E42: Welcome to Lithium Valley

Welcome to the Lithium Valley! Will wonders never cease ? While in Western Australia, Joe and Emily had the good fortune to meet Colleen Yates of the Regional Development Authority (RDA) Perth, one of the...

Welcome to the Lithium Valley! Will wonders never cease ?

While in Western Australia, Joe and Emily had the good fortune to meet Colleen Yates of the Regional Development Authority (RDA) Perth, one of the architects of the Lithium Valley.

Colleen shares how she learned about lithium as well as her motivations and goals in creating the concept of the Lithium Valley She tells us why she sees EVs as an important part of – but not the only “driver” of lithium’s future. Joe and Emily learn about her thoughts on the need for diversity in the battery cell supply chain, and also how she defines diversity. The three also cover the need for both Europe and the US to acknowledge that if they want to compete with Asia they need to play catch up and acknowledge the challenges involved.

Joe and Emily also learn of Colleen’s connection to the NBA (National Basketball Association!

Colleen talks about the physical logistics involved in realizing the goals of the Lithium Valley, and how actors such as Albemarle may be ignoring necessary competitive advantages such as port access or availability of chemicals. Your hosts close, as usual, with rapid fire questions, and leave Colleen Yates as the proud owner of a Global Lithium hat.

Wishing I were Australian so I could say "mate" all the time pic.twitter.com/rvsPRHiTFJ

— Emily Hersh (@LithiumPodcast) May 21, 2019

On our third #GlobalLithiumPodcast episode in #Perth we will speak with Colleen Yates the woman behind the #LithiumValley report. @LithiumPodcast pic.twitter.com/aE5kR0HEKt

— Joe Lowry (@globallithium) May 15, 2019