The lithium ion battery is the platform technology to ‘electrify everything’, especially transport. It is vital to the future of the US automotive industry, and wider economy, that the nation secures its place in the era of the battery gigafactory.

While the White House and key figures across the US government are now taking steps to ensure the supply of battery raw materials, American auto OEMs are also considering moves into the mining and refinement of battery raw materials to ensure that their EV production goals can be met.

With this in mind, Benchmark is excited to announce Battery Gigafactories USA 2022. This live, and in-person conference is being held June 23rd and 24th at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, Washington DC.

Take your place in the room where the future of US EV supply chains will be decided

Agenda
(Subject to change)
DAY ONE - THURSDAY 23 JUNE
07:30
Breakfast & Networking
08:30
Dawn of the Energy Storage Revolution
  • Simon Moores, CEO, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
08:50
Words of welcome from US political leadership
  • U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R - WY), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
9:00
Guest of Honor Keynote
  • JB Straubel, Tesla cofounder, Founder & CEO, Redwood Materials
09:40
Keynote Presentations: Building a lithium ion economy in the USA
Chaired by Simon Moores, CEO, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
  • U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
  • Jeff Morrison, Vice President of Global Purchasing and Supply Chain, General Motors
10:20
Networking break
10:50
Government Policy, OEMs and the Giga Challenge
A panel chaired by Andrew Miller, COO, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
  • Rohan Patel, Senior Global Director, Public Policy and Business Development, Tesla
  • David Howell, Acting Director and Principal Deputy Director of the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, U.S. Department of Energy
  • Alex Jacquez, Senior Policy Advisor — National Economic Council, The White House
  • Michael Maten, Director of EV Policy, General Motors
  • Dan West, Director of Public Policy, Rivian
11:50
The EV transition and gigafactory development outlook
Keynote presentations chaired by Henry Sanderson, Executive Editor, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
  • Johan de Nysschen, Chief Operating Officer, North American Region, Volkswagen Group of America Inc.
  • Hanisha Tirumalasetty, Analyst, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
12:15
Building Gigafactories in the USA
A panel chaired by Henry Sanderson, Executive Editor, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
  • Kurt Kelty, VP Commercialization, Sila Nanotechnologies Inc
  • Lindsay Gorrill, Founder & CEO, KORE Power
  • Chaitanya Sharma, CEO, iM3NY
  • Robert J Hess, Vice Chairman - Global Strategy, Newmark
1:00
Lunch and Networking
2:00
The Great Raw Material Disconnect Keynotes
Keynote presentations chaired by Andrew Miller, COO, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
  • Eric Norris, President, Lithium, Albemarle
  • Ash Lazenby, US Cobalt Trading and Marketing, Glencore
  • Paul Graves, President and CEO, Livent
3:00
Cathodes & Anodes Keynotes
Keynote presentations chaired by Ahmed Mehdi, Principal Consultant, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
  • Joe Lynch, Global Strategy Director for Battery Materials, BASF
  • Heath DePriest, Vice President, Emerging Energy, Phillips 66
3:40
Networking Break
4:00
Creating Cathodes
A panel chaired by Henry Sanderson, Executive Editor, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
  • James Trevey, CTO, Forge Nano
  • Joe Lowry, President, Global Lithium
  • Vivas Kumar, CEO and Co-Founder, Mitra Chem
  • Hamutal Ben Bassat, VP Business Development, Nano One Materials Corp.
4:45
Assembling Anodes
A panel chaired by George Miller, Senior Price Analyst, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
  • Eric Desaulniers, President & CEO, Nouveau Monde Graphite
  • Jean de la Verpilliere, CEO, Echion Technologies Ltd.
  • Vincent Pluvinage, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, OneD Battery Sciences
  • Nico Cuevas, Chairman & CEO, Urbix, Inc.
5:30
Networking reception
DAY TWO - FRIDAY 24 JUNE: Critical Materials Day
The second day of the event will be dedicated to exploring strategies and solutions to secure supply of critical raw materials and build a domestic supply chain for the Gigafactory era.
08:30
Securing The Most Critical Materials of the 21st Century
Chaired by Henry Sanderson, Executive Editor, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
  • Jigar Shah, Director, Loan Programs Office, U.S. Department of Energy
  • Matthew D. Zolnowski, Portfolio Manager (Defense Production Act Title III Program), Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy. U.S. Department of Defense
  • Frank Fannon, Managing Director, Fannon Global Advisors
  • Simon Thibault, Senior Director – Battery Strategy, Investment Quebec
  • Brian Menell, Chairman and CEO, Techmet
9:40
Sustainable Lithium ion Batteries & Supply Chains
A panel chaired by Andrew Miller, COO, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
  • Ellen Lenny-Pessagno, Global VP, Government and Community Affairs, Albemarle
  • Bruna Grosl, ESG Analyst, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
  • Ellen Carey, Vice President for Policy and Public Affairs
  • Ashish Patki, Director, Business Development & Market Intelligence, Livent
  • Abigail Seadler Wulf, Vice President, Critical Minerals Strategy, SAFE
10:20
Special Address
  • U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)
10:30
Networking break
10:50
Closing the Lithium ion Loop
A panel chaired by Anna Shpitsburg, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Transformation, U.S. Department of State
  • Ryan Melsert, CEO, American Battery Technology Company
  • Alan Ferguson, Vice President, Americas, Li-Cycle
  • Jean-Christophe Lambert, Director Growth and Business Development, Lithion Recycling
  • David Klanecky, CEO, Retriev Technologies
11:30
Producing Critical Battery Minerals for New Energy in North America
  • Jonathan Evans, President & CEO, Lithium Americas Corp
  • Robert Mintak, CEO, Standard Lithium
  • Sean Werger, President, Talon Metals
  • Juan Merlini, Director Sales & Marketing, Vale Canada Limited
1:00
Lunch and Networking
1:45
Lithium: Scaling with Speed & Responsibility
A panel chaired by Abigail Seadler Wulf, Vice President, Critical Minerals Strategy, SAFE
  • Simon Clarke, CEO and Director, American Lithium
  • James D. Calaway, Executive Chairman, Ioneer
  • Austin Devaney, CCO, Piedmont Lithium
  • Jamie Flegg, Chief Development Officer, Sigma Lithium
2:30
Nickel & Cobalt: Sourcing & Scaling
A panel chaired by Mark Beveridge, Principal Consultant, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
  • Joe Racanelli, VP Investor Relations, Electra Battery Materials
  • Craig Shesky, Chief Financial Officer, The Metals Company
  • Megan O'Connor, Founder & CEO, Nth Cycle
3:15
Defining critical minerals
A panel chaired by Chris Berry, Founder and President, House Mountain Partners
  • Helaina R. Matza, Director, Office of Energy Transformation, Bureau of Energy Resources, U.S. Department of State
  • Hugues Jacquemin, CEO, Northern Graphite
  • Ryan Corbett, Chief Financial Officer, MP Materials
4:00
Close of conference

Please note that this agenda is provisional and additional speakers and sessions are likely to be announced in the coming weeks. We advise you to check back for the latest updates.

This event is free to attend for US policy makers and government officials

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