What’s actually moving the battery industry — and who’s driving it? Battery Matters, the new quarterly podcast from Battery News and the Volta Foundation, cuts through the noise with sharp quarter recaps, key trend analysis, and candid conversations with industry heavyweights.
Battery News and the Volta Foundation have joined forces for a new quarterly podcast called Battery Matters — a play on battery materials, the importance of batteries, and the battery experts behind the mic. Hosts Christoph Lienemann (Battery News) and Lauren Allanson, Director of Member Development at the Volta Foundation, conceived the format after crossing paths repeatedly on the industry event circuit.
The Volta Foundation is the world’s largest professional network for the battery industry, a global not-for-profit association of more than 75,000 battery professionals and 200+ member companies.
Sebastian Wolf on why Europe needs to own its energy stack
The debut episode features Sebastian Wolf, former CEO of PowerCo, Volkswagen’s battery cell manufacturing subsidiary, where he oversaw gigafactory development in Salzgitter, Valencia, and Canada. Wolf left PowerCo roughly six months ago and has since founded WLF Energy GmbH, which made its public debut at The Battery Show Europe in Stuttgart on June 9, 2026.
WLF Energy is positioning itself as a vertically integrated clean-energy platform, combining solar generation, battery storage, battery management systems (BMS), energy management systems (EMS), AI-driven optimization, and energy trading into a single ecosystem. The company’s stated goal is to bring the cost of clean electricity in Europe below €0.10 per kilowatt-hour. Key building blocks include the acquisition of Cellovate GmbH, the BMS spin-out of PEM Aachen GmbH, and VersaPowr AS, a specialist in power conversion and energy management systems, as well as a newly signed strategic partnership with Farasis Energy to co-develop next-generation battery technologies and energy storage products.
In the podcast, Wolf discusses WLF Energy’s strategy of importing battery cells from China for near-term deployments while localizing BMS and EMS development in Europe — a model he argues is the fastest path to affordable, sovereign energy infrastructure on the continent.
One prediction, one event, one highlight — every quarter
Each episode follows a three-part structure: a recap of the most important developments from the previous quarter, a top-three summary of the defining moments, and an in-depth conversation with a high-profile guest — always recorded live at an industry event. The episodes close with a forward look: one prediction, one key event, and one highlight to watch over the coming quarter.
Battery Matters is available now on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. New episodes are planned quarterly, with the potential for more frequent releases depending on audience response.
