The Power Current with Chris Berry

Chokepoints - American Power in an Age of Economic Warfare with Eddie FishmanAs China and the US jockey for geopolitical pre-eminence, the war to decide the victor will not necessarily be fought with missiles and drones. In fact, the economy has become the true weapon of choice with tariffs, export controls, currencies, and clearing networks serving as ammunition. Evidence of this economic warfare is obvious with China, Russia, and Iran specifically.My guest today has written a terrific book on these topics. Eddie Fishman is a scholar of international relations and former diplomat in the State Department who is currently a Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy and an Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.In this episode we discuss how economies have become weaponized and specifically what those weapons are. We dig into the use of tariffs, export controls and the power of the US Dollar and discuss whether or not the course we are on in dealing with Russia, Iran and China isn't ultimately self-defeating or if there is light at the end of the tunnel in the new “America First” geopolitical environment.If you enjoyed this discussion on export controls, tariffs, USD hegemony and their impacts, please share it far and wide and don't forget to like and subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen.Thanks again and we'll see you next time.

The recent blackout in Spain and Portugal was a wake-up call. Why did it happen? What can prevent something like this from happening again? While there were multiple factors that led to the collapse of the grid, there are solutions, and here to talk about one such pathway forward is Peter Londa, CEO of Tantalus Systems Holdings. Tantalus is a tech company that helps utilities modernize their distribution grids by leveraging data across systems deployed along the grid to make for a smarter, more efficient delivery and use of electricity. As an aside, Tantalus is a publicly traded company and so please be aware that nothing that is said during the course of this discussion should be considered investment advice and please as always do your own due diligence.If you enjoyed this discussion of the threats and opportunities along the electricity grid, please share it far and wide and don't forget to like and subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen.Thanks again and we'll see you next time.

One of the major changes we have seen globally in recent years along the clean energy supply chain is the willingness of governments in countries like China, the US, and the EU to jumpstart funding for projects through investment or production tax credits or grants and loans. The Trump Administration has thrown some of this into doubt with a reshuffling of priorities and threats to somehow cancel or rewrite legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act.My guest today provides a clear-headed view on the need for funding and how to navigate the increasingly rocky seas as the race for green energy dominance accelerates. Ashley Zumwalt-Forbes has a varied and deep history in both the public and private sectors and most recently worked in the Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains Office (MESC) in the Department of Energy where she served as the Deputy Director for Batteries and Critical Materials. While there, she oversaw the deployment of ~$6B in non-dilutive equity and ~$10B in tax credits into the US battery supply chain during the Biden Administration. She is currently Principal at Smoketree Advisors.If you liked today's pod on policy, please let me know. I'm on Twitter/X @cberry1 and also find me on Linked In. Further to that, if you've got a topic you'd like to see us go deeper on or a good guest, please let me know. Also don't forget to like and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks so much for listening and we'll see you next time.

This episode of Power Current delves into the intricacies of black mass production with Lee Allen of Fastmarkets, exploring its definition, importance, and the current landscape of the recycling market. Lee Allen shares insights on the geographical distribution of black mass production, challenges in scrap battery supply, and the competitive dynamics affecting pricing. The discussion also highlights China's regulatory changes, the trading ecosystem, and the role of OEMs in the recycling process. Looking ahead, the future of battery recycling is examined, with forecasts indicating significant growth in the sector.

Our guest today is Mr Erik Olson. Erik is President of Venn Strategies and Spokesperson for the North American Graphite Alliance.  He has a wealth of experience in Washington DC serving for 14 years on the staff of Congressman Ron Kind (D- Wisconsin).The North American Graphite Alliance (NAGA) represents producers of battery-grade natural and synthetic graphite, both of which are used to create anode material for lithium-ion batteries. NAGA's members are American producers Anovion Technologies, Epsilon Advanced Materials, and NOVONIX, as well as Canadian producers Northern Graphite and Nouveau Monde Graphite.On the pod today we discuss the state of the graphite market, the origins and goals of NAGA, the efficacy of targeted tariffs, the future of green growth and the IRA given the Trump Administration's priorities, competition with China and specific policy proposals for building a strong and resilient graphite supply chain in North America. Venn Strategies website: https://vennstrategies.com/NAGA website: https://graphitealliance.org/BMTC website: https://batterymaterials.orgOxford Economics Paper on the Graphite Market: https://graphitealliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Enabling-North-American-Graphite-Growth.pdfThanks for listening and if you enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to hit the like button and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

