From Batteries to Battlefields: Greg Less Powers Innovation at U-M’s Battery Lab

How a medieval hobby and a career in cutting-edge technology taught this chemist the value of creativity, collaboration, and conflict resolution

Greg Less’s career began with a fascination for how things move – ions, electrons, and the energy that powers our world. Over the last two decades, he has translated that curiosity into a leadership role at the University of Michigan’s Battery Lab, where his expertise bridges the gap between academia and industry. Along the way, Greg has developed a simple mantra about his field: batteries are hard.

“If there’s one lesson I try to impart to students and collaborators, it’s that batteries are much harder than they look on paper,” Greg says. “At their core, batteries seem simple – ions move, electrons flow, you charge, discharge, and repeat. But everything gets infinitely more complex when you scale up.”

It’s a lesson Greg has learned firsthand. After earning his PhD in chemistry from U-M, he began his career at T/J Technologies, a U-M spinout working on advanced energy materials. The role was Greg’s first deep dive into lithium-ion batteries, and it set him on a path that led through A123 Systems, a pioneering battery company, and eventually back to the University of Michigan, where he was invited to help launch the Battery Lab.

“The Battery Lab is a lot like a maker space,” Greg explains. “We have the tools, we know how to use them, and we could execute projects ourselves, but that’s not our purpose. Our mission is to teach students, faculty, and industry partners how to scale their ideas, build batteries, and test them.”

A Bridge Between Academia and Industry

The Battery Lab is unique in its approach. As a core research facility, it doesn’t conduct its own research; instead, it enables others to solve problems. Greg sees the lab as a critical link between academia’s theoretical expertise and industry’s drive for practical solutions.

“Our role is to help industry partners use our tools and infrastructure,” Greg says. “But when they come to us with a sticky research problem, our job isn’t to solve it – that’s where U-M’s faculty and students come in. We help make those connections, creating partnerships that advance both research and real-world innovation.”

These collaborations often lead to breakthroughs. From working with Ford – one of the Battery Lab’s longest-running partners – to introducing small startups to new manufacturing techniques, the lab plays a key role in advancing battery technology that powers electric vehicles, grid storage, and more.

Batteries Are Getting Harder

Greg knows better than most that battery technology is both promising and challenging. While new materials and processes have enabled higher energy densities and better performance, they’ve also made batteries more complex and, in some ways, riskier.

“We’re getting better at building high-energy-density materials, but when things go wrong, they go really wrong,” he says. “And we’re still learning. Nobody likes hearing that, but it’s the reality. We’ve scaled from zero to widespread adoption so quickly that we’re solving problems as we go.”

Greg often fields questions about safety, whether it’s from journalists, EV owners, or anxious parents. “People want to know how to make batteries safer for their families, and I wish I could give a perfect answer,” he says. “I tell them to follow industry best practices, but there’s no guaranteed silver bullet. It’s the uncertainty that makes people nervous, even though the technology itself is solid.”

He believes the next game-changing advancements won’t just be about energy density or range but about safety and charging infrastructure. “The ultimate winner will be the company that can produce a battery guaranteed not to catch fire under any circumstances,” Greg explains. “And alongside that, we need fast charging – batteries that can charge as quickly as you can fill a gas tank. That’s what will truly change the game for EV adoption.” Although we all want more breakthroughs in battery and charging technology, there are iterative improvements happening every day. 

Battery Lab 2.0: A New Era in 2025

The next chapter for Greg and the Battery Lab begins in 2025 with the opening of a new facility at Ellsworth Road. Known as “Battery Lab 2.0,” the expansion marks a major leap forward for U-M’s battery research infrastructure.

“I’m excited to bring us into the current era,” Greg says. “The original Battery Lab opened to external users in 2015, and while it was state-of-the-art at the time, technology has changed. The new lab is fully automated, entirely in a dry room, and built to support modern materials and manufacturing processes. It’s going to open doors to more industrially relevant research and a whole new group of users.”

Thanks to a partnership with Manz, the new facility will expand beyond battery cells to include module and pack fabrication – territory the Battery Lab has never entered before. “We’ve had to turn away a lot of potential users in the past because we stopped at the cell level,” Greg explains. “With Battery Lab 2.0, we’ll be able to offer something no other facility does. It’s a huge deal.”

Family, Medieval Pursuits, and Teaching by Example

Outside of his professional life, Greg shares a different kind of passion with his wife and twenty-something daughter: medieval recreation. Through the Society for Creative Anachronism, Greg and his family participate in events that bring the Middle Ages to life – minus the plague and persecution.

“We recreate the Middle Ages the way we wish they had been,” Greg explains with a smile. “It’s a hobby of hobbies. You can start with one interest, like fighting or costumes, and slowly discover new things. People carve dice, spin and weave fabric, or grind their own pigments for paintings. It’s about learning by doing.”

The parallels between his hobby and his professional life are striking. Both require creativity, precision, and a focus on collaboration. In fact, Greg credits his time serving as a regional head referee for combat sports with honing his conflict resolution skills – skills that have proven invaluable at the Battery Lab.

“There’s always going to be conflict, whether it’s on the battlefield or in the lab,” he says. “The key is listening to both sides and helping them find a path forward. That’s something I use every day.”

Greg’s family has been a constant source of support. His wife, who works on campus at Michigan Engineering, was the one who encouraged him to get his first EV. “She told me, ‘You make batteries, you should drive an EV,’” Greg laughs. “She was right, and I bought a Mustang Mach-E.”

Their daughter, who has a degree in simulation, animation, and gaming, has even contributed to Greg’s work at the Battery Lab, creating animated videos that explain how batteries are built. “Those videos make it so much easier for me to give tours,” Greg says. “Sometimes you need to see it to understand it, and she brought that to life.”

Looking Ahead

Whether he’s leading the Battery Lab into a new era, fielding media questions about EV safety, or teaching the next generation of battery experts, Greg Less remains focused on one thing: solving problems, even the hard ones.

“Batteries are hard and that’s never going to change,” Greg says. “But with the right tools, the right team, and the right mindset, we can make them better. And that’s what keeps me going.”

As Battery Lab 2.0 opens its doors in 2025, Greg and his team are ready to take on the next challenge – one ion, one electron, and one breakthrough at a time.