Volkswagen – HW Vassen appointed Chief Technology Officer of PowerCo SE

Volkswagen – HW Vassen appointed Chief Technology Officer of PowerCo SE.

Salzgitter. HW Vassen will take over as the new Chief Technology Officer and Member of the Board of Management of PowerCo SE from August 1, 2024. This decision was approved today by the Supervisory Board of PowerCo SE. As Head of Series Development, Vassen has already played a decisive role in the development of PowerCo’s unified cell, which will go into mass production from 2025. As Chief Technology Officer, he will be responsible for technology and product development as well as testing and analytics at PowerCo SE. He succeeds Soonho Ahn, who is stepping down at his own request at the end of July and will be available to the Volkswagen Group as an advisor in the future.

Frank Blome, CEO of PowerCo SE, said:

Soonho Ahn deserves our sincere thanks for all he has done at PowerCo. He built up the technology department and laid the foundation for future market success with the unified cell. He has clearly helped us on our way to become a sustainable, competitive battery company.

“With HW Vassen we have been able to win the ideal successor. He has already played a key role in the development of the unified cell and has extensive international experience in battery development. Under his leadership, we will continue to expand our technological power and innovative strength.”

HW Vassen has been Head of Series Development at PowerCo SE since mid-2023. Prior to that, he worked in China for six years, where he was responsible for the development of battery cells and battery systems at Volkswagen Group China, among other things. Vassen was born in 1972 and studied electrical engineering at RWTH Aachen University. The 52-year-old has been working for the Volkswagen Group since 1999.

Soonho Ahn was born in Seoul in 1960 and received his PhD in electrochemistry for battery applications from Auburn University in the United States in 1992. The 64-year-old has been building up the technology department at PowerCo SE since 2022. Prior to joining PowerCo SE, he was Global Head of Battery Development at Apple.

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Volkswagen – HW Vassen appointed Chief Technology Officer of PowerCo SE. source