Mercuria CSR Report 2021 - Flipbook - Page 59
2021 Corporate Social Responsibility
BRIAN MENELL,
TECHMET CHAIRMAN & CEO
The World Economic Forum predicts in its 2021 report, Fostering Effective Energy Transition, that “[t]
he production of minerals such as graphite, lithium and cobalt could increase by nearly 500% by 2050
to meet the growing demand for clean energy technologies.” Electric vehicles, energy storage and
renewable energy will be the principal drivers of the demand for technology metals such as cobalt (Co),
nickel (Ni), lithium (Li), vandium (V), tin (Sn), tungsten (W) as well as rare earth metals. TechMet was
founded in 2017 to produce, process, and recycle the technology metals that will accelerate the global
transition to clean energy technologies.
Mercuria acquired a significant minority stake in TechMet in April 2021. We interviewed Techmet’s
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Brian Menell, to discuss how the company is focused on
environmentally and socially responsible mining to produce the specialty metals and chemicals essential
for electrification. Brian also explains how recycling batteries is critical to capturing the increasing
volume of metals stored in existing applications. The interview begins with his perspective on why
higher standards of social and environmental performance have become the norm and why this will
encourage others in the mining and metals industry to follow suit.
The shift to a more mineral-intensive enegy system
Transport (kg/vehicle)
Electric car
Conventional car
50
100
150
200
Power generation (kg/MW)
Onshore wind
A typical electric car requires
six times the mineral inputs of a
coventional car, and an offshore
wind plant requires thirtteen
times more mineral resources
than a similary sized gas-fired
power plant
Image: International
Agency
Solar PV
Energy
Nuclear
Coal
Natural gas
4 000
8 000
12 000
16 000
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