Sila Appoints Industry Veteran Rosendo Alvarado as Plant Manager for Moses Lake Facility
MOSES LAKE, WA, October 4, 2023 – Sila, a next-generation battery materials company, today announced it has appointed Rosendo Alvarado as the company’s Plant Manager for its first mass scale production facility in Moses Lake, Washington. Alvarado, a Moses Lake native with over 30 years of industry experience, transitions from his role as Head of Operations at Sila.
In his new role, Alvarado will oversee all aspects of the plant functions from staffing and commissioning to orchestrating operations and engineering support. He brings a wealth of experience to this role, including most recently a 26-year stint at REC Silicon, where he managed the REC Butte facility and gained extensive experience in commissioning new technology, and plant startup operations at the REC Moses Lake facility.
“I’m honored and excited to manage our Moses Lake plant as we scale-up to meet the needs of our auto customers and a fully electric future,” said Alvarado. “I’m committed to ensuring our work in Washington not only advances Sila’s next-generation technology, but also strengthens our ties to bring more growth and development to the local community.”
With the build-out of the Moses Lake plant, Sila is positioned at the forefront of the next chapter of American innovation and new energy manufacturing. The plant is on track to begin production of its breakthrough Titan SiliconTM anode in 2025.
“Rosendo has deep industry knowledge and a strong understanding of the industrial manufacturing sector that will be pivotal to Sila’s evolution,” said Chris Dougher, VP of Operations at Sila. “His operationally-driven approach and commitment to safety and quality will enable us to stay on track to begin production in 2025, meet the growing demands of the EV industry, and ensure the U.S. can lead in the energy transition.”
As Sila continues to grow its operations in Moses Lake, the company expects to hire 100 - 500+ full-time employees and is working with local high schools, vocational training programs, and community colleges to train and recruit talent for this location. Sila is looking to fill several positions at the new facility through ramp-up. For more details visit silanano.com/careers.
About Sila
Founded in 2011, Sila is a next-generation battery materials company with the mission to power the world’s transition to clean energy. Sila shipped the world’s first commercially available silicon anode for lithium-ion batteries in 2021. Sila’s materials drive battery performance enhancements in consumer electronics devices and will power electric vehicles starting with the Mercedes-Benz G-Class series. Committed to American leadership in clean energy production, Sila is scaling its technology at its manufacturing facility in Moses Lake, Washington. Major investors include 8VC, Bessemer Venture Partners, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Coatue, In-Q-Tel, Matrix Partners, Sutter Hill Ventures, and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.