This week's speaker is:

Pablo Busch - Postdoctoral Scholar - Stanford Unviversity

"Critical Minerals - Demand, Supply and Environmental Burdens"

Abstract: Achieving electric mobility targets is crucial for global decarbonization goals, and the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) depends on the production of lithium-ion batteries and the extraction of their embedded critical minerals. Pablo will present his work on projecting future battery mineral demand (lithium, nickel, cobalt) under different scenarios and analyzing resource constraints under two lenses:  reserve sufficiency (how much is on the ground) and mining capacity expansion (how fast do we need to scale mining operations). Results indicate that we have vast mineral reserves, but geographically concentrated. Moreover, by analyzing the required mining capacity expansion under different scenarios, we show that actions to reduce peak mineral demand, such as improvements in efficiency or circular economy policies, can prevent unnecessary deposits openings and their associated environmental and social impacts. 

Bio: Pablo Busch is a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford at the Sustainable Solutions Lab and at the STEER group. Pablo works involves analyzing cost-effectiveness and sustainability of critical mineral extraction under different energy transition pathways, advised by Professor Steve Davis. Pablo is an interdisciplinary researcher with training in engineering, public policy, industrial ecology, and statistics. He earned his PhD in Energy Systems and M.Sc. in Statistics at UC Davis working on critical mineral supply chains under the guidance by Professor Alissa Kendall. Pablo's research broadly focuses on scientific analyses to support a clean energy transition, such as identifying risks to equity and sustainability in the emerging energy transition mineral supply chain and analyzing the prospects of circular economy policies in reducing our material footprint.

The topics of this seminar are broad but typically fall under technologies’ scaling potential and impact on (the system of) people, the environment and the economy. A particular focus is placed on the interaction potential of technologies with the energy, water, and material systems. Our goal is to create an intimate, collaborative space for students, postdocs, scientists, and PIs within Stanford across micro-level (material and technology) to macro-level (system) interests. These seminars will provide an opportunity to disseminate insights from your studies, connect with fellow researchers, and strengthen bonds across the community.