Critical mineral supplies are under strain as industries race to secure them for everything from electric vehicle batteries to renewable energy infrastructure. This webinar brings together leaders from mining technology, sustainable finance, and policy to explore how industry can build resilient critical mineral supplies, scaling supply chains while reducing risk and cost.
Discussion will center on the multiple, complementary paths industry can take toward de-risking the critical mineral supply. On one front, recycling and urban mining are increasing the resilience of the supply. This work includes end-of-life battery recovery, electronic waste collection and processing, and secondary byproduct recovery from industrial operations. On another front, companies like Mariana Minerals are addressing challenges at the source, applying autonomous mining and refining technology to cut the cost and complexity of extracting critical minerals domestically. And finally institutions such as ING are helping to scale the companies that source critical minerals through financing and investment strategies and strategic partnerships. Together, these approaches represent diversification that creates a more secure and resilient supply chain.
Participants can expect to discuss:
- De-risking strategies across the supply chain, including how autonomous mining, recycling, and strategic financing are working together to build a more secure, diversified supply.
- How industry is scaling recycling and recovery, with insight into key bottlenecks and opportunities in battery recycling, e-waste processing, and industrial byproduct recovery.
- Financing of critical minerals projects, such as how companies can structure capital, meet bankability requirements, and build partnerships to scale.
This presentation is part of the CATALYZE Series, connecting to themes of the CATALYZE Summit. The Summit is a two-day, in-person gathering taking place in April 2027 in Detroit, Michigan, where engineers, researchers, and practitioners will convene to accelerate climate solutions across industry. CATALYZE is co-produced by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Constructive, a nonprofit reshaping cross-sector collaboration to advance clean energy and climate solutions.
Come with questions and be prepared to chat directly with our presenters and like-minded peers from around the world.
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Presenters
Abigail Hunter, Executive Director of SAFE’s Center for Critical Minerals Strategy, brings deep policy and market expertise on building resilient, secure critical mineral supply chains for the industries and technologies of the future.
Darian Orozco, Sr. Director of Process and Plant Engineering at Mariana Minerals, will share insights from the company’s work developing autonomous mining and refining operations, including what it describes as the world’s first autonomous mine. By applying robotics and software to reduce mining costs by 50% and refining costs by 30%, Mariana Minerals is working to reinvent how mines, refineries, and infrastructure are built, while helping expand U.S. domestic production of critical minerals.
Cindy Jia, Managing Director and Head of the Sustainable Solutions Group – Americas at ING, will offer a financial sector perspective on scaling these solutions. She will share insights and experiences on how to build the right capital stack for each stage of a company’s growth trajectory, key bankability requirements for early commercialization projects, as well as how to develop value-chain partnerships to take things to the next level.
Cindy heads ING’s Sustainable Solutions Group for the Americas region, providing tailored advisory and financing solutions to support clients’ sustainability projects and goals and to scale up new sustainable technologies and markets.
Cindy is a seasoned industry professional with a career spanning across project finance, technology development, and business strategy. Prior to joining the team, Cindy led a start-up developing advanced heat exchangers and reactors for industrial applications and helped the company and its partners win multiple awards from the US Department of Energy. Cindy was also first inventor of a novel heat exchanger that was selected for funding by the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy, one the DOE’s most selective programs sponsoring transformational research, alongside the likes of MIT, GE, and Boeing.
Cindy has a BS in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from the St. Francis School of Law. She is admitted to the California Bar.
Moderator
Jake Wellman leads Constructive’s US programs including the Mountain West Geothermal Consortium and support for DERVOS and ASME CATALYZE. Bringing a combination of policy, strategy, and commercial experience, Jake has supported industry and government leaders to develop plans, investments and value capture opportunities related to the energy transition for over a decade.
Host
Iana Aranda is the President of Engineering for Change and Managing Director of Sustainability at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In these roles, Ms. Aranda leads cross-functional efforts to develop sustainability business strategy focusing on advancing engineering knowledge, enhancing technical workforce readiness, facilitating the energy transition, and accelerating innovation to improve the quality of life for people and the planet. She also oversees ASME’s emerging climate technology and sustainability stakeholder engagement groups.
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