Abstract

As part of our 25th anniversary celebrations, Gates Cambridge are honoured to welcome back alumni Scholar, Dr Rob Perrons (2001), who recently presented on the global critical minerals industry at the United Nations UNECE Resource Management Week 2025 in Geneva.

In this timely and thought-provoking talk, Rob will explore the vital role of critical minerals, such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements, in powering today’s clean energy technologies and high-tech products, from smartphones to electric vehicles. He will share new insights, drawn from global patent data over the past two decades, into the emerging geopolitical tensions and strategic manoeuvring among the U.S., China, and the EU.

Rob is a professor at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Australia. He has a B.Eng. in mechanical engineering from McMaster University in Canada, a Master’s degree in Technology & Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a PhD in engineering from the University of Cambridge, where he was a Gates Cambridge Scholar. Rob was named as a Fulbright Scholar in 2020 to research critical mineral supply chains, serves as a board member on several clean energy technology startups around the world, and is a member of the United Nations Expert Group for Energy and Resources.

Please book via: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/gates-cambridge-25th-anniversary-event-tickets-1316032411369?aff=oddtdtcreator