Miss the Family Office Virtual Investor Conference? Here’s the Wrap-Up
This September, International Deal Gateway curated a collection of six innovative businesses to present at the International Investment Afternoon 2022 with Global Partnership Family Office.
Here are some of the highlights from this event:
Isobel Sheldon OBE, Britishvolt’s Chief Strategy Officer, discussed Britishvolt’s mission to responsibly manufacture the world’s most sustainable, low-carbon battery cells. The company is building a gigaplant in Northumberland, UK, and will be the 16th largest building in the world, able to produce over 300,000 EV battery packs per year.
According to Sheldon, Britishvolt will address four key failures in the EV battery marketplace:
- A lack of technological differentiation
- The inability of capacity to meet demand
- The challenges of acquiring materials to manufacture batteries
- ESG-related concerns surrounding EV battery manufacturing practices
Additionally, Britishvolt will also target underserved markets for EV batteries like commercial and luxury vehicles.
By 2030, Europe will need over 600,000 tonnes of lithium capacity to meet the demand of the battery market, but as of right now there is currently zero lithium refining capacity on the continent. Paul Atherley, Chairman and Founding Director of Alkemy Capital Investments, explained how Alkemy plans to address this challenge with two combined projects.
The first is Tees Valley Lithium. Located in the Teesside UK industrial cluster, this lithium leader will be Europe’s first and largest lithium hydroxide processing facility.
The second is a four-train lithium sulphate refinery in Port Hedland, Australia, to process spodumene, which will feed into TVL’s refinery for low-carbon battery-grade lithium hydroxide.
Together, Alkemy will be able to connect the world’s largest spodumene producer with the world’s fastest-growing lithium hydroxide market.
Seeking to address the world’s transition from fossil fuels to electrification, Premium Nickel Resources operates mines in Canada, Greenland, Morocco, and Botswana to source nickel, copper, cobalt, and platinum-group metals.
Premium Nickel is focused on discovering world-class assets in jurisdictions that comply with their unshakable principles. Company CEO and Director, Keith Morrison, insisted that he doesn’t want to work for a mining company where his kids wouldn’t want to work.
Following the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Skyharbour was able to acquire multiple uranium exploration projects in Canada’s Athabasca Basin for pennies on the dollar. They now boast an extensive portfolio of fifteen projects covering over 450,000 hectares of mineral claims.
As Jordan Trimble, Skyharbour’s President, CEO, and Director, explained, uranium and nuclear energy will be essential to a low carbon future, pointing to growing demand in countries like France and China.
With innovations like 3D printing comes the threat of undetectable weapons like plastic guns, which can evade current security technology. To meet these new potential dangers, Liberty Defense has pioneered the HEXWAVE™ walkthrough system, which can detect metal and nonmetal weapons.
Furthermore, as Bill Frain, CEO and Director of Liberty Defense, demonstrated, the HEXWAVE™ walkthrough portal screens allow faster screening procedures because people don’t have to remove phones, wallets, or shoes. Airport security, for instance, can now be both safer and more convenient.
JAL Ventures Fund provides expansion capital for early-revenues stage Israeli-based companies with exponential scalability potential in the enterprise technology sector. JAL’s multi-generational team combines decades of experience investing in startups as well as managing and growing mature technology companies.
Tal Shaked, JAL Ventures Fund’s General Partner, explained that JAL is devoted to minimizing risk while maximizing the chances of success for their portfolio companies, which is reflected in their high hit rate.
