Skeleton Technologies, a manufacturer of high-performance ultracapacitors, appointed Volker Dudek as chief technology officer in June. Dudek will be responsible for technology and product development as well as quality control.

Dudek was previously CTO at Telefunken Semiconductors in Heilbronn and CTO at the cleantech company Clifton, based in Estonia and Germany. Here he was responsible for technological development, strategic business development, patent management and the development of the product roadmap.

Until 2008, Dudek was director of technology development at Atmel Corporation. which designs and manufactures microcontrollers and supporting equipment.

The appointment of Dudek is part of a general ramp-up of the start-up firm as it prepares for larger scale manufacturing of its ultracapacitors. The firm announced in June that its SkelCap 4500 series had achieved an industry record level of 4500 farads and that the firm aimed to double capacitance by 2017.

Separately, the firm appointed Hermann Schenk as chief operating officer in February. Schenk will be responsible for the company’s day-to-day activities, including overseeing the development of Skeleton Technologies’ manufacturing facility in Saxony, Germany.

Schenk has over 20 years’ experience in the high-tech sector, combining a background in research with over a decade in executive positions. He has a proven track record of scaling high-yield manufacturing in the chemical and semiconductor industries.

As founder and chief executive of Covion Organic Semiconductors he led the company to a successful exit to industrial conglomerate Merck. He was previously CEO of Freiberger Compound Materials.

Schenk was also director of new business development at Merck OLED Materials.

Oliver Ahlberg, one of the founders of Skeleton Technologies and who was previously chief operating officer becomes general manager and will be in charge of the company’s operations in Estonia.