Driving with Dunne

The world is in the midst of a monumental transition from fossil fuels to critical minerals. Those critical minerals, like lithium, cobalt and nickel, are the key ingredients in the batteries that power electric cars, cell phones, electric lawn mowers and more. Today, the minerals are extracted from the ground at mining sites around the world. Massive lithium deposits, for example, are located in Australia, Chile and Argentina. China has minerals, too. China also controls most of the world's mineral processing. As America and Europe step into the critical minerals era, there is a desire for greater access to and control over critical minerals. Now, teams of expert geologists are uncovering new deposits in North America. But after finding the minerals, the mining companies and their investors are confronting unexpected hurdles to clear before they can start mining. Indigenous groups and environmentalists are saying: "Not so fast" to new mines. This week on the Driving With Dunne, Ernest Scheyder, author of The War Below, gives us an inside look at the heating and complex battles over the rights to mine critical minerals. 

By now everyone understands US-China relations are at their worst in 50 years. There is mutual distrust. And mutual animosity. China complains bitterly that America is trying to keep it down. America, meanwhile, is wary of China's new-found aggressiveness. Are the world's two most powerful countries heading for a showdown? If so, how should companies in the West prepare. Stay the course in China? Pare back operations?  Or beat it for the exits?  This week our special guest on the Driving With Dunne podcast is Jim McGregor. Jim first went to China in the 1980s. Today he is the Chairman Greater China, APCO Worldwide, a company that solves problems for firms operating in the Chinese arena.  Jim knows China. And he knows business. Jim is also the author of the best-selling book, One Billion Customers. Let's listen to his take on where the US-China relationship is headed

What is an autonomous vehicle? And how will we know one when we see one? Today, the picture is pretty confusing. We have all sorts of names out there: autonomous, self-driving, fully self driving, drive pilot, autopilot, blue cruise, super cruise, Sensing 360, Apollo and NGP navigated guided pilot. Further complicating the picture: In recent months, two of the leaders in the autonomous vehicle industry - Cruise and Waymo - have each suffered setbacks to their reputations in their hyper-intensive missions to create cars that drive themselves. Can they recover? Joining is today to sift through the complexity and bring clarity is Alex Roy, one of the very best original thinkers in the business. Let's listen to Alex separate fact from fiction when it comes to autonomous vehicles.

It is time to take an honest look at battery technologies. The fact is that batteries that power electric cars today have many limitations. There are limits to the range they can deliver. There are limits to how quickly you can charge them. And there are limits to how many times they can be charged before they start losing their full capacity. And then there are limits to their safety. Lithium-ion battery fires are rare. But once a lithium battery catches fire, it is not easy to put out. These limitations are problems that fire the imagination of entrepreneurs. Hey, let's find a solution, they say, let's improve people's lives and maybe get outrageously wealthy along the way. One of those breakthrough battery solutions on the horizon is known as silicon batteries. When you reduce graphite and add more silicon to the anode, magical things can happen. Our guest today, Rick Luebbe, CEO at Group 14 Technologies. Rick makes a case for why silicon batteries are no longer a technology of the future - they are here and now in 2024.

In this episode, we use our imagination, well, to imagine a totally different kind of future. One in which we get to where we want to go in town not in several thousand pound SUVs but in sensible light weight vehicles that save on fuel and are good for the environment. Our guest is Hakan Lutz, founder and CEO of Luvly, developer of the Luvly O, a two-seater vehicle that can travel up to 60 miles on a single charge. The Luvly O (that's LUV) is short for light urban vehicle. It's electric, lightweight and recyclable. And it can be packed for delivery by Amazon in a flat box. How much does the Luvly O cost. How fast can it go? How safe is it? And in which countries is it most likely to gain early traction? You will learn all of that and more on this week's episode of the Driving With Dunne podcast.

Vincent Pluvinage, Karl-Thomas Neumann, and James Frith, executives with deep expertise in batteries, discuss the challenges of matching China on affordable EVs. They explore the factors limiting EV demand in Western countries, the difference between batteries and energy storage, the obstacles faced by the auto industry in embracing electrification, the future of EV battery technology, and the challenges faced by North American graphite companies in the electric vehicle industry.

Ken Wilcox, former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, shares his hard-earned wisdom on navigating joint ventures in China. He recounts the stark contrast between theoretical expectations and harsh realities faced by Western executives. The conversation dives into cultural nuances, the importance of empathy, and the need for flexibility in negotiations. Wilcox discusses the influence of the Chinese Communist Party on businesses and the complexity of maintaining goals amid bureaucratic challenges. His insights are a prelude to his upcoming book, 'One Bed, Two Dreams'.

What is the truth about China' economy today? Read the headlines or social media and we could be forgiven for thinking that the People's Republic is falling apart. The 42 trillion property market seems to be in a death spiral. Youth unemployment is at record highs. Government debt keeps rocketing higher. And just this week, reports that foreign companies took $160 billion out of the country in the past 6 quarters. All of this makes for a riveting picture of a fragile China, a cracking and crumbling China. But is it accurate? Enter Leland Miller, CEO, The China Beige Book. Tracking China's economy since the 1990s, Leland knows China. And he knows that to really understand what is going on, you must compare and discount several streams of information at the same time. His take on where China stands to today and her economy will surprise many. China is never as good as it seems from afar. Nor is it as bad. I know you will enjoy this conversation with Leland Miller, CEO, China Beige Book.

When it comes to batteries for Evs, can we be done with the incremental, inch by inch improvements? Everyone in the battery business is looking for a breakthrough. Dramatically more range. Lower costs. Faster charging. And, of course, make them safer. Today we meet a potential game changer: AI. Artificial Intelligence has the ability to assess and make sense of mountains of data at very high speed. This, in turn, let's engineers develop the ideal battery chemistry for specific applications at light speed, or close to it. My guest today is Jason Koeller, Co-founder Chemix, an impressive Silicon Valley based startup. If the US government decides to assemble a Team USA for batteries and battery supply chains, Jason should be at the top of the roster. He is smart. He's original. And he is a man of action. He believes that the future is electric. And he is confident that AI can produce breakthroughs for batteries across the board - range, safety, energy density. Let's find out how and how soon on the Driving With Dunne podcast.

China is surpassing Japan in 2023 to become the world's leading exporter of cars. BYDs, Cherys and Zeekrs are finding their way to more than 100 markets worldwide. Top destinations include Russia, Mexico, Australia and Spain. Never before in the history of the car has the world witnessed such explosive growth in car exports from a single country. Not surprisingly, the blitz of Chinese cars on global roads has unsettled auto executives and policy leaders alike. How on earth will legacy automakers compete with China's overwhelming advantages in costs? How should Europe and the United States respond? Some early reactions have already surfaced. The Trump Administration put in place a 27.5% tariff on vehicles imported from China. And the president of the EU Commission just launched an anti-subsidy probe on Chinese automakers. What else can policymakers do? Wendy Cutler, our special guest today, walks us through the ups and downs of trade agreements with China since the PRC's accession to the WTO in 2001.