Dr. John Olson is the founder of Jolson Technologies LLC. He has worked in industry since 1979, and has worked in the battery industry since 1994. He meets pretty much anyone’s definition of a lab rat (click for Resume). Here is his career story.
John was recognized for his outstanding math and science skills in high school where he was awarded the RPI Medal. This led to taking Freshmen Chemistry (at RPI) before his senior year, when he also took 3 AP courses. He entered Johns Hopkins University and graduated in three years with a BA in Chemistry in 1979.
He returned to graduate school in 1981 at the University of Colorado, earning a Ph.D. in Chemistry. His thesis involved electrochemistry at semiconductor surfaces, it was a collaborative project with NREL (then SERI) where he grew semiconductor crystals in multi-zone tube furnaces. He next had a post-doc position with Dr. Charles Martin at Texas A&M studying EIS of conducting polymers.
His career in the battery industry started in 1994 at Optima Batteries. His first task was to develop a deep cycle version of the high power, spiral wound Optima ‘Red Top’ for electric vehicles. Following successful field testing with AC Propulsion, the ‘Yellow Top’ battery was started in commercial production in 1996. He participated in several collaborative R&D projects, particularly in EVs and HEVs. The largest was sponsored by GM and DOE to develop a hybrid electric vehicle (1996 – 1998). John designed a 16.5 Ah, 600 W/kg battery that exceeded GM’s requirements. During this project Dr. Olson developed a novel paste additive that resulted in two patents. The battery team included Aerovironment responsible for developing the battery pack and battery management system (BMS). He also discovered the life problems lead-acid batteries have in high rate partial state of charge (HRPSOC) cycling. His work in battery management continued in a project led by PowerSmart to make a ‘smart’ battery for large trucks. The automotive industry was moving towards a 36 V battery, and John and his team developed fast prototyping capabilities that led to interest by Audi of using the Optima design in their 2003 models. This led to the acquisition of Optima by Johnson Controls in 2001. JCI let John and most of his team go soon after.
His involvement with batteries for EVs and HEVs led to his personal use of advanced transportation. In 1998, he acquired one of the original AC Propulsion Honda Civic conversions that he drove until 2010. He then purchased a Toyota Prius which convinced John that an HEV was more utilitarian than pure EVs. He currently drives a Chevrolet Volt (plug-in HEV) that he purchased in 2012. He has been a member of the Denver Electric Vehicle Council since 1994.
His next work opportunity was with Boundless Corporation that was interested in structural batteries for spacecraft. John developed lithium-ion structural batteries using carbon fibers as both anodes and structure. This technology was furthered in structural ultracapacitors. Other major projects were development of a high porosity separator, spun off as Porous Power Technologies. His last project involved developing large format lithium-ion batteries and BMS for mobile applications. Boundless decided to take this technology commercially but wasn’t successful.
John’s next endeavor was with TDA Research. At TDA, John worked on applying TDA’s activated carbon technologies for a variety energy storage concepts including: ultracapacitors, ultracapacitor hybrids, lithium sulfur batteries, hybrid carbon monofluoride batteries and silicon anodes for lithium-ion batteries. He also developed a novel redox flow battery with very high energy efficiency. He applied his knowledge of battery performance to develop battery models for BMS based on neural network models. Government curtailment of R&D funding led John to leave TDA and start his own business Jolson Technologies LLC in 2017 focusing on consulting and battery laboratory services.
You can download Dr. Olson’s resume here.Resume
You can view Dr. Olson’s publications here Olson papers. If you would like a copy of any of the publications please e-mail us.mailto:jolson@jolsontechnologies.com