VIDEO - Emily Hersh: Lithium Extraction, Battery Tech and Supply Chains

Interview conducted by Priscila Barrera; article text by Charlotte McLeod.

The year hasn’t started off well for lithium, but Emily Hersh, managing partner at DCDB Group, still sees potential in the industry — at least for those who do their homework.

“(The) lithium price has fallen, but lithium stock prices have fallen off a cliff,” she said on the sidelines of the recent Lithium Supply & Markets Conference.

“From my perspective, I still think that we’re in a space where it’s too early to say it’s going to get better,” she continued. “Because there are still stocks out there that in my opinion are connected with garbage assets that are trading for the same price as stocks that are associated with very reasonable — albeit early stage and risky — exploration projects.”

She believes that in order for that to change, lithium investors need to gain more knowledge of the market so that they can tell the difference between these two types of companies.

Hersh also weighed in on companies pursuing lithium extraction technologies and spoke in broad terms about which of them may see success.

“If a lithium extraction technology can’t talk meaningfully to the energy availability and costs — the availability of this tech to work under different temperature settings and different pressure settings — we’re not going to see it commercialized for a long time. It’s the reality,” she said.

She sees challenges ahead in battery technology as well. Commenting on solid-state batteries, she said the biggest difficulty of getting them out of the lab and into cars will be manufacturing.

Even so, Hersh still thinks many applications will move toward solid-state batteries. “Batteries are a good philosophical exercise about life. Every battery is a trade off, there’s no best battery — there’s the best battery for what you want to do.”

Watch the interview above for more comments from Hersh on the lithium space, including the recent London Metal Exchange-Fastmarkets contract and the Global Lithium Podcast, which she co-hosts with Joe Lowry. You can also click here to watch our full Lithium Supply & Markets Conference playlist.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.