Darryn Quayle
Vice President, Business Development
“My whole career has been centered around mining. I want to use that experience to transform the battery materials industry, so it’s fit for a sustainable future.”
“Before joining Worley, I was the UK Government’s mining engineer.
“In that role, I established global supply chains for battery manufacturing in the UK and Europe,” he says.
Darryn joined Worley in 2021 and has already seen big changes in battery materials across the supply chain.
“The batteries sector is moving at a million miles a minute. Everyone’s eyes are on how we can sustainably produce and recycle batteries to power the energy transition.
“The IEA predicts that for electric vehicles alone, overall mineral demand will be almost 30 times higher than it was 2020,” Darryn says. “This means mining more materials that already have supply and demand concerns. So, we need to find new solutions that protect the environment and minimize the unintended consequences of traditional mining methods.”
The demand for greener batteries in a net zero world
Darryn warns of the misconceptions that the active materials in batteries are readily available or environmentally sustainable.
“The way we mine hasn’t changed in about 100 years. We’ve just got better and more efficient at doing old processes.
“An underappreciated challenge is that as battery material demand grows, it will take a lot of energy to refine these materials,” he explains. “Battery anodes in electric vehicles are typically made from a by-product of crude oil cracking. And that doesn’t make sense in the transition to a low carbon energy system.”
Using our legacy to build a better future
Darryn knows that building a team of experts is essential to expand the supply of battery materials. But he also recognizes that experts don’t all need to come from the same background.
“Electric vehicles. Solar facilities. Wind farms. Batteries touch every part of the energy transition and it’s our job to make that a success,” he says.
“We’re doing this by assembling our battery materials team with skills and experience from across our company. We know energy, chemicals and resources, and when it comes to battery-active materials, all have a role to play.
“We have resources teams specializing in new mining technologies. Chemicals experts working on low carbon fine chemistry and refining processes. And professionals with transferable skills from conventional energy advising on optimizing facilities and bringing in standardization modules for greater efficiency.
“We’re evolving with the industry by having new solutions ready for when they’re needed. And I can’t wait to see where this journey takes us.”