My guest today is Mr. Tem Tumurbat. Tem is co-founder and managing partner at Nomadic Venture Partners. Nomadic is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in digital and light hardware technologies focused on decarbonizing the metals, manufacturing, and transport sectors.Tem co-founded Nomadic in 2021 and focuses on fund strategy, fundraising, portfolio construction, valuation, and financial analysis.Prior to co-founding NVP, Tem was an investment professional at Resource Capital Funds, managing early to late-stage investments.Prior to RCF, Tem worked for Newmont Mining Corporation as a mining engineer and then project engineer. In this episode, we discuss Tem's background and what led him to co-found NVP, his screening process, the state of the investment landscape, what it takes to successfully grow and scale digital technology companies, and hat Tem calls "the 5 T's". Nomadic VP website: https://nomadicvp.com/Nomadic on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nomadicvp/Thanks for listening and if you enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to hit the like button and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

William Bergh and Eden Yates - Cling Systems ClingSystems is a company dedicated to true battery circularity through wringing out friction and costs associated with battery procurement to create a true battery second life ecosystem.Cling is unique in many ways not the least of which is the fact that this is the company's second time on the podcast. In this episode, we cover how the battery supply chain has evolved, how they think about battery pricing, the use of AI in reducing market friction, recycling versus repurposing, and we finish with advice for entrepreneurs starting out in the battery business.If you enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to hit the like button and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

In today's episode, we welcome Andy Home, Senior Metals Correspondent at Thompson Reuters. Andy has been covering the metals markets since 1987 and joins us today to travel through time and talk about the past and future for metals including aluminum, nickel, lithium, cobalt, and uranium. We also discuss the importance of narrative in determining price and how the metals markets need to evolve for better transparency. We conclude with Andy's views on AI in journalism. 

Power Current Host Chris Berry and Joe Lowry of Global Lithium™ discuss the current state and future of the lithium market, emphasizing the need for increased supply to meet growing demand, particularly in the electric vehicle sector. They explore the implications of political policies on the lithium supply chain, the importance of focusing on upstream production, and the role of China in the global lithium landscape. The discussion also covers the potential of Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology, the challenges of incentive pricing, and the presence of Chinese companies in North America. In this conversation, Chris Berry and Joe Lowry delve into the complexities of China's economic trajectory compared to Japan's past, the evolution of lithium project development strategies, and personal reflections on writing a book about the lithium industry. They discuss the future of lithium markets, the importance of deep pockets in project development, and share insights on the industry's volatility and potential growth.

In this conversation, we interview Michael Dunne about the current state of the electric vehicle industry, with a focus on the state of play for Western OEMs and their Chinese competitors. We discuss the shift of automotive production to Asia, the challenges faced by Western OEMs in catching up to Chinese competitors, and whether or not western OEMs have any hope of matching Chinese scale and technological acumen. We also explore the barriers to widespread EV adoption, including cost and infrastructure, and if the current debate around Chinese "overcapacity" has any validity to it. We finish with a discussion of lesser-known players in the EV and autonomy space, such as Baidu, Xiaomi, and Vinfast, as well as Michael's favorite poem and how many languages he actually can speak and understand. Michael is CEO at Dunne Insights LLC, an automotive consultancy with a global client base. He is an entrepreneur with special expertise in China and its complex and dynamic automotive market. He has an incredibly varied background across Asia and the automotive business in particular. He is the author of the forthcoming book titled 'Humiliation No More - China's Master Plan to Dominate EV Markets and Destroy western Automakers out in Summer 2025.

