The Power Current with Chris Berry

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.

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.

If you like this episode, please like and share.

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.

Our guest today is Emily Hersh, a long-time friend, and CEO of Luna Lithium, a lithium exploration play focused on South America (Paraguay and Brazil). Emily is also an accomplished economist with roots in Argentina and the first part of our discussion focuses here.

In this wide-ranging discussion, Emily and I go in depth into the macroeconomic situation in Argentina, to get a better understanding of how the lithium

Finally, Emily discusses lessons learned during her journey as the CEO of a privately held lithium explorer including the benefits of being private versus publicly held, making sure you’re “in the right room”, and how to build and position the company to weather a dynamic and volatile macro environment. If you enjoy this episode, please like and subscribe.

Today we welcome in Vincent Pluvinage, CEO of Co-Founder of OneD Battery Sciences. OneD Battery Sciences is the leader in providing the most scalable and cost effective manufacturing process to produce silicon-graphite anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. Its proven manufacturing technology leverages existing commercial graphite suppliers to address the current needs of EV makers for higher energy density, lower cost and lower carbon footprint EV batteries.

OneD has partnered with GM for development of their technologies and the company is looking to expand into more OEM partnerships. But outside of the science of their research, Vincent dives into why affordability of EVs in incredibly important right now with Chinese EVs hitting markets outside of its own country. Vince is also outspoken as to how to solve the battery problem, and his thoughts as to why its more of a people and education issue than it is a technology issue.

My guest today is Dr. Jay Turner, Professor of Environmental Studies at Wellesely College.

Dr. Turner is a prolific researcher on the recent history of U.S. environmental

He has taught in the Environmental Studies Program at Wellesley

His most recent book, Charged: A History of Batteries and Lessons for a Clean Energy

In today’s discussion we cover both the fascinating history and future of the energy transition, historical precedents, pricing

To paraphrase Shakespeare's Hamlet, To recycle or to reuse....that is the question. 

As the lithium-ion battery market continues to grow, this question, coupled with increased logistical issues is creating opportunities and challenges. 

Today, Episode 3 of the podcast goes international for the first time to Sweden for a discussion with Eden Yates and William Bergh, CMO and CEO respectively of Cling Systems, a growing startup focused on building a trading platform for used EV batteries. I can tell you from my experience in recycling, that the OEMs in particular, are worried about how to handle EV batteries in the case of recalls or end-of-life decisions, and Cling aims to add transparency and reduce friction in the rapidly growing market by making it easier for battery players to transact.

By the end of this podcast, you will:

1. Understand the ecosystem of how lithium ion batteries are traded, priced,  and moved around the world

2. Understand different business models associated with lithium ion batteries including second-life and recycling

3. Hear the views on the markets of two seasoned entrepreneurs in the battery sector.

During the podcast, we discussed two papers written by Eden and William. The first was Cling’s take on Battery Passports and can be found here. The second paper is William’s thesis on the reverse logistics of EV batteries and can be found here.