Mr Hoffman leads McKinsey’s global battery value chain work, and strategy on sourcing, battery technology, and recycling. Ken has been Executive director of projects that help upstream battery component companies successfully enter the battery value chain, with notable work in lithium (a major JV for a LiOH facility, largest LCA pricing contract ever completed, strategy work for both providers and buyers), nickel, manganese (both for NCM and LMFP players), electrolytes, performance powders, recycling technologies, etc. He has worked with several private equity companies on over 100 due diligences throughout the battery value chain, especially new lithium technologies (DLE, DLP, Lithium metal), recycling technologies, CAM producers, separators, cell providers, and new refining technologies. Ken has worked with nearly a dozen OEM's on the long-term sourcing strategies and how to think of the continuous change in battery technologies to their procurement needs. His team developed frameworks for ranking more than 40 battery technologies for a large technology company. Previously, Ken was global head of metals and mining research for Bloomberg Intelligence, while at Bloomberg, I advised Peter Grauer when he was on the BOD for Glencore. I was also the director of research and Partner for the European investment fund MarCap Investors LP, a fund backed by Reservoir Capital. Marcap often took board seats and worked with boards and CEO's for the improvement of company results and goals.

Professor Sara Couperthwaite is an industrial chemist with over 15 years of experience in value-adding mining wastes and optimising industrial processes. She works at Queensland University of Technology's School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering, and collaborates with industry partners to solve real-world problems using fundamental research, resulting in tangible commercial outcomes. Her primary research interest is in the adoption of clean technologies in mineral processing and the beneficial reuse of mining waste streams. She is currently leading a multi-million-dollar research program with Lava Blue to demonstrate the production of high purity alumina (HPA) from multiple feedstocks, such as clay, gibbsite, and aluminium-rich mineral producer waste streams at mini-plant scale. HPA is used as a ceramic coating on lithium-ion battery separators, which is in high demand due to the growth of the LED and electric vehicle markets. In summary, she is committed to working with industry partners to ensure the development of the most efficient and sustainable processes to address real-world challenges and is currently focusing her efforts in critical minerals.

Joshua is an Associate Professor at QUT and the Director of the Energy Storage Research Gorup. He has a PhD in energy and process engineering specialising in nano-materials synthesis, optimisation and characterisation. He has over 16 years of research and development experience in industry and academia, primarily focused in the fields of battery energy storage and renewable energy generation. Joshua has managed multiple battery energy storage related projects commercially and at QUT and has expertise in battery control systems design as well as materials development, characterisation and electrochemical testing. Joshua has authored several peer reviewed publications in the fields of materials synthesis and advanced characterisation.

Dr Lynette Molyneaux is a researcher in climate, energy and industry policy at the University of Queensland. She is currently a Research Fellow with the Centre for Policy Futures, advancing collaboration between academia, government and industry for the development of an advanced materials and battery sector in Australia. Previously Lynette was an Advance Queensland Fellow investigating Queensland’s resilience to a global energy transition, and the researcher and co-author on the Global Change Institute’s Delivering a Competitive Australian Power System suite of reports. Prior to her academic pursuits, Lynette spent more than 20 years in the IT industry managing an Internet and Business Intelligence start-up in New Zealand, as a brand manager at IBM UK and a financial planner at IBM SA.

Jeremy has over 15 years of experience in the electrical industry building and managing teams in the renewable energy, infrastructure, resources, and manufacturing sectors.

Dr Finniear has more than 25 years’ experience as a senior executive, including 10 years with Intergraph Corporation, (a US-based Fortune 1000 technology company) in roles including Vice President – Asia Pacific, plus 5 years as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of NASDAQ and ASX listed technology companies. Over the past seven years, Lee has been the founder and director of a company delivering innovative Internet of Things (IoT) products to business and consumer markets. He was also the Vice President – Asia Pacific for a European telecommunications operator with a market focus on automotive manufacturers and enterprise IoT solutions. Lee has a First Class BSc. (Hons) degree in Civil Engineering and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence and Geographic Information Systems.

Minerals Engineer with over 25 years in the mining and chemical processing industries, in both Project and Operational roles. Specialising in complex process and project development, I have a passion for driving technologies forward to commercial outcomes. Having held engineering and leadership roles in the design, construction and commissioning of major greenfield and brownfield processing facilities, in my current role as GM Technology Development Lithium Australia, I am responsible for commercialising innovative technologies in the production of Lithium Ferro Phosphate (LFP) and Lithium Chemicals from lower grade hard rock sources

Professor Sara Couperthwaite is an industrial chemist with over 15 years of experience in value-adding mining wastes and optimising industrial processes. She works at Queensland University of Technology's School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering, and collaborates with industry partners to solve real-world problems using fundamental research, resulting in tangible commercial outcomes. Her primary research interest is in the adoption of clean technologies in mineral processing and the beneficial reuse of mining waste streams. She is currently leading a multi-million-dollar research program with Lava Blue to demonstrate the production of high purity alumina (HPA) from multiple feedstocks, such as clay, gibbsite, and aluminium-rich mineral producer waste streams at mini-plant scale. HPA is used as a ceramic coating on lithium-ion battery separators, which is in high demand due to the growth of the LED and electric vehicle markets. In summary, she is committed to working with industry partners to ensure the development of the most efficient and sustainable processes to address real-world challenges and is currently focusing her efforts in critical minerals.