DLE Implementation and Commercialisation

Event Day One, 25th March

Day 1 Morning:

08:00 - 08:55

(55 mins)

Registration & Morning Coffee
08:55 - 09:00

(5 mins)

Opening Remarks by the Organiser and Event Chairman
09:00 - 9:20

(30 mins)

Delivering the UK Critical Minerals Strategy: Policy Alignment, Supply Security, and the Role of DLE

George Dunleavy, Senior Policy Advisor (Domestic) l Critical Minerals & Mining Team, Department for Business and Trade
9:20 - 9:50

From Mine to Market: Scaling Lithium Supply Chains Sustainably

Tom Drabble, Global Sustainability Manager , International Lithium Association (ILiA)
10:00 - 10:30

(30 mins)

Advancing Domestic Lithium Supply in the UK: Lessons Learned and the Path Forward

Jeremy Wrathall, Founder & Executive Chairman, Cornish Lithium
10:30 - 11:00

Morning Networking Tea Break
11:00 - 11:30

Engineering and Scale-Up Considerations: Lessons from modular and hybrid DLE systems for industrial deployment

Mervyn Stevens, Vice President - Battery Mineral & Materials, Worley
11:30 - 12:00

(30 mins)

Integrating DLE into Geothermal and Oilfield Brine Projects - Synergies, co-location benefits, and engineering challenges of coupling DLE with geothermal and oilfield operations.
12:00 - 12:30

30 mins

Beyond Borders: Building Competitive Lithium Markets for the Energy Transition

Dr Frank Jackel, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Metalshub

Luncheon & Networking

Day 1 Afternoon:

13:30 - 14:00

(30 mins)

Scaling DLE from Chile

Nick Baxter, Head of Communications and ESG, Cleantech Lithium
14:00 - 14:30

Optimising DLE Design and Accelerating Scale-Up: Lithium Harvest approach using Data-Enhanced, Science-Based Models in Siemens gPROMS

Simão Manuel Fernandes Pereira, Product Manager for gPROMS Modelling Content and Desktop Software, SIEMENS
Vibeke Bro Hansen, Process Engineer, Lithium Harvest
14:30 - 15:00

Lithium Market Outlook: Supply, Demand, and Pricing Trends to 2035

Dylan Khoo, Senior Analyst, Consulting Services, Argus Media Ltd.
15:00 - 15:30

Lithium Production from DLE Feed: Advances in Process Design, Engineering, and Technology

Petri Taipale, Senior Sales Manager Hydrometallurgy (Lithium), Metso Finland Oy
15:30 - 16:00

Afternoon Networking Tea Break
16:00 - 16:30

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for Lithium Projects: From Resource to Refined Product

Dr Robert Pell, Founder & CEO, Minviro
16:30 - 17:00

Engineering for Scale: Key Considerations from Pilot to Commercial Scale-Up
17:00 - 17:40

Panel Discussion: Scaling DLE in Europe – What Will It Take? The interconnected challenges in regulation, infrastructure, investment, and supply chain readiness needed to scale DLE across Europe. Expect frank insights from developers, policymakers, OEMs, and capital providers.

Stewart Dickson, CEO, Weardale Lithium
Simon Gardner-Bond, Chief Technical Officer, TechMet Limited
17:45

Day2 Closing Remarks