LiFePO4 (LFP) pioneer Michel Gauthier joins Vincent Chevrier and Kevin Eberman to discuss the early days of battery research at Hydro-Québec focused on Li metal polymer batteries (80s-90s). How these led to identifying LFP, the carbon coating LFP patent, and the founding of Phostech Lithium, the first company in the world to offer stoichiometric carbon coated LiFePO4 as a product. Michel's story gives an insight into the ups and downs of the early 2000s that shaped the North American LFP scene and eventually the global LFP market.