The Global Lithium Podcast

This episode is a panel discussion that took place at the Arkansas Lithium Innovation Summit in October on the missing midstream. The panelists were:David Park, CEO of Standard LithiumDan Blondal, CEO of Nano OneHugh McDonald, Arkansas Secretary of CommerceBhageerath Vadhi, Geologist - Ford Motor CompanyTopics:What is the midstream?Why does it matter?The cathode bottleneckChina's current dominant positionMarginsNano One's LFP advantageWashington's perspective and roleEmphasizing energy storage over EVsGeopoliticsWhat does success look like?

There are three guests and a cameo appearance in this episode.Sam Pigott and Carlos Galli from Lithium Argentina are joined by Jason (Xiaofeng) Luo from Ganfeng. The cameo appearance is from Kelly O'Brien the head of investor relations at Lithium Argentina.Topics:History of the LAR - Ganfeng partnershipConsolidating assets - PPGThe "marriage" & synergyGanfeng's view of ArgentinaRIGIThe success of CauchariThe teamGanfeng's recent market growth commentsThe incentive priceComponents of demandWhen does Argentina become #1 in brine?Funding PPGGanfeng's Marianas projectWater issuesDLE Rapid fire

This solo episode was recorded November 19th 2025 in Los Angeles while I was attending Benchmark Week.Topics:Ganfeng on supply / demand / priceCanaccord's take on the marketBESS Exxon's comments on lithiumThe midstreamDLERio's lithium future US Congress on China's predatory pricingLiontown's spod auctionIGO's Kwinana woes

The state of Arkansas is poised to be the next great lithium brine province. This week at the Arkansas Lithium Innovation Summit I interviewed Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders along with Allie Kennedy Thurmond and Jason Muller from Equinor, Ashu Sharma from Aquatech and Jesse Edmondson of Standard Lithium.Topics:Why Arkansas?Angela's storyGoing downstreamNo DLE, no SmackoverUS policy gapsStockpile optionsBuilding value chainsThe Smackover Lithium cultureForce multipliersAquatech's businessProcess optimization Li-Pro & PearlWhat's next for the Summit?

Emilie Bodoin is the founder and CEO of Pure Lithium. The mission of Pure Lithium is commercializing a rechargeable lithium metal battery. Topics:Improving how lithium metal is madeSimplifying the battery supply chainWhy making EV batteries is not the company's goalSpeedLFP and vanadiumPartnersMentorsThe commercialization planWhy solid state batteries aren't a panaceaRapid fire