Jiajun Cen, CEO, Appointed Fellow of the Netherlands Academy of Engineering

20 new members recognized for engineering excellence and societal leadership

[December 11th 2025, The Netherlands ] - AQUABATTERY is proud to announce that dr. Jiajun Cen, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, has been appointed as a Fellow of the Netherlands Academy of Engineering (NAE), one of the country’s most distinguished recognitions for engineering excellence and impact.

The Netherlands Academy of Engineering selects a distinguished group of leaders each year who have demonstrated exceptional achievement in engineering, technological innovation and the translation of engineering breakthroughs into societal and economic value. NAE Fellows play a key role in shaping technological agendas, advising policy, and guiding large-scale innovation across sectors.

“I am deeply honoured to be appointed a Fellow of the Netherlands Academy of Engineering,” said dr. Cen. “This recognition reflects not only our work at AQUABATTERY but also the importance of sustainable, scalable energy storage solutions in the clean-energy transition. I look forward to collaborating with fellow engineering leaders to accelerate innovation that benefits society and the planet.”

Under Jiajun’s leadership, AQUABATTERY has emerged as a pioneer in long-duration energy storage innovation, developing a safe and sustainable saltwater flow battery that stores renewable energy using only abundant materials such as table salt and water. The technology is designed to help integrate solar and wind power into electricity grids, and industrial and commercial real estate by providing multi-hour storage with minimal environmental impact.

About the Netherlands Academy of Engineering: NAE’s goal is to foster a vital and effective environment of responsible, inclusive and impactful engineering-based innovation, rooted in a world-class knowledge and talent base in technological sciences and human-centred design. We also aim to make the engineering community’s voice better heard among key decision-makers. NAE will do this by providing a forum for constructive debate, orchestrating the pivot to action and advising on pressing strategic challenges and necessary improvements to the Dutch knowledge and innovation system.