Climate Positive

Critical Minerals: Made in the USA | Coleman Adams, CFO of Nth Cycle

Nov 14, 2024

Coleman Adams, CFO of Nth Cycle, is an expert in critical metal refining, leading innovations in recycling for battery production. He discusses the significance of critical minerals like nickel and lithium, essential for clean energy technologies. Coleman highlights the environmental and geopolitical challenges in the supply chain, particularly reliance on foreign sources. He shares insight on Nth Cycle's groundbreaking Oyster facility in Ohio, which sustainably recycles materials, boosting U.S. self-sufficiency and reducing emissions in battery manufacturing.

37:46

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Coleman Adams

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Quick takeaways

Critical minerals are indispensable for energy transition technologies, with demand expected to nearly triple by 2030 due to sustainability needs.

Nth Cycle's innovative Oyster facility in Ohio demonstrates how recycling and advanced technology can reduce emissions and enhance supply chain security.

Deep dives

Importance of Critical Minerals

Critical minerals are essential for the energy transition, as they are necessary to produce solar modules, wind turbines, batteries, and other technologies aimed at decarbonizing the global economy. Without materials like nickel, copper, lithium, and cobalt, the manufacturing of clean energy technologies cannot advance. The demand for these minerals is expected to nearly triple by 2030, highlighting their significance in the push toward sustainability. However, the mining and processing of these materials can lead to substantial emissions and geopolitical risks due to the concentration of supply chains in a few authoritarian countries.

Intro

5min

Navigating the Nickel Supply Chain

13min

Navigating Market Strategies in Battery Manufacturing

3min

Strategic Development in Critical Minerals

12min

Lighthearted Reflections on Food, Family, and Climate

4min

Critical minerals are absolutely vital for the energy transition. Without nickel, copper, lithium, cobalt and other rare earth elements, we simply cannot produce the solar modules, wind turbines, batteries and other technologies necessary to decarbonize the global economy. It’s no surprise then that demand for these critical minerals is expected to almost triple by 2030.

But mining, processing and incorporating these critical minerals into manufacturing processes can itself result in far too many emissions. In addition, the concentration of related supply chains in just a few – sometimes authoritarian – countries exposes the United States in particular to unacceptable geopolitical risks.

In this episode, Guy Van Syckle and Chad Reed chat with Coleman Adams, CFO of Nth Cycle – an industry leader in critical metal refining. Coleman discusses the climate and supply chain benefits of Nth Cycle’s first-of-a-kind (FOAK) Oyster facility in Fairfield, Ohio, which produces from recycled materials a critical input needed to manufacture batteries.

Links

Nth Cycle

Nth Cycle Begins Operations of First Domestic Commercial-Scale Nickel and Cobalt Scrap Refining System in Fairfield, Ohio

Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Credit (48C) Program

Episode recorded October 30, 2024

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