The Global Lithium Podcast

My Guests today are: Emilie Bodoin the Founder and CEO of Pure Lithium & Dr Yuan Gao the long time industry veteran who serves as a director of Pure Lithium in addition to the multitude of other roles he has in the lithium and battery space. Topics: Origins of the rechargeable lithium battery The lithium ion "compromise" The use of excess lithium in cathode Energy density Going to co...

Carlos Galli is the VP of Growth and Innovation at Lithium Argentina. Topics: Update on phase 1 of Cauchari Quality, recovery and cost The planned brownfield expansion Starting with DLE Managing weather impacts Buffering ponds An El Nino year RIGI benefits Price Argentina's infrastructure challenges Brine reinjection The future impact of AI My comments on current market confusion

A solo episode where I discuss the reasons for the recent price action, two schools of thought about where we are headed from here and why China needs Argentina more than Argentina needs China from a lithium perspective.

A stream of consciousness solo episode where I talk about the recent drama concerning SMM's inventory number and change in their process. Did it make sense? Who does it serve? I also talk about comments from Ganfeng on the quality of inventory information and the fact that some of the GFEX warehouse inventory isn't usable.

My guests are the co-founders of ILiA: Anand Sheth and Roland Chavasse. Topics: The membership mix Not just a producer organization Communicating the industry message What is success for ILiA? Challenges Commodity or specialty chemical? Communicating with regulators Chemicals or mining? Lithium trivia China: flexibility, growth and chaos

My guests are: David Park and Dr. Andy Robinson, the CEO and President/COO, respectively. Topics: The LG offtake agreement How deals get done The market tailwind Standard's path to FID The DLE journey Advantages of Smackover brine Tightening specifications Bi-carbonation The build Safety Culture The Smackover's LT potential The midstream

Dr Yuan Gao is one of the most respected voices in the lithium-ion battery supply chain. A battery scientist with a number of cathode patents that has worked for a lithium producer, been the CEO of a major cathode maker, and is now on the board of directors of Lithium Americas and Pure Lithium, Dr Gao has a unique perspective on the history and future of the battery industry. Topics: The holy grai...

In this solo episode, I discuss the state of the lithium market: the good, the bad and the ugly. Despite the market’s overreaction to misinformation from China about the impact of a mine reopening on the supply and demand balance and the threat of sodium ion, lithium’s long-term fundamentals have never looked better. Demand continues to go from strength to strength. Meanwhile, production shortfall...

Venkee Sharma is the Executive Chairman of Aquatech, a global leader in water and critical metals technology. Topics: Aquatech’s “superpower” Seizing opportunities in lithium The Team Aquatech’s view of the market DLE The op-ex challenge Believers in brine The future of battery grade Fans of the Smackover Different customers – different problems Selling solutions not technology A family culture Th...

David Park is the CEO of Standard Lithium. Topics: Leaving retirement for a lithium junior Capital challenges Partners Critical success factors Getting to FID Offtake agreements DLE The Team Bipartisan projects The benefits of Arkansas The Smackover vs. hard rock Price "6 hours of angst" Shout outs Rapid fire

Chris Berry interviewed me about my new book "Lithium Confidential" at the the Fastmarkets Global Lithium event in Las Vegas. The interview was in front of a live audience. The book is available via both as a paperback and e-book via Amazon but can also be ordered from you local bookstore no matter where you live.

Jon Evans is the CEO of Lithium Americas and a long-time industry veteran. Topics: How the industry has changed since 2008 Why price stays higher for longer this cycle The battery market After the first Thacker Pass ton US lithium demand Not Jon's first rodeo Partners A lesson from Ted Lasso What keeps Jon motivated Sulfuric acid LAC's position on the cost curve America's midstream iss...

This is a solo episode where I talk about market commentary, hype from the US Government, where China is really dominant, the big banks return to lithium, price, and Lithium Confidential.

