According to testimony, you submitted to the US Senate, battery minerals typically travel 50,000 miles from mine to refining. How do we shorten that supply chain? Things are taken from the global south. They go to China, perhaps assembled in Japan, northern Europe, come to the US. It is almost a comical supply chain. If you drew this, it would look like a joke. But it's partly driven by the geology. These minerals are scattered around in their prevalence.
Batteries are a critical part of the transition away from fossil fuels. From electric vehicles to grid scale storage for wind and solar, demand for batteries is expected to grow 500% by 2030. In order to meet that demand, we’re going to need a lot more batteries. And while companies like JB Straubel’s Redwood Materials are building capacity for recycling, for now that means a lot more mining. How do we build a battery supply chain that meets demand and reduces harm?
This episode is underwritten by ClimateWorks.
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