such as graphene. From 2013 to 2014, El-Kady collaborated with NASA Kennedy Space Center, where he worked on high-energy-density supercapacitors for space applications. After completing his Ph.D., El-Kady continued his research at UCLA, where he focused on designing and implementing new functional materials for energy storage and electronic devices. His work spans a wide range of applications, including batteries, supercapacitors, hydrogen energy, nanogenerators, wearable electronics, implantable medical devices, sensors, and environmental monitoring systems.

In 2014, Maher El-Kady co-founded Nanotech Energy, Inc., a company dedicated to commercializing graphene-based energy storage technologies. As the CSTO, he has led the company’s scientific and technological developments, playing a key role in securing over $100 million in funding for the company’s expansion. Under his leadership, Nanotech Energy has introduced innovative battery technologies to the market, impacting industries such as consumer electronics, data centers, and micro-mobility.

El-Kady's industrial achievements include developing safer and more powerful lithium-ion batteries, which are currently being evaluated by leading OEMs for integration into various consumer and industrial applications. His work at Nanotech Energy has positioned the company as a leader in the graphene battery industry. His journey from foundational research at UCLA to leading a decade of research and development at Nanotech Energy has been instrumental in turning safer and more powerful lithium-ion batteries from a mere concept to commercial success.Now, as Nanotech Energy launches its 150MWh production facility in California, this journey is not just about technological advancement but also about bridging the gap between academic research and practical, scalable solutions.

Research Contributions

Maher El-Kady has made notable contributions to the fields of energy storage and materials science, particularly through his work with graphene-based technologies. His research primarily focuses on designing functional materials that address key challenges in energy storage, environmental monitoring, and electronics. While working as a graduate student at UCLA, El-Kady discovered that shining laser light on graphite oxide rapidly converts it into graphene. His breakthrough came when he developed a method to produce graphene using a consumer-grade DVD burner. This technique laid the foundation for the creation of flexible and high-performance supercapacitors that can store and deliver energy more efficiently than conventional batteries. His laser-scribed graphene technology has been widely adopted by research groups worldwide for the design and fabrication of DNA biosensors, artificial muscles, batteries, supercapacitors, transistors and light emitting diodes, strain and pressure sensors.

His work has been featured in standard chemistry textbooks and popular science publications. The textbook Chemistry by Raymond Chang and Jason Overby highlights his graphene technology in its introduction as one of the four key reasons students should be excited about studying chemistry. Additionally, the scalable graphene production method developed at UCLA is discussed in Hayley Birch’s 50 Ideas You Really Need to Know: Chemistry, where it is featured as a significant advancement in graphene research in the chapter dedicated to graphene. While the Nobel Prize-winning method of isolating graphene using scotch tape was revolutionary, it lacked scalability. The method pioneered at UCLA provided a practical solution for directly producing and patterning graphene, representing a major step towards enabling the direct writing of graphene electronics in a way that is compatible with large-scale manufacturing.

His work continues to push the boundaries of energy storage and materials science, with ongoing research aimed at developing next-generation technologies that could transform energy systems and sustainability efforts. He is currently leading a research team that is focused on developing new materials and devices for a range of applications, including lithium-ion, sodium-ion, and zinc-ion batteries, as well as zinc-air batteries, water remediation, wearable electronics, and implantable medical devices.

At Nanotech Energy, where he serves as Chief Science and Technology Officer, El-Kady has driven the commercialization of graphene-based batteries. Additionally, he has led the development of non-flammable lithium-ion batteries, setting new standards for safety and performance. These cost-effective and scalable batteries are positioned to make a significant impact across various industries ranging from consumer electronics to electric vehicles.

Awards and recognition

El-Kady has participated in several high-profile television programs and public forums. He was featured in the NOVA episode “Search for the Super Battery,” which aired on PBS , , and was a contributor to the BBC series Breakthrough: The Ideas That Changed the World. He has delivered talks at TEDx Cairo  and a film produced for the Sundance Film Festival, where his work on graphene supercapacitors was recognized as a groundbreaking innovation with the potential to change the world. Furthermore, El-Kady had the privilege of featuring in a movie alongside Nobel laureate Harry Kroto, whose groundbreaking discovery of fullerenes over three decades ago ignited a global surge of nanotechnology research.

Maher El-Kady has received nearly 20 national and international awards for his contributions to science and technology. Some of his most notable recognitions include:

• Young Scientist Award from the journal Energy Storage Materials.
• Top 10 Influential Leaders of 2023 by Iconic Express Magazine.
• Top 10 Best Chief Technology Officers of 2022 by C-Level Focus Magazine.
• Talented 12 by the American Chemical Society’s C&EN News, recognizing his efforts in addressing global challenges through chemistry.
• Award of Research Excellence from the Government of Egypt.
• UCLA Herbert Newby McCoy Award for the greatest contribution of the year to chemistry at UCLA.
• Amgen Postdoctoral Award from the UCLA Molecular Biology Institute.

Publications

El-Kady has published over 75 peer-reviewed papers in Science, Nature Materials, Nature Communications, PNAS, Joule, Energy & Environmental Science, and Advanced Materials. His work has been cited over 20,000 times (as of August 2024), reflecting the high impact of his work on the scientific community. He also holds a global portfolio of over 200 patent applications, covering a wide range of innovations in materials science and energy storage. His patents include methods for producing high-performance graphene, designs for energy storage devices, and formulations for non-flammable electrolytes used in lithium-ion batteries, along with a wide range of nanomaterials for use in printed electronics, aerospace, medical, automotive, and consumer products. These patents have been licensed to several companies, including Nanotech Energy, enabling the commercialization of his innovations.

• 2024: Advanced Materials, Front Cover, Vol 36, no. 3
• 2023: Advanced Energy Materials, Front Cover, Vol 13, no. 4
• 2019: Chemical Society Reviews, back Cover, Vol 48, no. 5
• 2015: IEEE Spectrum, inside cover, Vol 52, no. 10
• 2015: Nanotechnology, Front Cover, Vol 26, no. 7
• 2014: ACS Nano, Front Cover, Vol 8, no. 2
• 2013: Electronics Weekly, Front Cover, 10-16 April 2013, no. 2539
• 2013: Nature Communications – Featured Image of the Week. Vol 4: 1475