# Keeping copper from limiting the energy transition

- Show: [Catalyst](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst)
- Published: 2023-06-01
- Length: 49m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-06-01-keeping-copper-from-limiting-the-energy-transition

## Summary

Cristóbal Undurraga, CEO of Ceibo, explains how stagnating copper supply threatens net-zero goals due to declining ore grades and the high capital costs of transitioning from oxide to sulfide mining. He details the industry's reliance on concentration plants for sulfides, which require billions in investment and complex permitting, while highlighting Ceibo’s novel electrolysis technology that enables leaching of refractory copper sulfides like chalcocite. Undurraga argues that extending the life of existing hydrometallurgical infrastructure is critical to meeting the doubling demand for copper in the energy transition without building entirely new, expensive smelting facilities.

## Chapters

- [1:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-06-01-keeping-copper-from-limiting-the-energy-transition#t=102) Introduction: Catalyst show notes and sponsor reads
- [6:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-06-01-keeping-copper-from-limiting-the-energy-transition#t=360) Copper's role in electrification and global production geography
- [14:55](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-06-01-keeping-copper-from-limiting-the-energy-transition#t=895) Hydrometallurgy vs. Concentration: Processing oxides and sulfides
- [27:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-06-01-keeping-copper-from-limiting-the-energy-transition#t=1669) The capital and permitting challenges of sulfide mining
- [36:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-06-01-keeping-copper-from-limiting-the-energy-transition#t=2213) Supply constraints, declining ore grades, and permitting timelines
- [40:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-06-01-keeping-copper-from-limiting-the-energy-transition#t=2436) Ceibo’s technology for leaching copper sulfides
- [44:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-06-01-keeping-copper-from-limiting-the-energy-transition#t=2661) Success criteria for mining technology: cost, robustness, and permitting

## Topics

- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Ceibo (company)
- S&P Global (company)
- Codelco (company)
- BHP (company)
- Freeport McMoRan (company)
- Rio Tinto (company)
- Escondida (product)
- Morenci (product)
- Energy Hub (company)
- Bloom Energy (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [From the Battlefield to the Supply Chain: A Marine’s Mission to Secure Critical Minerals with Ian Killough, President of Ridgeline Elements](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/tough-tech-vets/2025-02-10-from-the-battlefield-to-the-supply-chain-a-marines-mission-to-secure-critical-mi) (Tough Tech Vets)
- [Tackling 8% of Global Emissions: Making Iron Sustainable One Atom at a Time with Sandeep Nijhawan](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-07-17-tackling-8-of-global-emissions-making-iron-sustainable-one-atom-at-a-time-with-s) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [Turning the E-Waste Stream Into a National Asset w/ Matt Bedingfield](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2026-07-21-turning-the-e-waste-stream-into-a-national-asset-w-matt-bedingfield) (The Manufacturing Executive)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-06-01-keeping-copper-from-limiting-the-energy-transition. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Catalyst.