My guests are two voices from the brine world. Murray Brooker and Clint Van Marrewijk. Topics: Why do brine projects take so long? WA's hard rock advantages Will brine development be faster in this cycle The impact of big balance sheets What makes a great brine project? Brine recovery rates The "promise" of DLE No DLE, no Smackover "Brine without borders" Modular brine prod...

Chris Reed is the Managing Director of Neometals Topics: Status of the lithium market What China got right Pivoting from urban mining to brine LFP Conversion in the West Africa DLE The project in Utah SPAC of the century? Oh Canada Lithium history lessons Demand in 2030 CATL's lithium strategy? Supply in 2035 Geopolitics

Tu Le is the founder of Sino Auto Insights, an innovation & management consulting firm. Topics: The Global EV picture The final frontier for China EVs The US "China EV" strategy GM and Ford The status of FSD (full self-driving) The changing perception of Tesla in China What's next for BYD and Tesla? When will CATL be producing batteries in the US? The "best of the rest"...

Tom Benson (aka the "Doctor of Volcanoes") is the Vice President of Exploration at Lithium Argentina. Topics: Being creative in exploration The major upgrade to the Cauchari - Olaroz resource Bigger than the Atacama? Tom's history at Thacker Pass Lithium Africa - Tom's latest focus The Africa lithium "recipe" Use of new technology & AI in exploration "Permittin...

This is a short solo episode. Topics: What lithium investors are asking The converter in Texas A tale of two earnings calls My visit to Thacker Pass

YJ Lee is a Director and Fund Manager at Arcane Capital in Singapore. Find him on X @usuallyYJLee Topics: The Backstory YJ's path to lithium The learning process His bullish forecasts EVs, E-trucks & BESS Picking winners Ganfeng & Tianqi turn bullish CATL's diminishing lithium market influence Is another price spike coming? Thacker Pass DLE & the Smackover Eramet Vulcan Nemaska...

Rene is a VP at Lithium Americas and one of the best technical minds in the industry. Topics: How the industry has changed in 20 years The return of LFP Flowsheets China's overnight success after two decades The challenge for America The next cycle Is the low hanging fruit gone? What derailed high nickel cathode Tesla's Texas converter hype BESS DLE Thacker Pass update

This is a solo episode. In the past I wrote a time limited "stream of consciousness" New Year's post on LinkedIn. This year I decided to do a podcast with the same rules.

Daniel Jimenez is the founder of iLi Markets and formerly worked for SQM. On X: @D_Jimenez_Sch Topics: The rapid growth of BESS CATL China's weakening grip on lithium Hidden costs in Africa The tightening market Where is the money made in LIB Chile's lithium future Argentina Rio Tinto's next moves When does DLE matter? Alternatives to CO3 & LiOH The coming price spike Conversion ca...

This episode is a panel discussion that took place at the Arkansas Lithium Innovation Summit in October on the missing midstream. The panelists were: David Park, CEO of Standard Lithium Dan Blondal, CEO of Nano One Hugh McDonald, Arkansas Secretary of Commerce Bhageerath Vadhi, Geologist - Ford Motor Company Topics: What is the midstream? Why does it matter? The cathode bottleneck China's curr...

There are three guests and a cameo appearance in this episode. Sam Pigott and Carlos Galli from Lithium Argentina are joined by Jason (Xiaofeng) Luo from Ganfeng. The cameo appearance is from Kelly O'Brien the head of investor relations at Lithium Argentina. Topics: History of the LAR - Ganfeng partnership Consolidating assets - PPG The "marriage" & synergy Ganfeng's view of...

This solo episode was recorded November 19th 2025 in Los Angeles while I was attending Benchmark Week. Topics: Ganfeng on supply / demand / price Canaccord's take on the market BESS Exxon's comments on lithium The midstream DLE Rio's lithium future US Congress on China's predatory pricing Liontown's spod auction IGO's Kwinana woes