Yahya Alvar has over 25 years of experience within the automotive industry in mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, product development life cycle, project and program management, electrification, and battery design and development projects. He joined UKBIC’s commercial team in 2022 as Business Development Manager, before becoming Head of Business Development in July 2024, where he supports UK and international customers to develop, optimise and scale up their battery electrodes, cells, modules, and packs. Prior to UKBIC, Yahya worked at Ricardo UK where he delivered consultancy services for battery module and pack design and development projects, and for Ford, at its Technical Centre, where he managed engineering consultancy projects and the delivery team for Altran UK. He holds a dual MSc degree in International project management and a BSc in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering.

The UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) – the national battery manufacturing facility providing manufacturing scale-up and skills for the battery sector - can be accessed by organisations with existing or new battery technology, or companies looking at entering the industry. UKBIC is a key part of the Faraday Battery Challenge (FBC), a Government programme to fast-track the development of cost-effective, high-performance, durable, safe, low-weight, and recyclable batteries.