MATTHEW P KLEIN III, Ph.D.

Palo Alto, CA LinkedIn

+1 (925) 339-1007 Google Scholar
matthewpklein@gmail.com

MISSION
Develop world leading electrical energy storage devices with a highly talented technical team to dramatically improve
the energy efficiency of the global automotive fleet.

ABOUT
I am a car guy, and most importantly, I am a VW car guy. I have owned/own and personally maintained a MKIII
TDI, two MKIV TDIs, and presently two MKVI TDIs. OK, you see I like VWs and their wonderful TDIs. Oh my,
but how the world has changed since the Diesel crisis!

I am driven by a clear recognition that humanity needs to DRAMATICALLY reduce our CO2 emissions and FAST.
Ultimately, EVs are the right way to go for this mission, and fortunately when done right EVs can be super fun cars
too. I have been researching and developing Lithium-ion battery technology since 2009. First, I lead two Formula
Hybrid Student teams at UC Davis and then lead a team at Kleenspeed Techologies where we designed and built a
150mi range hot-hatch prototype EV in under 12mos. I then focused on my PhD research in thermal management
impacts on Li-ion battery performance and graduated in 2017 from the University of California, Davis. I honed
my skills in electrochemical modeling during two internships at Oak Ridge National Lab and Tesla Motors from
2014 to 2016. The four years I spent at Farasis Energy gave me the wonderful career opportunity to build and
lead a world-class battery simulation team. At Farasis, myself and my team played a key role in the development
of two successfully awarded programs with Daimler; a cell+module for EQS/EQE and a cell+module+pack for
EQA/EQB. Finally, I have spent the last two years refining my technical skills as an individual contributor working
on thermal-electrochemical simulation on six new cell programs at Tesla.

Looking ahead I am focusing on opportunities where I can play a key role in the development of exciting new EV
products at the Giga (and beyond) scale.

ENGINEERING EXPERIENCE
Tesla, Inc., Palo Alto, CA, USA
Staff Cell Engineer Mar 2022 - Present
– Apply my new 3D-thermal+1D-echem modeling methods to two more cell programs under development. Con-
tinue refining the tool to ease re-use on new programs for better automation.
– Collaborate on development of new mechanics cell models for understanding implications of electrode swelling
on cell design.

Sr. Cell Engineer Aug 2020 - Feb 2022

– Develop COMSOL electrochemical models to collabortatively optimize next-gen cell designs on LG cell pro-
grams.
– Established new 3D-thermal+1D-echem modeling methods in COMSOL to aid large-format cell design opti-
mization by considering non-JR components as well.
– All sim tools developed to be used in a fully automated framework using COMSOL-MATLAB LiveLink for
pre-processing and Python for post-processing.

Farasis Energy Europe GmbH, Frickenhausen, Germany

Director Advanced R&D July 2019 - Present
– Started a new team for simulation, analysis, and cell testing/model-validation at Farasis’ new
Battery Development Center in Stuttgart, Germany.
– Lead simulation activities for new European automotive OEM RFI/RFQ projects.
– 10% international travel to China.
 Farasis Energy, Hayward, CA, USA
Manager Engineering Analysis & Modeling Oct. 2017 - June 2019
– Lead the simulation activities for Farasis’ first two successfully awarded Western automotive OEM contracts
with Daimler. These contracts totalled more than US$20B comprising more than 100 GWh of planned lifetime
batter production.
– I started the simulation team and hired nine new team members with expertise in mechanical (4),
thermal (2), cell+lifetime (2), and system (1) simulation fields from March 2018 to March 2019.
– 25-50% international travel to China and Germany for regular project F2F workshops.

Sr. Mechanical Engineer Sept. 2016 - Sept. 2017

– Developed data analysis tools and cell modeling tools for battery system design.
– Lead the cell and mechanical system design for Farasis’ first western automotive OEM RFI project for 48V
start-stop battery system.

Tesla Motors, Palo Alto, CA, USA

Graduate Student Intern May 2015 - Aug. 2016
– Developed MATLAB-based code for simulating Single-Particle-Model (SPM) and a full 1D Porous-Electrode-
Model (PEM) physics-based electrochemical cell models.
– Worked closely with experimental team to develop experimental procedures to estimate key PEM parameters.

Kleenspeed Technologies, Mountain View, CA, USA

Lead Engineer June 2010 - Dec. 12
– Lead the product development efforts of the company by creating a scalable and modular lithium-ion battery
pack for vehicle and stationary applications.
– The technology we developed resulted in one awarded patent and five provisional patent applications.

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
UC Davis Green Transportation Laboratory, Davis, CA, USA
Graduate Student Researcher June 2010 - Sept. 2017
– Dissertation: Experimental and Model-based Investigations on the Performance Effects Caused by Non-uniform
Temperatures in Lithium-ion Cells
– PhD research focused on understanding performance effects of nonuniform temperature profiles within
lithium-ion batteries. Both experiments and simulations were conducted. Published open-source Python-based
cell simulation library on Github.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA

Graduate Student Intern May 2014 - Dec. 2014
– Developed two electrochemical battery models; a distributed Equivalent-Circuit-Model (empirical) and a
reduced order distributed 1D-Porous-Electrode-Model (physics based).
– Models were developed to be integrated into the open-source ORNL VIBE battery simulation code.

EDUCATION
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering
University of California, Davis, CA
GPA: 3.72/4.0
Date of Graduation: September, 2017

B.S., Mechanical Engineering

University of California, Davis, CA
GPA: 3.61/4.0
Date of Graduation: June, 2010
SKILLS
Software
– Python library for physics-based lithium ion cell modeling
– FEM code for heat transfer
– Dynamic System Modeling for UAV Camera Stabilization
– 3D-CAD: Solidworks (intermediate)
– Managment Tools: MS Project, Confluence/JIRA
– Documentation: Latex

Fabrication
– Proficient with the following machine tools: Mill, Lathe, Drill press, Break, Shear, Band saw, Belt sander, TIG
welder, MIG welder, Plasma cutter, Grinding tools, General hand tools.

Leadership
– Documentation, Organization, MS Project, Team building, Motivational, Encouraging, Empathetic

ACTIVITIES
– Mountain biking, Snowboarding, Water sports, Vehicle maintenance