Battery production offcuts and end-of-life batteries are collected, dismantled and shredded to produce black mass from which critical materials such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese can be extracted. The recycling of black mass has become increasingly important as a supplement to virgin material supply and to reduce the carbon footprint of the battery supply chain. Platts, part of S&P Commodity Insights, has launched the publication of daily black mass assessments, which will provide greater transparency and understanding of how the market actually operates, especially as there is currently a lack of standardisation and comprehensive coverage in the black mass market. This episode of the Platts Future Energy podcast aims to explore the challenges and opportunities facing the market, unpack these new price assessments, and answer the question of whether black mass has the potential to address the looming supply deficits.

Click here to learn more about Platts nine new daily black mass spot price assessments for China and Europe.

Sunnova Energy President and CEO John Berger joined the podcast from the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference to discuss solar energy deployment in the U.S. Sunnova Energy is an American residential and commercial solar energy company based in Houston, Texas. Also joining from the sidelines of the energy conference is former U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. Moniz, the founder of the think tank Energy Futures Initiative, discussed how current geopolitical events might impact the clean energy transition. 

In a time of geopolitical strife, economic uncertainty, and energy transition, nuclear power is edging more and more into the spotlight. Countries are looking to decarbonize, boost their energy security and adjust to shifting trade flows. 

In the second episode of this special two-part series, S&P Global nuclear news and analytics experts Bill Freebairn, Morris Greenberg, Dr. Jone-Lin Wang, and Mason Lester discuss new developments in infrastructure and markets as fleets age out and more countries expand their use of nuclear power.

Register for the Platts Global Power Markets Conference here

During CERAWeek by S&P Global in Houston, Energy Evolution co-host Taylor Kuykendall spoke with Raphael Declercq, the CEO of PowerFlex. Declercq's company is a solar-powered electric vehicle microgrid developer. Kuykendall also spent a few moments with Mark Danzenbaker, the CEO of GridPoint. GridPoint is an energy management platform for commercial buildings. The company's technology is already in more than 17,000 commercial buildings across the U.S.

Energy Evolution co-hosts Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall are veteran journalists with broad expertise covering the energy and mining sectors. They are joined by correspondents Camellia Moors and Camilla Naschert, reporters who write about mining and power issues for S&P Global Commodity Insights. Subscribe to Energy Evolution on your favorite platform to catch our latest episodes!

In a time of geopolitical strife, economic uncertainty, and energy transition, nuclear power is edging more and more into the spotlight. Countries are looking to decarbonize, boost their energy security and adjust to shifting trade flows, with nuclear power seen by some as a way to advance on all these fronts. Policymakers are dangling attractive incentives in many countries for the energy source.

In the first episode of this special two-part series, S&P Global nuclear news and analytics experts Bill Freebairn, Morris Greenberg, Dr. Jone-Lin Wang, and Mason Lester discuss the global state of nuclear infrastructure and markets in 2023 and beyond. Tune in next week for part two of the discussion, focusing on future outlooks.

Register for the Platts Global Power Markets Conference here

Plug Power is a company providing hydrogen fuel cell systems to power electric motors in place of conventional batteries. Energy Evolution co-host Taylor Kuykendall spoke with Plug Power General Manager of Energy Solutions and Chief Strategy Officer Sanjay Shrestha during the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston in early March. Tune in to their conversation about challenges in the hydrogen space, building out hydrogen supply chains, and the policy environment for green hydrogen projects. 

Energy Evolution co-hosts Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall are veteran journalists with broad expertise covering the energy and mining sectors. Subscribe to Energy Evolution on your favorite platform to catch our latest episodes!

8 Rivers is a company providing net-zero solutions across a wide range of sectors, including the oil industry, the renewable sector and so-called hard-to-abate sectors such as cement and steel makers.

Energy Evolution co-host Taylor Kuykendall spoke with 8 Rivers President and Chief Development Officer Damian Beauchamp at the company's booth during the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston in early March.  

Energy Evolution co-hosts Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall are veteran journalists with broad expertise covering the energy and mining sectors. Subscribe to Energy Evolution on your favorite platform to catch our latest episodes! 

An influx of public funding for energy transition technologies via the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act is keeping the U.S. Department of Energy quite busy. 

S&P Global Commodity Insights' Energy Evolution caught up with Jigar Shah, director of the DOE's loan programs office. In this exclusive interview, Shah talks about the large-scale, all-of-the-above energy infrastructure projects his office is funding in the United States.  

Energy Evolution co-hosts Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall are veteran journalists with broad expertise covering the energy and mining sectors. Subscribe to Energy Evolution on your favorite platform to catch our latest episodes! 

Pressure to improve metals supply chain transparency is growing, spurred by legislation as well as requirements set by end users like electric vehicle battery makers as they sign supply agreements with miners. At the same time, commodity producers are looking for ways to lure a new investor base to the industry. Supply chain participants are now turning to blockchain to help solve both problems.

Energy Evolution correspondent Camellia Moors spoke with the leaders of two companies at the intersection of blockchain-based technologies and commodities markets. This episode features interviews with Doug Johnson-Poensgen, founder and CEO of Circulor, which develops blockchain track and trace systems for industrial supply chains, as well as Duane Parnham, CEO of Madison Metals, a uranium mining and exploration company offering a uranium-backed NFT.

Energy Evolution co-hosts Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall are veteran journalists with broad expertise covering the energy and mining sectors. Subscribe to Energy Evolution on your favorite platform to catch our latest episodes! 

Li-Metal Corp. is a company working with lithium metal and anode technology to be used in next-generation lithium batteries. 

The company's newly appointed president, Kunal Phalpher, said it is an exciting time to be involved in lithium. The development of battery technologies is moving along faster than he anticipated. As vehicle makers increasingly embrace electric vehicles, a race for differentiating technology could produce interesting new types of batteries that pave the way for new consumer products and services such as electric aviation, Phalpher said in an interview with S&P Global Commodity Insights. 

Energy Evolution co-hosts Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall are veteran journalists with broad expertise covering the energy and mining sectors. Subscribe to Energy Evolution on your favorite platform to catch our latest episodes!