The Power Current with Chris Berry – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, Trevor Hall takes the host seat to interview Paul Lusty, Head of Battery Raw Materials at Fastmarkets. This conversation delves into the future projections of the lithium market, exploring the dynamics of supply and demand, the role of renewable energy, and the importance of other battery raw materials like cobalt and manganese. The discussion highlights the challenges and opportunities within the industry, emphasizing the need for supply discipline and the impact of external factors on market trends.

In this episode of The Power Current, host Chris Barry interviews Ken Brinsden, CEO of Patriot Battery Metals, discussing the current state of the lithium market, the evolution of off-take agreements, and the importance of vertical integration in lithium mining. Brinsden shares insights on the demand dynamics, processing challenges, and unconventional takes on the future of the lithium supply chain.

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.

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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.

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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.