Hardware Podcasts

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

Tough Tech Vets · 10 Feb 2025 · 47m · Episode 4

What this episode covers

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.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Ridgeline Elements, Idaho National Laboratory, USAID, New Core Steel, StarCube
Also
Cobalt Red, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Arkansas

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