Moderated by Jennifer Safavian this panel will explore:

· Understanding the global repercussions of the US Inflation Reduction Act to mobilise finance and investment at pace and scale

· Assessing mandates, subsidies and investment in green power and charging infrastructure to encourage battery value chain development

· The need for global & regional coordination, dialogue, transparency & consistency at state and federal level across all branches of US Government

Moderated by Abigail Wulf this panel will explore:

· Challenges and opportunities of building battery hubs to serve America’s automotive industry and consumer base

· Innovation and R&D to create the quality and sustainable batteries that the US needs

· Developing the necessary skills in the local labour force - drawing on and enhancing existing workforces

· What companies are driving the race to scale? Is the top tier of Gigafactory operators settled or will new players disrupt the market?

Keynote Presentation

Livent: Accelerating scale up as a Leading Global Integrated Lithium Chemicals Producer

Paul Graves, President and CEO, Livent in fireside chat with Andrew Miller, COO, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence

Lithium Americas: Bringing the United States next large scale lithium mine into production

Jonathan Evans, President & CEO, Lithium Americas Corp

Bringing growth and optionality in lithium supply to meet Western EV needs

Martin Perez De Solay, Managing Director/CEO, Allkem Ltd.

Moderated by Chris Berry this panel will explore:

· Understanding the US' domestic resource potential and battery supply chain projects in development across the region

· The importance of supply focused policy: Fast track permitting, direct government loans and grants to build domestic industry

· Creating a transport and logistics infrastructure aligned with the battery ecosystem

Moderated by Roger Atkins this panel will explore:

· What role can the US play in cathode manufacturing and innovation? What technical innovations may disrupt cathode production its supply chain?

· Outlook for global anode and cathode supply and demand

· Importance of developing US mid-stream capacity for supply chain resilience

· Challenges of US domestic capacity expansion in advanced battery materials

Moderated by Duncan Wood this panel will explore:

· How does the US balance the drive to energy independence with the need for international partnerships?

· As the geopolitics of new energy emerge, how can America strengthen strategic relationships with politically aligned markets?

· What does the IRA and America’s other incentives impact international cooperation?

· Analysis of how different approaches to policy, finance and activity across the region have developed some of the world’s most important battery hubs

Moderated by Albert Gore, this panel will explore:

· Exploring lithium ion battery penetration across passenger, commercial and alternative mobility markets, as well as other energy storage systems applications

· What is the pipeline of gigafactory development and what factors will determine their speed to market, size, nature & location?

· From mobility to grid storage – how the lithium ion battery will be the platform technology for the US' net zero carbon economy

· Understanding the national charging network and the potential of the stationary energy storage market

· What is the true carbon footprint and environmental impact of the EV, the gigafactory and the lithium ion battery value chain? How can this be managed and improved?

· How can policy makers and industry leaders ensure that local communities throughout the value chain are informed, consulted, and upskilled to take benefit from the green economy?

· What steps are required to improve the governance, gender balance and minority representation within the value chain leadership?

Moderated by Chris Berry, this panel will explore:

· Pyrometallurgical, hydrometallurgical or direct recycling processes: What new technologies are impacting recovery rates and purity of recycled critical materials?

· Battery Passports and other initiatives in development for policy makers, OEMs and other stakeholders to improve traceability and circularity

· Developing a collection ecosystem to achieve America’s recovery targets and avoid leakage: What is the true potential supply and when will it be available?

· Exploring the issues of defining, harmonizing, and regulating global black mass supplies

Moderated by Caspar Rawles, this panel will explore:

· Insights into how OEMs are finding a new role to play as they adapt their partnership and procurement strategies from ICE to BEV production

· Assessing the strategies of major OEMs and the different challenges faced by new players versus legacy car makers

· The impact of raw material price hikes on overall EV costs and risk of demand erosion for EVs

· The importance of quality control, supply resilience and sustainability

Moderated by Daisy Jennings-Gray, this panel will explore:

· Review of battery grade lithium supply expansions from brine to spodumene; carbonate to hydroxide

· Is oversupply likely? Latest analysis on structural deficit through an overview of global extraction & conversion capacity landscape and forecast

· Beyond extraction – breaking into the black box of refining capacity

Moderated by Daniel Fletcher-Manuel, this panel will explore:

· Examining the availability and sustainability of a key cathode components: What is the capacity for additional supply?

· Understanding market volatility and the pricing pressures

· How might next generation cathode chemistries impact demand?

Moderated by Tom Burkett, this panel will explore:

· Understanding the current landscape of graphite production and forecasted challenges and opportunities

· Natural graphite: Where is ex-China flake graphite in development? How are the spherical processing ambitions changing?

· Synthetic graphite: How is the ex-China synthetic graphite and needle coke supply chain developing?

Moderated by Roger Atkins, this panel will explore:

· What materials and minerals markets may play a larger role in the energy storage economy?

· How can policy makers, battery manufacturers and OEMs prepare for future supply chain issues?