The General Assembly (GA) is the supreme body that manages and coordinates the activities at NSI-ESHER. These include the members of the Executive Board (EB), the members of the Board of Directors (BD) and the heads of the partner organizations or their representatives. A partner organization representative can also be a member of the GA by law.

The GA has the following functions:

1. Prepares the long-term development strategy at NSI-ESHER;
2. Discusses the science investigation, research development and applied research activities at NSI-ESHER;
3. Adopts the principle policies and programs for the activities at NSI-ESHER, incl. strategic, operational, marketing documents, etc., as well as their update;
4. Carries out risk analysis as regards the implementation of the envisaged activities and tasks and adopts strategies to prevent from all risks;
5. Accepts and extricates project partners based on motivated proposals of the EB;
6. Approves the annual technical and financial reports of NSI-ESHER.

Decisions are made by consensus. A clear vote with a simple majority of those present is required. Meetings of the General Assembly are convened at least 2 times annually and are chaired by the President of the Executive Board.

The Executive Board (EB) manages and coordinates the day to day activities at NSI-ESHER. It is managed by a President (project coordinator). He / she works together with 3 Vice Presidents responsible for: (I) Technical Management (Modernization of the Existing Facilities, Technical Design, Construction and Management of the New Laboratories and Facilities, (II) Administrative Management (Organization of Public Procurement and other specific activities that the managerial staff is responsible for), (III) Knowledge Management (scientific and applied research of the EB, including for external investigators, education, qualification enhancement including e-learning and the dissemination of knowledge). Included in the EB are the three heads of the infrastructure modules and Transversal Communication  Menager responsible for the Industrial Relations.

The Executive Board includes:

• A President (Coordinator)
• Vice-Presidents
  • Technical Management
  • Administrative Management
  • Knowledge management
• Directors
  • Module 1
  • Module 2
  • Module 3
  • Board communication

The Executive Board has the following functions:

1. Ensures and coordinates the build-up and operational running of NSI-ESHER.
2. Ensures and coordinates communication between the partners, between the partners and infrastructure users, between the infrastructure users and other organizations.
3. Maintains an active and optimum number of the Board of Directors.
4. Controls compliance with intellectual property rules.
5. Provides transparent financial management.
6. Prepares a periodic SWOT analysis of project implementation together with risk assessment.
7. Assists the Knowledge Management activities.
8. Provides constant control of the quality and timing of services for external users.
9. Prepares an annual public report on the implementation of activities.
10. Provides operational day-to-day communication through:

• work phase definition and current plan scrutiny;
• draw up of internal rules pertaining to specific project activities;
• monitoring of the Work Program by current plan and phase.

The Board of Directors (BD) (СР) is an operational and flexible implementation structure that is a direct support to the Executive Board (EB). It is comprised of permanent and impermanent staff members that directly manage specific tasks. The managers of the 3 Modules and structural units that are a part of these modules are permanent staff. The managers of the 3 modules are members of the EB. This partial overlap provides expedient communication with the executive structure.

The impermanent staff includes managers of interim tasks, after the execution of which the respective position in the BD is closed, which provides flexible efficiency. All decisions as regards the composition of the BD are taken by the EB.

The BD includes:

• The managers of the Integrated Laboratories and the heads of the 11 partner laboratories that build-up the Module 1.
• The heads of laboratories that build-up Module 2.

The Advisory Board plays an important role in defining the long-term scientific, innovative and business strategy of NSI - ESHER. The Advisory Board consists of external experts (foreign and Bulgarian scientists and businessmen), representatives of research institutes and companies with whom NSI - ESHER has joint project activity or other forms of cooperation and / or interests. The policy of NSI – ESHER is aimed at ensuring the presence of leading European research organizations and companies as well as of Bulgarian companies and institutions, thus enhancing the scientific infrastructure as a national, recognizable and functioning center of expertise.

Advisory Board membres

Foreign members

1. Olaf Jedicke, Institute for Nuclear and Energy Technologies, Germany

2. Salvatore Freni, CNR-ITAE, Italy

3. Andreas Friedrich, DLR, Германия.

4. Plamen Atanassov, University of California, Irvine, USA

Bulgarian members

5. Konstantin Nenov, Solarpro Holding AD

6. Rumen Radev, Holding Zagora

7. Peter Georgiev, Samel 90 AD

Prof. Venko Beschkov has got his PhD in 1978 and his DSc degree in 1996 in the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. His present interests are chemical and biochemical processes for environment protection and for utilization of renewable energy sources. He participates in 34 scientific projects, supported by different sources, as well as in 19 applied projects. He has published over 200 scientific papers, 2 monographs and 6 chapters in encyclopedia and selected issues. Over 1400 citations of his papers have been noted. He has been Head of the Institute of Chemical Engineering at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences for 21 years (1993/2014) and deputy-minister of environment (1991/92).

