Ilias Belharouak

Bio

Dr. Ilias Belharouak is a Corporate Fellow and Head of the Electrification Section at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). He leads strategic research and development initiatives to advance U.S. leadership in battery energy storage and domestic manufacturing. His portfolio spans materials discovery, advanced electrode and electrolyte systems, cell engineering, diagnostics, and recycling, all aimed at enabling safer, higher-performance, and more sustainable electrification technologies.

Dr. Belharouak is a professor in the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and an Adjunct Full Professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology, where he advises the Battery Ph.D. Program. He also contributes to national strategy through service on advisory boards supporting universities, federal agencies, and industry partnerships.

An internationally recognized authority in energy storage science, Dr. Belharouak has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications, holds 50 U.S. patents and patent applications, and has written five books. His innovations have been recognized with seven R&D 100 Awards and four Federal Laboratory Consortium Awards. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Power Sources and is widely invited to deliver keynote and plenary talks at global conferences.

Professional Experience

Before joining ORNL in 2017, Dr. Belharouak held two key positions in Qatar. He served as the Research Director and Founding Chief Scientist of the Electrochemical Energy Storage Center  Qatar Foundation and as a Professor at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) for two years. In these roles, he was responsible for managing an annual budget of $15M to advance the State of Qatar's progress in the field of energy storage and environment.

Before joining Qatar Foundation in 2013, he worked as a Material Scientist at  Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) in Illinois from 2001-2013. During his time at Argonne, he served as the principal investigator for several battery material-related technologies, including those for high-energy density and high-power density Li-ion batteries, sodium-ion batteries, solid-state batteries, and lithium-sulfur batteries.

Awards

• 2024: R&D 100 Awards

• 2022: R&D 100 Awards

• 2022: Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award

• 2021: Excellence in Technology Transfer Award

• 2020: R&D 100 Awards

• 2012: R&D 100 Awards

• 2009: R&D 100 Awards

• 2009: Excellence in Technology Transfer Award

• 2009: U.S. Government Recognition Letters

• 2008: R&D 100 Awards

• 2008: Excellence in Technology Transfer Award

• 2007: Pacesetter Award

• 2007: Director Award

• 2005: R&D 100 Awards

Education

• 1999: Ph.D. of Materials Science, Bordeaux 1 University, Bordeaux, France

  • Institute of Condensed Matter Chemistry of Bordeaux (ICMCB)

  • National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS)

• 1996: Masters of Materials Science, Bordeaux 1 University, Bordeaux, France

  • Institute of Condensed Matter Chemistry of Bordeaux (ICMCB)

  • National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS)

• 1995: Bachelor of Inorganic Chemistry, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco

  • Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Marrakech                                

Professional Affiliations

• Member of the Electrochemical Society
• Member of the American Ceramic Society
• Member of the Material Research Society

Publications

Other Publications