“CINE began its activities in August 2018 with a completely different structure from other similar initiatives supported by Fapesp and also by Shell.

CINE was structured to have four physically independent research divisions located in different points, namely: one at the Institute of Chemistry at Unicamp, another at the Faculty of Chemical Engineering at Unicamp, a third division at IPEN (city of São Paulo) and the fourth division at the Institute of Chemistry of São Carlos at USP.

The hub structure was created, with the Hub director being responsible for implementing administration, governance and monitoring activities in relation to their adherence to the Center’s mission and objectives.

In the first two years, in addition to leading the scientific activities of the division I coordinated the Advanced Energy Storage division (AES). My challenge was to implement a structure and a modus operandi that would make the Center establish itself, have efficient and participatory governance in relation to the coordinators of the other divisions, grow in the number of researchers (master’s students, doctorates and post-docs), be known in its scientific areas and also provide effective collaboration/integration of activities between the divisions and clearly defined activities for the Dissemination and Technology Transfer sectors. These were challenges overcome due to the serious and competent work of the people involved.

In this two-year period we had 3 different Shell representatives participating in the administrative organization of CINE who contributed significantly to the success of the activities. With only 3 months of existence, in October 2018 we had the 1st Joint Steering Committee Meeting. In the event, the strategies and actions that the Hub’s Board of Directors would follow to achieve the goals proposed in the Center´s project were exposed. The 2nd Meeting of the Joint Steering Committee, still under my Direction, was in December 2019, where the Center’s notable progress could already be clearly presented.

At this stage, a physical headquarters, even if temporary, was established for the Hub, and thanks must be given to: the then director of the Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Prof. Edson Tomaz, who allocated a space for the establishment of the Battery Laboratory and for the Hub headquarters; to the then representative of Shell in the administration of CINE Giancarlo Ciola, and to the employees Rita de Cássia Xavier Camargo do Espírito Santo, Guilherme Brandini and José Antônio Teixeira Júnior. After Giancarlo Ciola, I had the pleasure of working with Marcelo Mofati and finally with Camila Brandão. I thank everyone for their involvement and commitment to CINE. I must also highlight the important contributions of these employees in the establishment and implementation of procedures, both administrative and monitoring, for the Center’s scientific and dissemination activities.

CINE’s activities were impacted by the COVID19 Pandemic, especially experimental activities, which had to adapt to the protocols of the institutions involved. However, with the competence and determination of the researchers involved, we have made great progress in all progress indices normally used.

I left the CINE Board in October 2020 with more than 230 researchers and with a consistent way of working in line with the Center’s mission and objectives, and in line with the statements and suggestions of the Joint Steering Committee Meeting.“