Startup Review on Advanced Mineral Technologies

Cleantech Council delegates meet regularly to discover startups and innovation across energy and sustainability technologies and build community with colleagues from like-minded corporations committed to paving the road to a sustainable future through partnership. 

MEETING FOLLOW-UP

Cleantech Council corporate members can now download the today's full agenda, presenter contact information, attendee list, and the presentations from today's startups from our member library.

AGENDA

This agenda included 6 startup introductions and pitches followed by an open discussion among the attendees.

9:00 AM 9:10 AM x: x x x: x x x x  x x x...x 10:30 AM 11:00 AM

INTRODUCTIONS - Meet a few corporate investors who are watching this market segment COMPANY PITCHES - Up to 8 young companies have 10 minutes each to tell their story and take questions Thank you to the following delegates for leading today's Q&A: Kristen Cleven, Senior Director, Strategic Business Development at Proterial Stephen Snyder, CSO at Princeton NuEnergy Companies presenting their technologies today are working on: Lithium Production Bioleaching Mineral Exploration Hydrometallurgical Extraction Mineralogy Analysis Lithium Recovery Purification ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION - Interactive discussion between startups, experts, and attendees CLOSE

MEETING RECAP

The Cleantech Council convened virtually to tackle a subject that sits at the very foundation of the energy transition: Advanced Mining Innovations. As the global demand for batteries and electrification infrastructure accelerates, the pressure on the supply chain for critical minerals like lithium, copper, and rare earth elements has never been higher – and the same goes for the commodity prices. This meeting moved beyond the hype to focus on tangible technologies transforming how we extract value from the earth.

To illustrate the scale of this opportunity, the global digital mining market - often referred to as Mining 4.0 - is projected to grow from an estimated $8.49 billion in 2023 to over $18.11 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research. This doubling of market size signals a massive industrial pivot toward automation, AI, and efficiency.

Hosted in our virtual Zoom Room, the meeting brought together about 30 attendees, ranging from corporate investors to technology scouts, all focused on the gritty reality of next-generation extraction. We were fortunate to have the conversation steered by knowledgeable industry leaders who facilitated the Q&A sessions. We heard from Kristen Cleven (Senior Director, Strategic Business Development, Proterial) and Stephen Snyder (CSO, Princeton NuEnergy), and Nick Macilveen, of Embarcatec. Their expertise was instrumental in guiding the dialogue following the pitches, probing the presenting companies on critical issues such as lithium production viability, the specifics of bioleaching, and the integration of mineralogy analysis into existing workflows.

A major theme that emerged from the discussion was the shift toward "tailings mining" and circularity. The consensus is that the fastest route to securing new supply is not necessarily digging new holes in the ground, but rather revisiting what we previously discarded. Traditional "greenfield" mining projects face massive hurdles regarding permitting, social license, and infrastructure construction, often taking a decade or more to come online. In contrast, tailings - the waste materials left over from previous mining operations - are located in areas that are already permitted, fenced in, and connected by roads or rail. By utilizing new technologies to extract remaining minerals from these piles, we can significantly reduce capital expenditures and accelerate speed to market.

This approach effectively turns a mono-mineral mine into a multi-mineral asset. Furthermore, the environmental narrative here is compelling; re-processing tailings is not just about extraction, but about remediation. It is a reduction of environmental impact rather than an expansion of it. The mining industry has historically been slow to adopt change, largely because the operations are capital intensive, massive, dirty, and unforgiving – it’s not robotics or AI built in a clean laboratory environment. However, the sheer scale of our past "wastefulness" has ironically created a massive opportunity. Because older extraction methods were inefficient, significant value remains trapped in waste piles, waiting for modern technology to unlock it.

From a geopolitical perspective, the conversation inevitably touched on China’s dominance in the processing and supply of critical minerals. A refreshing insight shared during the meeting was that the goal of Western nations and allies should not be the impossible task of reducing China’s market share from 95% to 0%. Instead, the strategic objective is more simply to reduce that share to a smaller position that limits total market control. By doing so, the global market can mitigate the "800-pound gorilla" effect and reduce the potential for market power abuse, similar to how oil markets adjusted to OPEC's influence over time. Domestic sourcing and nearshoring are critical components of this strategy, and the technologies showcased during the meeting are the enablers that will make this diversification possible.

As an analyst looking at the current landscape, it is clear that the high prices of key rare earth minerals, copper, and gold are acting as the necessary catalyst for this innovation. While the mining sector is traditionally conservative, high commodity prices make efficiency upgrades and yield improvements a financial imperative rather than just an R&D experiment. As Macilveen observed, we are seeing a historical parallel to the aluminum drives of World War II, where urgency and necessity drove the rapid recovery and recycling of materials. Today, the "war effort" is the energy transition, and the proof of concept is being established: the resources are there, and the startups that prove they can extract them economically will force permanent changes in how the industry operates.

The innovators & startups addressed topics such as:

• Technology designed to electrically separate Lithium from the brine of existing oil fields.
• The combination of satellite sensors and on-ground sensors for precise siting of new mines.
• New methodologies for extracting copper specifically from mine tailings.
• Advanced tech for evaluating core drilling samples onsite with high speed.
• Technologies to accelerate evaporation in tailing ponds to improve recovery of Lithium and Magnesium.
• Pre-inoculation of smaller piles combined with vibration to improve bioleaching, replacing traditional heap leaching.
• Extracting rare earth elements and magnets from waste tailings.

The meeting was a resounding success, with the startup presentations receiving positive feedback for their practicality and depth. Following the formal agenda, the focus shifted to our core mission: fostering business relationships. The goal of the Cleantech Council is to reduce the friction and time it takes for corporate members and innovators to get deals done. By bridging the gap between a startup's pilot program and a corporation's scale, we get real products into the hands of real customers sooner.

MEETING FORMAT

This is an online, interactive meeting held in our virtual meeting room to introduce startups to Cleantech Council members and the wider cleantech innovation and investment ecosystem. These meetings start with presentations from relevant startups before a group discussion led by experts and involving everyone who wants to contribute. After the discussion, participants have 30 minutes to chat with presenters and attendees in private breakout rooms.

ATTENDEES INCLUDE

Regular participants include tech scouts, innovation strategy, partnership executives and corporate development delegates from:

• Materials & Chemical companies 
• Energy & Utility companies 
• Mobility & Automotive companies
• Cleantech & Greentech investors

REMOTE ACCESS

Registered attendees will receive log in instructions via email 24 hours before the meeting with the subject line "Remote Meeting Instructions". If you can't find your instructions, drop an email to council@cleantechcouncil.org.

REFUND POLICY

• Refund less cancellation fee if more than 7 calendar days prior to the meeting
• Substitutions only if under 7 calendar days prior to the meeting