Event

The Road to Net-Zero 2050: Unleashing Cobalt’s Potential for the EU’s energy transition and competitiveness

4pm – 5.30pm CET 19 november 2024
Radisson RED, Brussels

Cobalt is critical for achieving the EU’s sustainable growth, energy transition and competitiveness. Key sectors – EV batteries, aerospace, defence and consumer electronics – will increase cobalt demand three-fold by 2050, driven by the global commitment to achieve the energy transition. Fully unlocking cobalt’s potential to help deliver a net-zero future urgently demands significant capital deployment and new production capacity, together with policies incentivizing demand, competitiveness, and recycling.

The net-zero transition will require three times more cobalt and over $1.7 billion of new investment, as well as effective government policies that incentivize demand, competitively grow supply, and prioritize recycling.

Our expert panel will include key policymakers and industry leaders who will discuss how cobalt and critical raw materials support the EU’s climate goals, its industrial strategy, and its long-term competitive edge. With the EU’s new priorities for 2024-2029 as a backdrop, the discussion will focus on how strategic use of critical metals can inform EU policy, drive the green transition and ensure that Europe maintains its industrial competitiveness.

The discussion will be based on the groundbreaking “Cobalt 2050” study – first for any energy transition metal – developed by BloombergNEF for Cobalt Institute. The study offers in-depth scenarios for cobalt demand through 2050, demonstrating its role in the decarbonization of the EU economy and the path to net-zero.

 

Agenda

19 November 2024, 15.30 – 19.30 CET
15.30 – 16.00

Arrival & Registration
16.00 – 16.05

Welcome Speech

  • Dinah McLeod, Director General, Cobalt Institute
16.05 – 16.20

Keynote remarks

  • Eric Kalala, CEO, Entreprise Générale du Cobalt
16.20 – 16.35

“Cobalt 2050” study presentation

  • Ellie Gomes-Callus, Metals and Mining Associate, BloombergNEF
16.35 – 17.15

Panel discussion

  • Dinah McLeod, Director General, Cobalt Institute
  • Ellie Gomes-Callus, Metals and Mining Associate, BloombergNEF
  • Peter Handley, Founder, Phase32
  • Veronique Steukers, President-Designate, Director Public Policy & Sustainability, Nickel Institute
17.15 – 17.30

Q&A with audience

Event will be moderated by Jennifer Baker, EurActiv
17.30 – 19.30 Cocktail reception

speakers

Dinah McLeod,
Director General,
Cobalt Institute

Dinah comes with a wealth of experience in sustainability and expertise in leadership, strategic planning, and membership liaison having previously served as the CEO of the Global Cement and Concrete Association where she was responsible for overseeing membership relations, external communications, policy, and strategy. Throughout her career, Dinah worked for a range of development and public policy projects at the World Bank, as well as lead business and sustainability practices at think tanks, leadership initiatives, and private sector.

A dual Canadian and British national, Dinah holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Columbia University and a Master’s degree from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.

Ellie Gomes-Callus,
Metals and Mining Associate,
Bloomberg NEF

Ellie Gomes-Callus is a Metals and Mining Associate at Bloomberg NEF. Her research covers battery metal markets, global critical mineral policies and the pathways to decarbonization for the mining sector. Prior to her role at Bloomberg NEF, Ellie spent her time as a Research Scientist with RFC Power, an energy storage start-up, before joining the UK Government. At the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, she worked in oil and gas policy and energy innovation funding. Ellie holds a BSc in Natural Sciences from the University of Nottingham and an MRes in Green Chemistry from Imperial College London.

Peter Handley,
Founder,
Phase32

Most recently, Peter was the head of unit and deputy director in DG GROW responsible for critical raw materials (CRMs) and energy-intensive industries. In that role, he led the work on the EU Critical Raw Materials Act and negotiated the EU’s strategic partnerships on CRMs. Before that, he worked in the Secretariat General as head of the policy coordination unit responsible for the Energy Union and Circular Economy. As an EU trade negotiator, he worked on WTO industrial market access (tariff and non-tariff barriers) and on steel trade issues.

Peter has a degree in French and politics from Bristol University and followed the Cycle International Long (CIL) at France’s Ecole Nationale d’Administration.

Veronique Steukers,
President-Designate,
Director Public Policy & Sustainability,
Nickel Institute

Veronique is currently Director Public Policy & Sustainability for the NI. In this role, she is responsible for ensuring that global regulation and legislation on nickel and nickel compounds is science-based, justified and takes account of the socio-economic importance and the life cycle perspective of nickel. From January 2025, Veronique will move into the role of President of the NI. She is based in Brussels.

Prior to joining the Nickel Institute in 2012, Veronique was Advocacy Director in the Corporate Sustainability Department of Albemarle. She has more than 20 years experience in regulatory and government affairs as well as advocacy in the corporate metal and chemicals sector.

Veronique holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Exeter.

Éric Kalala,
CEO, Entreprise Générale du Cobalt,
Vice-President of the Chamber of Mines of DRC

Eric Kalala completed his university studies by obtaining a Master’s degree in Management engineering from the Institute of Administration and Management at the Université Catholique de Louvain, in Belgium, 2003.

This education was completed by a CEMS Master’s in International Management from HEC -Paris in 2004 and by a GMP from Harvard Business School at Harvard University in 2015. After a career in Corporate Finance from 2003 within the Bolloré Group, he migrated to Corporate Governance positions from 2012, of which he became Managing Director in 2012 then Chairman and CEO from 2019 to 2023. In addition, from 2018 to 2020, he was also Deputy CEO of Havas Media RDC and President of the Vivendi Africa Group DRC since 2022.

Since June 2023, he has been appointed CEO of the Enterprise Générale du Cobalt, in charge of the exploitation of Congolese cobalt of artisanal origin. Cobalt is an essential commodity to the electric battery industries. Its main skills are naturally oriented towards: Corporate Governance, Logistics (port and mining), Corporate Finance.

He is an accredited mining and quarrying agent at the Ministry of Mines and Vice-President of the Chamber of Mines of DRC.