Dr. Sunho Kang, a veteran battery executive who spent decades at Samsung SDI, Apple, and Volkswagen Group of America, has joined TeraWatt Technology Inc. as Head of Product and Technology, the San Francisco-based battery manufacturer announced on June 2, 2026. The appointment represents a significant leadership hire for TeraWatt as it scales production and pursues commercialization of next-generation lithium-ion batteries, just two months after the company completed its Series C funding round with strategic corporate investors from the energy and power sectors.
Kang brings more than 25 years of experience spanning the United States, Asia, and Europe, with a track record of advancing battery innovations from laboratory research through gigafactory-scale production. In his new role, he will lead global product development and commercialization of TeraWatt's battery technology platform, aiming to accelerate product delivery and manufacturing scale-up. TeraWatt founder and CEO Ken Ogata said the appointment would be instrumental in accelerating the company's product roadmap and technology leadership. No search firm involvement was disclosed in the announcement. Kang expressed enthusiasm about TeraWatt's innovative battery platform, which he described as presenting a tremendous opportunity to push the boundaries of lithium-ion technology.
Kang's appointment underscores his deep expertise in lithium-ion battery materials, cell engineering, and product industrialization. He served as Vice President of Research and Product Development at Samsung SDI, as Senior Manager at Apple, and as Senior Vice President of Battery Technology at Volkswagen Group of America. His academic credentials are equally distinguished: he is a former member of Professor John B. Goodenough's laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin, where Goodenough won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and a former Staff Scientist at Argonne National Laboratory, where he was one of the key inventors of the laboratory's Li-rich NCM cathode material that was licensed to major chemical and cell companies. Kang has published over 80 scientific papers and holds more than 30 US patents in battery materials and technology. Most recently, he served as Chief Technology Officer at Ionic Mineral Technologies, a nano-silicon anode materials company, a position he held as recently as October 2024. He also took on an advisory role with Focus Graphite Inc. in December 2025, where he guided battery technology and materials strategy.
TeraWatt Technology, established in 2019 and founded in 2020 by Ken Ogata, a former Samsung engineer with a PhD in Materials Engineering from the University of Cambridge, manufactures lightweight, high-power, and safe next-generation lithium-ion batteries. The company has developed proprietary battery technology including its TERA3.0 solid-state battery prototype, which achieved a record energy density of 432 watt-hours per kilogram in third-party validation tests. TeraWatt operates research and development centers in Santa Clara, California, and Tokyo, Japan. The company completed its first mass production facility in Shizuoka, Japan, which received ISO9001:2015 certification in April 2025 and is expected to begin commercial sales in 2026. TeraWatt's Series C round, completed in April 2026, included strategic capital and business alliances with global energy companies including JERA Co., Inc., Kyuden International Corporation, and others alongside financial investors such as Temasek, Khosla Ventures, and Japan Bank for International Cooperation. The company did not disclose the amount raised.
Kang's appointment reflects TeraWatt's critical transition phase. The company is moving from pilot production toward mass manufacturing and commercialization, a juncture that typically demands deep operational and technical expertise in scaling battery cells at volume. By bringing in an executive with successful track records at both tier-one battery manufacturers and consumer electronics giants, TeraWatt appears to be signaling confidence in its ability to transition from prototype to production. The timing is strategic, coming as the battery industry increasingly faces pressure to localize manufacturing and as governments worldwide prioritize domestic battery supply chains for both energy security and defense readiness. Kang's combination of materials science credentials, manufacturing leadership, and relationships within the global battery ecosystem positions him to accelerate TeraWatt's path to competitive market deployment.
