Critical Minerals 101 – Abby Wulf, Critical Minerals Expert, Former Head of Critical Minerals at the Dept. Of Energy, & Center for Critical Minerals Strategy

“Critical minerals and materials…are essential for key economic and national security technologies that help to fuel great sectors in the United States and around the world…We're at a very interesting point in the United States for critical minerals and materials because the US Geological Survey… just released their draft version of their newly updated critical minerals list…(But) they're very difficult to come by. And for a lot of these materials, they are mined as byproducts and co-products. They're used in incredibly low volumes, and so it's very difficult for companies to sort of make money on producing them, which in the United States, of course, to get anybody to do anything they need to be able to make a profit…China has been able to dominate this space and establish a stranglehold over many of these types of supply chains for these different commodities.” 

Abby Wulf on Electric Ladies Podcast

Critical minerals are foundational to all our technologies, from computers to automobiles, weaponry and national security, among others, but they are also scarce and difficult to procure, especially in the volumes needed. So, what are they and what can we do?

Listen to Abby Wulf, a top critical minerals expert who recently left the Department of Energy as head of Critical Minerals in this fascinating conversation with Electric Ladies Podcast host Joan Michelson. Abby previously served as the founding Executive Director of the Center for Critical Minerals at the nonprofit SAFE.

 

You’ll hear about:

●        What critical minerals are, what makes them “critical,” and where they come from.

●        How critical mineral supplies, and therefore the technologies that we rely on every day, are procured and affected by geopolitical dynamics, including Ukraine and China.

●        U.S. sources of these minerals and the financial incentives that were in the Inflation Reduction Act & Infrastructure Act that helped grow the sector….and so much more.

●        Plus, career advice, such as:

 

“I think that there doesn't necessarily have to be a trade-off between making money and making a difference….I've just been trying to say yes, to every opportunity that has come my way. …There are going to be different fits and starts and seasons to your career. But the one thing that's sort of driven me more than salary even I would say, are really just experiences… There are so many different things to learn…so I've let my curiosity sort of drive where my next career move has gone…. There's no comfort in the growth zone and no growth in the comfort zone.” Abby Wulf on Electric Ladies Podcast

 

 

Read Joan’s Forbes articles here.

 

You’ll also like:

·       What We Can Learn From Canada’s Energy Policies – with Claire Seaborn, energy attorney and former Chief of Staff to the Canadian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources

·       Reducing The IT Sector’s Carbon Footprint – with Monica Batchelder, Chief Sustainability Officer of HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprises)

·       Making Computers Sustainably – with Page Motes, Chief Sustainability Officer at Dell Technologies

·       The Politics of Climate & Energy – with Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan, Co-Chair, Bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus

·       How GM Is Going All Electric – with Chief Sustainability Officer, Kristen Siemen

 

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