Тamara Petkova received her doctorate in physical ochemistry at the Central Laboratory of Optical Recording and Processing of Information of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. She became a research associate at the Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in 1994. After post-doctoral scholarship at the University of Patras, Greece, in the field of solid state physics, she returned to IEEC and is currently the Head of the Solid Electrolytes Department. Her research interests include the study of amorphous and crystalline materials for use in energy storage systems.

Antonia Stoyanova is currently working as a Professor at the Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria and from 2014 she heads a department “Nanoscale Materials” at the same institute. She received her Ph.D. in the Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, Sofia, 1994. She has specialized at the University of Bonn in Germany and the University of Hull, UK. Her current research is focused in field of electrochemical power sources: supercapacitors, alkaline batteries, PEM Hydrogen Energy Conversion. She also has experience in the field of electrocatalysis and electrochemical materials science, quantum-chemical calculations, corrosion inhibitors.

He is a member of the Academic Council of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the National Center for Nanotechnology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the International Electrochemical Society and the Bulgarian Electrochemical Society.

Radostina Stoyanova is a Professor on Solid State Chemistry at the Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry to the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. She is a head of the department on Intermetallic and Intercalation Materials. Her expertise concerns intercalation chemistry with a focus on lithium/sodium transition metal oxides, sulfates and phosphates having reversible Li+ and Na+ intercalation properties and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy as a tool to assess their local structure during ion intercalation. Starting from 1993, these studies are carrying out in a close collaboration with research groups from Universidad de Córdoba (Spain), ICMCB-Bordeaux (France), LNCMI-Grenoble (France) and Universität Bayreuth (Germany).

Winner of the prestigious award Pythagoras for an acknowledged scientist in the field of natural and engineering sciences for 2018. Member in Royal Society of Chemistry (фром 2015), International Electrochemical Society (from 2010) and Bulgarian Catysis Club and others.

Gergana Raikova is Associated Professor in Electrochemistry since 2014 at IEES-BAS. She authored more than 50 publications and presented a large number of conference papers. Her activities are focused on Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy applications for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells studies. She participates actively in the above mentioned institutional and European projects. She has an international experience obtained through a number of ERASMUS mobility grants; participation EU projects workshops, bilateral collaboration. She is a member of the International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE).

Master of Science in Electrochemical Engineering and Corrosion Protection, 1988, University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, Sofia, Bulgaria. PhD in Electrochemistry, 1994, DSc in Physical Chemistry, 2006. Active Member of the Electrochemical Society, Inc. (since 2002) and the International Society of Electrochemistry (since 2004). Senior researcher at the Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems (1997-1999) and VTT Technical Research Center of Finland (2000-2004). Currently Professor of Physical Chemistry and Director of the Hydrogen Technology Center, University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, Sofia, Bulgaria, and Research Director, Hydrogen Energy Technologies Division, BG H2 Society. More than 30 years of experience in experimental characterization and modeling of corrosion and anodic oxidation of metals and alloys in various environments, nanotechnologies and nanomaterials for energy systems, including electrolysis and photo-electrolysis, and development of experimental and modeling techniques in electrochemistry and corrosion. More than 250 scientific publications and presentations at international conferences, more than 2700 citations in official literature sources, h-factor 28.

Professor Branimir Banov works at the Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems - IEES of Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - BAS. During the years take part as leader of team successfully developing two lithium electrochemical systems in Bulgaria – lithium sulfur dioxide and lithium manganese dioxide. He was been engaged in many industrial projects starting small-scale production of lithium batteries in Bulgaria at 1985. Specialist on manganese dioxides successfully develops semi industrial process of high capacity lithium manganese dioxide spinel production (reversible capacity 135 mAh g-1) for secondary lithium ion batteries. Many papers with famous coauthors as Masaky Yoshio, Jun-Ichi Yamaki, Akia Kozawa, Christian Julien, Karim Zahib, Martin Winter and others.

Mario Mitov graduated as a chemical engineer in “Electrochemical productions and power sources” at the University of Chemical Engineering and Metallurgy, Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1985. He began his professional carrier in the Department of Chemistry at South-West University, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria in 1987., Prof. Mitov delivers lectures on General and Inorganic Chemistry, Physicochemistry and Electrochemistry. His research interests are focused on characterization of nanomaterials as potential electrodes for rechargeable batteries and fuel cells and investigation of bioelectrochemical systems such as Microbial Fuel Cells, Microbial Electrolysis Cells and Direct Photosyntesizing Plant Fuel Cells.