The latest news from ELBC 2022, Lyon, France • September 6-9, 2022
A Batteries International publication
ELBC 2022 Opens with Positive Messages for Lead Battery Future First Person-to-Person Conference in Four Years Warmly Welcomed The first European Lead Battery Conference since Vienna’s meeting in 2018 kicked off with a bang yesterday (Wednesday) as Andy Bush, the ILA head, started the ceremonies with a rousing address on the future of the lead battery business. It was followed by a stunning presentation by Chris Pruitt, CEO of East Penn, that detailed, with a sober analysis, that the lithium pathway to world dominance was not as clear-cut as many suggested. (See story below.) Further analysis of the future lead market from Avicenne, painted a slightly more sombre picture which was modified by a detailed analysis by Neil Hawkes from CRU as well as a highly informative presentation from the ILZSG on Chinese government policy on the use of lead in batteries in the country. There were three other standout presentations to the first morning’s meetings.
n Andy Bush Launches ELBC 2022 with Positive Message for Battery Futures page 1-3 n East Penn’s Chris Pruitt’s Rallying Cry: ‘Shout Benefits of Lead From Rooftops’. A Dispassionate Look at Lead and Lithium Advantegs and Disadvantages page 1-3 n Back in the Party Mood as Delegates Drink to Return of In-Person Conference page 4-5
Andy Bush, the ILA head, opened up the ceremonies There was one landmark moment with the announcement of the WGBI — Women in the Global Battery Industry with Mac Engineering’s Julie McClure detailing the creation of the group and relating, for the first time to a European audience, the importance of its function. A reception was held later in the afternoon (see elsewhere in The
Battery Street Journal) giving the group room to socialise and network. The next landmark moment came when Alistair Davidson, director of the CBI, revealed details of three lead projects it had won and been funded — two in Africa (see full details elsewhere) Continued on page 3 >
Pruitt… Getting Real about Lead East Penn president and CEO Chris Pruitt gave a stunning, frank and wideranging presentation, looking dispassionately over the role that lead and lithium will play in future energy technologies. His US perspective had a universal quality to it. He laid bare many of the myths that surround the lead-
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lithium debate. Many of these include the (incorrect) line that electricity that charges battery packs is produced using zero carbon sources. Or that the US grid will be capable any time soon to have the transmission network to supply the country’s EV needs. (It won’t — and by a very long mark.) He said the industry should
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be unafraid of challenging the narrative surrounding recycling, noting that while lithium recycling techniques are still in their infancy – and might often appear to be a byword for dismantling — lead has an internationally-established network of battery collection Continued on page 3 >
n €10m Funding Award Opens New Horizons for Lead in Africa. ArcArctive Promises Open Market Access in Two Years page 8 n WGBI’s Recruitment Drive, Core’s ELBC Debut, Return of the Källström ‘Vikings’ page 10 n International Lead Medal Winners Galore as Eckhard Karden and Mark Stevenson are Awarded the Global Prize for International Excellence page 12-15 n It’s Showtime! Meet the Exhibitors. Meet the Great and the Good of the Lead Battery’s Finest page 16-17 n The Last Word: Tales of Dark Deeds and Spurious Conquests at ELBC 2022 page 19
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