Overview

Gender

female

Celina Mikolajczak is the vice president of battery technology for Panasonic Energy of North America. In this role, Celina leads a team of more than 200 passionate engineers, analysts and other technical staff who work to continuously improve lithium-ion cell manufacturing and to bring the latest cell technologies to mass production for Tesla Motors, Inc. at the Gigafactory facility in Sparks, Nevada.

Prior to joining Panasonic in 2019, she served as director of engineering focused on battery development for rideshare vehicles at Uber Technologies. There, she worked to develop battery packs for bicycles, scooters and aircraft. Before that, Celina worked at Tesla Motors as the senior manager for cell quality and materials engineering, helping to develop the battery cells and packs for Tesla’s Model S, Model X, Model 3, and Roadster Refresh. From 1999 to 2012 Celina developed a technical consulting practice at Exponent focusing on lithium-ion cell and battery safety and quality. She helped develop many safety and quality concepts that were initially applicable to consumer electronics battery packs but are now standard considerations for electric vehicle battery packs. Celina continues to be an active participant in development of fire codes and standards related to EVs, ESS, and battery production facilities.

With more than 20 years of experience, Celina is a recognized leader in the lithium-ion industry. Her technological expertise, engineering background and leadership skills have been instrumental in ushering in milestones in battery technology production and efficiency. Celina is a member of the National Fire Protection Association and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.