Today we welcome Ernest Scheyder to discuss his recently published book, "The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives." Ernest is the first author I have hosted on the podcast and given our mutual interest in the metals business, we cover a lot of ground here. Ernest does a terrific job of putting a human face on some complex issues as well as sharing some great stories from his time on the road researching this book (ask him about the Norseman Burger). Ernest Scheyder is a senior correspondent for Reuters, covering the green energy transition and the minerals that undergird it. He previously covered the US shale oil revolution, politics, and the environment, and held roles at the Associated Press and the Bangor Daily News. A native of Maine, Scheyder is a graduate of the University of Maine and Columbia Journalism School.  Link to the book and other information about Ernest can be found at https://www.ernestscheyder.com/

In this episode of The Power Current, Chris welcomes to the podcast Frank Wunderlich-Pfeifer, a Germany-based journalist who has been a vocal proponent of sodium-ion battery technology, to discuss the evolving developments of and technologies around sodium-ion batteries. During the podcast, we discuss the controversy around sodium-ion tech including pros and cons of sodium-ion versus lithium-ion, the pace of market penetration for sodium ion (it's faster than you think), and optimal end uses in transport and ESS. Frank is active on Twitter/X (@FrankWunderli13) and will be publishing his own Substack called Superlithic. If you enjoyed this episode, please like and share.

In this latest installment of The Power Current, we welcome Dr Srini Godavarthy, CEO of Li-Metal. Li-Metal is a materials company focused on creating affordable and high purity lithium metal and lithium anode foil technologies. In this episode, we discuss Srini's unique background in oil and gas, his time at Albemarle, his views on direct lithium extraction, the founding of Li-Metal and its business model of lithium metal and lithium anode foil production, and Srini's views on the future of lithium-ion battery development and how Li-Metal intends to capitalize on the opportunities. If you like this episode, please like and share. Thanks for listening!

This episode of The Power Current is somewhat unique. Host Chris Berry has an editorial piece he wrote which, unfortunately, was not picked up by a publisher. Instead, we take the opportunity for Chris to share his editorial, here, on his own podcast. In this piece, Chris asks the questions regarding America's technological advances in battery technology. Is the United States the shining city on the hill, in regards to R&D of batteries? Or is it losing the battle to foreign countries, including its geopolitical adversaries? The piece leaves lots of questions for the listener to ponder.

My guest today is Dr Ahmad Ghahreman. Ahmad is CEO, President, and Co-Founder of Cyclic Materials, a company developing a novel rare earth magnet and motor recycling processing technology. Dr G has been a serial entrepreneur for the past 15 years with over 15 patents to his name. He is also the co-inventor of Jetti Resources technology and was a member of LiCycle's Advisory Board with me. In this episode, we discuss how Ahmad and his team are developing the technology to sustainably recycle rare earth permanent magnets, an overview of what permanent magnets are and the business from a global perspective, Cyclic's “edge” in its business model, and what the future holds for the company as well as the recycling and electrification thesis overall. If you enjoy this episode, please like and subscribe.

Our guest today is Emily Hersh, a long-time friend, and CEO of Luna Lithium, a lithium exploration play focused on South America (Paraguay and Brazil). Emily is also an accomplished economist with roots in Argentina and the first part of our discussion focuses here. In this wide-ranging discussion, Emily and I go in depth into the macroeconomic situation in Argentina, to get a better understanding of how the lithium business can and will grow there and how Chinese interests are already well entrenched through currency swap arrangements and other deal structures. We also discuss the likelihood of Argentina joining the BRIC economies, other South American countries and their challenges and opportunities. Finally, Emily discusses lessons learned during her journey as the CEO of a privately held lithium explorer including the benefits of being private versus publicly held, making sure you're “in the right room”, and how to build and position the company to weather a dynamic and volatile macro environment. If you enjoy this episode, please like and subscribe.

Today we welcome in Vincent Pluvinage, CEO of Co-Founder of OneD Battery Sciences. OneD Battery Sciences is the leader in providing the most scalable and cost effective manufacturing process to produce silicon-graphite anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. Its proven manufacturing technology leverages existing commercial graphite suppliers to address the current needs of EV makers for higher energy density, lower cost and lower carbon footprint EV batteries. OneD has partnered with GM for development of their technologies and the company is looking to expand into more OEM partnerships. But outside of the science of their research, Vincent dives into why affordability of EVs in incredibly important right now with Chinese EVs hitting markets outside of its own country. Vince is also outspoken as to how to solve the battery problem, and his thoughts as to why its more of a people and education issue than it is a technology issue.

