Rare earth elements (REEs) are essential ingredients in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and many electronics. As with most critical minerals, China controls the vast majority of the REE supply chain. And so when it banned the export of REE processing technology last December, it raised concerns about supply.
So what will it take to secure the supply of REEs? 
In this episode, Shayle talks to Ahmad Ghahreman, CEO and cofounder of Cyclic Materials, a rare earth elements recycling company. (Energy Impact Partners, where Shayle is a partner, invests in Cyclic.) They cover topics like:

The five high-value REEs used in the permanent magnets inside EVs, wind turbines, and other electronics

The many steps in the supply chain, from extraction to end-of-life

Building magnets without REEs

Increasing production outside of China

The role of recycling

Why Ahmad is optimistic about developing a supply chain in North America


Recommended Resources:
MIT Technology Review: The race to produce rare earth elements
IEEE Spectrum: Who Will Free EV Motors from the Rare Earth Monopoly?
Are growing concerns over AI’s power demand justified? Join us for our upcoming Transition-AI event featuring three experts with a range of views on how to address the energy needs of hyperscale computing, driven by artificial intelligence. Don’t miss this live, virtual event on May 8.

Building a supply chain for rare earth elements

Investor Shayle Kann is asking big questions about how to decarbonize the planet: How cheap can clean energy get? Will artificial intelligence speed up climate solutions? Where is the smart money going into climate technologies? Every week on Catalyst, Shayle explains the world of climate tech with prominent experts, investors, researchers, and executives. Produced by Latitude Media.

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News Commentary

Airlines are lining up to buy as much sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as they can, despite it costing two to three times more than conventional jet fuel, according to BloombergNEF. United Airlines has secured 2.9 billion gallons of SAF over, and others like Delta, Air France-KLM, and Southwest have secured around 1 billion gallons each. And yet to meaningfully decarbonize aviation, the SAF market needs to grow thousands of times larger than it is today. BloombergNEF estimates that global production capacity will grow 10-fold by 2030, but by then supply will still only meet 5% of jet fuel demand.
So how are airlines thinking about scaling up their procurement of SAF?
In this episode, Shayle talks to Amelia DeLuca, chief sustainability officer at Delta. They cover topics like:

Who pays the green premium

Infrastructure considerations, like SAF hubs and blending

Technical pathways, like hydroprocessing, alcohol-to-jet, and power-to-liquids

The role of incentives and regulation, like ReFuelEU

Why airlines should procure SAF instead of buying carbon removal


Recommended Resources:
BloombergNEF: United Airlines Is Betting Big on a Pricey Green Aviation Fuel
The Verge: Delta Air Lines lays out its plan to leave fossil fuels behind 
Canary Media: Can corn ethanol really help decarbonize US air travel?
Canary Media: How hydrogen ​‘e-fuels’ can power big ships and planes
Catalyst: CO2 utilization

Catalyst is supported by Origami Solar. Join Latitude Media’s Stephen Lacey and Origami’s CEO Gregg Patterson for a live Frontier Forum on May 30th at 1 pm Eastern to discuss Origami’s new research on how recycled steel can help reinvigorate the U.S. solar industry. Register for free on Latitude’s events page.

Understanding SAF buyers

This week, we have something a little different: a news quiz. 
We recently took the stage with four investors at the Prelude Climate Summit — armed with a bell, a buzzer, and four different categories of questions. We tested two teams of venture investors on their knowledge of the most recent industry news.
Shayle Kann and Cassie Bowe, partners at venture firm Energy Impact Partners, are team High Voltage. 
Dr. Carley Anderson, principal at venture firm Prelude Ventures, and Matt Eggers, Prelude’s manager director, are team Shayle Gassed. (Prelude led fundraising for Latitude Media.)
Stephen Lacey, executive editor of this show and host of The Carbon Copy, quizzes the teams on the latest in climate tech news.
Which team will come out on top?
Catalyst is supported by Origami Solar. Join Latitude Media’s Stephen Lacey and Origami’s CEO Gregg Patterson for a live Frontier Forum on May 30th at 1 pm Eastern to discuss Origami’s new research on how recycled steel can help reinvigorate the U.S. solar industry. Register for free on Latitude’s events page.

The news quiz episode!

The IPCC says that we likely need to capture hundreds of gigatons of CO2 if we want to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. So what are we going to do with all that carbon?
In this episode, Shayle talks to Julio Friedmann, chief scientist at Carbon Direct. Julio says we will store the vast majority of that CO2. But the markets for using CO2 in things like concrete, fizzy water, and chemicals will play an important role in developing the carbon management economy. Shayle and Julio cover topics like:

The roughly 50 carbon capture facilities operating today and how much carbon they capture

Why we should recycle carbon at all when we could just store it 

Current uses for CO2, like fizzy water, enhanced oil recovery, and concrete

Emerging chemical uses, like jet fuel, ethanol, urea, and methanol

Substituting glass and metal with products that use recycled carbon, like polycarbonate and carbon fiber

The “over the horizon” stuff, like making space elevators from graphene

Solving the challenge of local opposition to carbon infrastructure

Who will pay the green premium for products made with recycled carbon

 
Recommended Resources:
Center on Global Energy Policy: Opportunities and Limits of CO2 Recycling in a Circular Carbon Economy: Techno-economics, Critical Infrastructure Needs, and Policy Priorities
Canary Media: US Steel plant in Indiana to host a $150M carbon capture experiment
NBC: Biden admin seeks to jumpstart carbon recycling with $100 million in grants

Are growing concerns over AI’s power demand justified? Join us for our upcoming Transition-AI event featuring three experts with a range of views on how to address the energy needs of hyperscale computing, driven by artificial intelligence. Don’t miss this live, virtual event on May 8.
Catalyst is supported by Origami Solar. Join Latitude Media’s Stephen Lacey and Origami’s CEO Gregg Patterson for a live Frontier Forum on May 30th at 1 pm Eastern to discuss Origami’s new research on how recycled steel can help reinvigorate the U.S. solar industry. Register for free on Latitude’s events page.

CO2 utilization

A little-known U.S. law called the Jones Act shapes climate tech in weird ways — like hindering offshore wind deployment and pushing up energy prices.
The law, part of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, requires all cargo shipped between U.S. ports to be carried by ships that meet strict standards. Those ships must be built in American shipyards, owned by an American company, registered in the U.S., and crewed by a majority American crew. As a result, building cargo ships in the U.S., and operating them between U.S. ports, is way more expensive than building and operating ships in other countries — and relatively few U.S. ships get built.
So what are the impacts on climate tech?
In this episode, Shayle talks to Colin Grabow, research fellow at the Cato Institute's Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies. They cover topics like:

How the Jones Act increases the money and time required to deploy offshore wind turbines

Why it costs less to ship U.S. oil and gas abroad than to domestic markets

How it pushes domestic shipping to rely on trucks and trains instead of ships

The history of the act and potential ways it could change


Recommended Resources:


WIRED: The US Has Big Plans for Wind Energy—but an Obscure 1920s Law Is Getting in the Way


Cato Institute: Jones Act Leaves New England Vulnerable to Wintertime Calamity


Cato Institute: Environmental Costs of the Jones Act


Are growing concerns over AI’s power demand justified? Join us for our upcoming Transition-AI event featuring three experts with a range of views on how to address the energy needs of hyperscale computing, driven by artificial intelligence. Don’t miss this live, virtual event on May 8.

Building a supply chain for rare earth elements

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