Dr. Saad Dara is the founder and CEO of Mangrove Lithium – a novel lithium refining technology that uses an electrochemical process to convert extracted lithium into a battery-grade product. Saad holds a PhD (2020), MASc (2012) and BASc (2010) in Chemical and Biological Engineering from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and was recognized as a UBC Applied Science Rising Star in 2017.
Saad is an entrepreneur and innovator with a track record of taking research from the lab bench to a commercial scale. He has led Mangrove’s fundraising rounds, and technical and business development, while commercializing Mangrove’s technology with various large corporates, including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, BMW i Ventures and BDC. His areas of expertise are in fuel cells, redox flow batteries, lithium-ion batteries, electrochemical water treatment, and upstream lithium production.
Saad’s vision for Mangrove is to disrupt the current landscape of the battery value chain by providing North America and Europe the opportunity to refine lithium locally and sustainably, allowing for domestic energy security during the global transition to renewable energy. In his personal time, Saad is an avid cricket player, enjoys cycling and spending time with his family.