My guest today is Dr. Jay Turner, Professor of Environmental Studies at Wellesely College. Dr. Turner is a prolific researcher on the recent history of U.S. environmental politics and policy, including climate change, the clean energy transition, and public lands management. This is very timely thanks to legislation such as the IRA. He has taught in the Environmental Studies Program at Wellesley College since the fall of 2006 and his training is in environmental history and environmental studies.  His most recent book, Charged: A History of Batteries and Lessons for a Clean Energy Future, unpacks the history of batteries to explore why solving the battery problem is crucial to a clean energy transition. But given the unique environmental impact of batteries—including mining, disposal, and more—does a clean energy transition risk trading one set of problems for another?   In today's discussion we cover both the fascinating history and future of the energy transition, historical precedents, pricing risks (environmental and geopolitical), understanding the optimal public/private investment model, Dr Turner's EV supply chain database, and what he learned in writing this fascinating book.

To paraphrase Shakespeare's Hamlet, To recycle or to reuse....that is the question. As the lithium-ion battery market continues to grow, this question, coupled with increased logistical issues is creating opportunities and challenges. Today, Episode 3 of the podcast goes international for the first time to Sweden for a discussion with Eden Yates and William Bergh, CMO and CEO respectively of Cling Systems, a growing startup focused on building a trading platform for used EV batteries. I can tell you from my experience in recycling, that the OEMs in particular, are worried about how to handle EV batteries in the case of recalls or end-of-life decisions, and Cling aims to add transparency and reduce friction in the rapidly growing market by making it easier for battery players to transact. By the end of this podcast, you will: 1. Understand the ecosystem of how lithium ion batteries are traded, priced, and moved around the world 2. Understand different business models associated with lithium ion batteries including second-life and recycling 3. Hear the views on the markets of two seasoned entrepreneurs in the battery sector. During the podcast, we discussed two papers written by Eden and William. The first was Cling's take on Battery Passports and can be found here. The second paper is William's thesis on the reverse logistics of EV batteries and can be found here.

In this episode of the podcast, we dissect the vanadium market. Vanadium has been primarily used in the steel market to dramatically strengthen the material but the real growth in the market is expected to come from the Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRFB) – a battery that has many advantages over its lithium-ion cousin. My guest today is Mr. Johnathan Lee. Johnathan is a director at Largo Physical Vanadium (LPV), a seasoned market analyst, and a good friend. LPV is a vanadium holding company that has the mandate to purchase and hold physical vanadium and has relationships with Largo Resources and others. Largo is a tier-one vertically integrated operator of the Maracas Menchen vanadium mine in Brazil. By the end of this podcast you will: 1. Have a solid understanding of the fundamentals of the vanadium market 2. Have a solid understanding of the VRFB including its pros and cons relative to other battery chemistries 3. Hear Jonathan's thoughts on the state of the Battery Metals markets As a brief aside, there are two data points used in the podcast which we wanted to clarify. Regarding the McKinsey report referenced in the discussion, the report is calling for 7.5 TWh of cumulative storage capacity. Second, regarding the amount of vanadium pentoxide used in a VRFB, the ratio is 20 lbs per KWh. Please enjoy this wide-ranging discussion on the vanadium market with my friend Jonathan Lee.

In this inaugural episode of The Power Current, we talk to Jonathan  Beigle, President and CEO of Ridgeline Royalties. As the financing window for battery metals projects remains firmly open, there are many ways to finance these projects including traditional equity, debt, prepayments, and royalties. After 11 years on the buy side Johnathan founded Ridgeline as a royalty company and I wanted to have him on the podcast to discuss why he went this route, how he is building the company to take advantage of the royalty opportunity, and how he sees the macro playing out. At the end of this episode, you will: 1. Understand the royalty business model 2. Understand how to weigh the pros and cons of different financing models 3. Hear from an experienced market practitioner how he sees the battery metals thesis playing out None of this is intended to be investment advice whatsoever and should not be taken as such. Please consult an investment advisor before making any financial decisions.  

Join Host and founder of House Mountain Partners for a fresh look into the new energy and battery metal supply chains. We stand at a unique moment in human history as many of the economic, geopolitical, and social forces that have driven economic growth to new heights in recent decades are reversing. This has caused unprecedented opportunities and threats across the global economy and one such area is the global energy transition. This podcast aims to educate and, through a myriad of different guests including CEOs, financiers, government officials, think tankers, and technologists debate and elucidate many of the issues around topics such as green growth, fossil fuel use, and the many potentially revolutionary technologies such as batteries set to play a role in a decarbonized future.