Hardware Podcasts

The great rush for battery metals

Catalyst · 21 Apr 2022 · 59m

What this episode covers

Kurt House, CEO and co-founder of KoBold Metals, explains that the energy transition faces a critical bottleneck in securing supply for five key battery metals: lithium, nickel, copper, cobalt, and rare earth elements. He details how changing battery chemistries, such as the shift toward nickel-rich cathodes to reduce reliance on expensive and geopolitically risky cobalt, are reshaping metal markets. House argues that new discoveries are essential because existing reserves are insufficient for the projected growth in electric vehicle adoption and renewable energy infrastructure.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
KoBold Metals, EnergyHub, Bloom Energy, Arcadia, Advanced Energy Economy, Prelude Ventures
Also
Cobalt, Nickel, Lithium, Copper, Rare Earth Elements, LFP, NMC

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • EE Times Current · 34m

    Electric Car Superiority | The Supply Chain is All Mine | Cookies for Calculus

    Auto industry expert Egil Juliussen explains that battery electric vehicles (BEVs) will become cost-competitive with internal combustion engine vehicles within five years, driven by battery prices dropping to $100 per kilowatt-hour, expanded model availability from automakers like VW and GM, and lower operational costs. Supply chain specialist Lewis Black, chairman of El Monte, discusses a survey revealing US manufacturers' heavy reliance on China for strategic minerals like tungsten and tantalum, highlighting the critical need for diversification and the loss of extraction knowledge in the West. The episode also covers emerging battery technologies such as supercapacitors and wireless charging, while noting the political and logistical challenges of reshoring mineral supply chains.

    Batteries & low-power designSourcing & supply chain
    7 chapters

  • Hardware to Save a Planet · 36m

    3D electrodes for Next Generation Batteries with Moshiel Biton, CEO and Co-founder of Addionics

    Moshiel Biton, CEO and Co-founder of Addionics, explains how his company creates 3D metal scaffold electrodes to improve battery performance regardless of chemistry. He details how this structure reduces internal resistance by 50% and theoretically increases capacity by 20%, effectively solving the trade-off between energy density and power. Biton discusses the company's use of AI-enabled structure optimization to design these electrodes for mass production integration with major automotive and energy storage players. The conversation covers the technical challenges of scaling this technology and the commercial hurdles of introducing new processes to a conservative battery industry.

    Batteries & low-power designMaterials & manufacturing processes
    9 chapters

  • Tough Tech Vets · 47m

    From the Battlefield to the Supply Chain: A Marine’s Mission to Secure Critical Minerals with Ian Killough, President of Ridgeline Elements

    Ian Killough, President of Ridgeline Elements, explains how he transitioned from civil engineering to founding a company that secures critical minerals by processing cobalt from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He details the company's pivot to using electrochemical leaching technology developed with the Idaho National Laboratory to create a feed-agnostic, ethical supply chain that avoids the corruption and opacity of traditional Chinese-dominated markets. Killough discusses the challenges of feasibility studies, securing government support, and building an equitable local workforce in the DRC while establishing operations in Arkansas.

    Sourcing & supply chainMaterials & manufacturing processes
    8 chapters

  • The Manufacturing Executive · 39m

    Why Your Toughest Parts Still Use 50-Year-Old Materials w/ Fazal Mahmood

    Fazal Mahmood, co-founder and CEO of Phase Shift Technologies, explains how AI is accelerating the discovery of new metal alloys to replace 50-year-old materials in industries like oil and gas, aerospace, and defense. He details the critical gap between designing a material and qualifying it for regulated markets, noting that legacy producers often lack the incentive to innovate outside their core franchises. Mahmood highlights three key drivers for this shift: the maturation of additive manufacturing, the performance limits of existing materials in technologies like nuclear fusion, and supply chain disruptions in critical raw materials like tungsten. He illustrates these points with a specific example of a new printable tungsten carbide alloy designed for laser powder bed fusion to solve wear resistance issues in complex flow components.

    Materials & manufacturing processesAI & machine learning
    6 chapters

  • Hardware to Save a Planet · 53m

    The Role of Energy Storage Systems in Combating Climate Change with Mike Wietecki of Powin and John Thomas of ESS

    Mike Wietecki of Powin and John Thomas of ESS discuss the scaling of battery energy storage systems to combat climate change. They compare lithium iron phosphate chemistry, which dominates short-duration applications, with ESS's iron flow batteries designed for long-duration storage. The panel highlights critical industry challenges, including interconnection queues, transformer shortages, and the need for clearer domestic content rules under the Inflation Reduction Act.

    Energy & climate techScaling production
    8 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Catalyst. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.