John Katsoudas

John Katsoudas, CEO and co-founder of Influit Energy, has dedicated his career to revolutionizing energy storage technology. After completing his studies in Physics (PHYS '96, PHYS '03) at Illinois Institute of Technology, he served as senior beamline scientist for 17 years at the Materials Research Collaborative Access Team (MRCAT) at Argonne National Laboratory's Advanced Photon Source.

During his tenure at MRCAT, he collaborated with the MRCAT Director Carlo Segre and Argonne National Laboratory Principal Electrochemist Elena Timofeeva on the development of their transformative nanoelectrofuel (NEF) technology. This groundbreaking work laid the foundation for Influit Energy, which he co-founded in 2014 as a spin-out from Illinois Tech and Argonne National Laboratory.

Influit Energy has secured development contracts and research grants from key agencies including DARPA, AFRL, DIU, NASA, DOE, ARPA-E, and the National Science Foundation. Under Katsoudas's leadership, the company has secured over $20 million in funding. His expertise spans applied physics, material science, electrochemistry, advanced energy systems, modeling, and system integration.

Together with his co-founders, they have authored over 500 technical papers garnering more than 18,000 citations, are the named inventors of NEF technology, and have contributed their technical expertise to leading publications as well as a book chapter in Wiley’s Chemistry Entrepreneurship business text "Battery Entrepreneurship: Gameboard from Lab to Market." His 2016 TEDx talk highlighted the challenges of electrifying transportation infrastructure and showcased their groundbreaking work on high-energy-dense rechargeable liquid battery nanofluids.

Katsoudas's vision for universal transportation electrification focuses on developing nonflammable, nonexplosive rechargeable electric fuel. Under his guidance, Influit Energy is pioneering NEF technology that offers rapid refueling capabilities, enhanced safety, and significant cost advantages. His work exemplifies the successful translation of fundamental research into practical solutions for global energy challenges.