Leading testing and certification company speaks with officials in support of critical mineral processing and recycling projects.

At the Building a Sustainable U.S. Battery Supply Chain meeting cohosted by the American Battery Materials Initiative at the White House earlier this month, David Anonychuk, Global Vice President, Metallurgy and Consulting at SGS and Niels Verbaan, SGS Director, Hydrometallurgy, were invited to speak to an assembly of U.S. officials and industry insiders from the automotive, chemical and mining sectors.

"As an industry, we need to come together and candidly discuss the challenges we face and balance innovation and the desire to accelerate the supply chain. We need to consider exploring creative solutions where government can partner with private industry." said Anonychuk.

SGS is a Swiss multinational company that provides inspection, verification, testing and certification services and claims the unique experience and knowledge to assist in finding long-term solutions to increase the competitiveness of the North American battery materials industry.

Anonychuk and Verbaan joined a diverse assembly of government officials and industry insiders.

"The purpose of de-risking is to ensure a better chance of success and commercialization for a resilient and sustainable North American supply chain," said Verbaan.

They also discussed the importance of metallurgical testing, piloting, and demonstration-style operations in de-risking and streamlining the development of critical mineral projects to avoid lengthy and expensive plant ramp-ups and establish a robust, competitive North American battery metals industry.

Other players

During the White House meeting, Jamie Breme from Fluor's advanced technologies and life sciences branch, discussed industry challenges and how best to build a stable and secure market and drive cost competitiveness and innovation.

CNW Group/SGS North America Inc.

(Left to right) Niels Verbaan, SGS Director, hydrometallurgy; Abby Wulf, executive chair of DOE's American Battery Materials Initiative; Alex Jacquez, special assistant to the President for economic development and industrial strategy; and David Anonychuk, SGS Global Vice President, Metallurgy and Consulting at the White House.

Hatch experts Siddarth Subramani and Matthew Cramer joined to discuss challenges and headwinds, representing their company's battery lifecycle engineering solutions, from processing battery chemicals to cell manufacturing and recycling.

SGS says it also in conversations with Abby Wulf, and Alex Jacquez who are facilitating the U.S. government's critical mineral and battery strategy.

Wulf is executive chair of the American Battery Materials Initiative, an interagency effort led by the White House and coordinated through the Department of Energy to secure energy transition materials. Jacquez serves as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Development and Industrial Strategy for the White House National Economic Council.