A lithium-ion battery and EV mobility expert has been hired as a technical advisor by an Indian motorcycle company TVS Motor.

Professor Venkat Viswanathan, a lithium-ion battery expert, has been chosen as technical advisor for electric mobility by TVS Motor Company, a two- and three-wheel vehicle manufacturer.

The hiring is intended to “substantially expand” the company’s battery technology capabilities, with Viswanathan assisting in the company’s transition to electric mobility.

Within the next 24 months, TVS Motor Company plans to commercialize its line of 5-25kW two- and three-wheelers.

Sudarshan Venu, joint managing director at, TVS Motor Company, said: “Viswanathan is a thought leader in the field of innovations of advanced battery technology.

“His major strides in battery technology will give us a competitive edge in delivering value for money, superior technology, and aspirational electric vehicles.”

Viswanathan is an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and a pioneer in energy storage and lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and planes.

Viswanathan obtained his Ph.D. from Stanford University and completed postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before joining Carnegie Mellon.

In addition to his professorship, he is a technical advisor and member of the Scientific Advisory Board at QuantumScape, which is developing next-generation solid-state lithium-metal batteries for use in electric vehicles, and is the chief scientist at Avionics, which is developing battery materials using machine-learning methods.

Viswanathan is a recipient of numerous awards, including the National Science Foundation CAREER award, Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, ONR Young Investigator Award, and MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 Finalist.