Transforming Battery Nickel Supply
Our primary goal is to provide a secure supply of clean nickel for North American EV batteries to enable the car industry to reach its net-zero targets.
The Atlas Process will do this by:
1 – Increasing the amount of nickel ore available to make batteries by 50%.
Before the Atlas Process, saprolite ore, which accounts for approximately one third of the world’s current nickel resources, was not economically viable for battery grade applications.
2 – Producing battery nickel with almost zero CO2, no waste or other emissions.
All existing processes to refine nickel are costly and harmful to the environment due to their process emissions and waste dumps.
Our Team
Our world class team has developed the Atlas Process and now works with government, academia, investors, conservationists and industry to transform how nickel is processed to mitigate climate change.
We acknowledge the role of our visionary Co-Founder, Jeremy Ley, who passed away in January 2024. Jeremy successfully led the development of Atlas to disrupt and expand the battery nickel industry. The Ley family maintains a significant shareholding.
David Dreisinger
Interim CEO and
Co-Founder
David Dreisinger has over 35 years’ experience as a Professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada and holds the position of Professor and Chair, Industrial Research Chair in Hydrometallurgy. During his tenure, David and his team have published over 300 technical articles and offered a wide range of short courses to the metallurgical community. David has worked closely with industry to develop and commercialize technology.
Sarah Sclarsic
Director
Sarah Sclarsic is a Founding Partner of Voyager, a venture capital firm that invests in companies building the foundations of a decarbonized global economy.
She has been building and investing in transformative technology companies since 2009 and brings expertise in mobility, biotechnology, food and materials production, and carbon removal. Sarah holds a B.A. from Harvard and a M.S. from MIT, where she researched atmospheric carbon removal.
Kevin Tidwell
Director
Kevin Tidwell is the Managing Director of the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, one of the world’s largest climate change grant- making organizations. The Foundation uses its $1.5 billion endowment to invest in entrepreneurs and firms building green industries and systems ranging from critical minerals to carbon removal to energy storage.
Kevin is responsible for sourcing and managing climate investment and philanthropic opportunities and leads the Foundation’s direct investment program. Kevin holds a Master of Environmental Science from the Yale School of Forestry, a MBA from the Yale School of Management, and Bachelors in History and Environmental Engineering from Rice University.
Michael McPhie
SVP of Public Affairs and Project Director
Michael McPhie has over 25 years’ experience in the development of mineral resource projects and companies throughout North America and internationally. He is a specialist in major project development and operations, environmental and regulatory issues and financial/capital markets. Michael is currently Co-Chair and Founding Partner of Falkirk Environmental established to assist leading companies to navigate project design, permitting and development.
Michael also led the development of three public traded companies, including a successful IPO, that have been acquired over a ten year period from 2009 – 2019, generating over USD $500 million in value for investors. Previously, he was founding CEO of Curis Resources Ltd., where he oversaw the financing, permitting and development of the Florence Copper Project in Arizona, Executive Chairman of IDM Mining Ltd and President and CEO of the Mining Association of British Columbia.
Michael was the former Chair of the Board of Ridley Terminals Inc., the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) and the Association for Mineral Exploration (AME). Michael holds a MSc from Royal Roads University in Management and Environment.
Doug Dreisinger
SVP of Strategic Partnerships
Mr Dreisinger has over 35 years’ experience in the Energy & Chemical Industry with a successful track record in strategic planning, leadership, risk management and business development. Mr Dreisinger has also been providing strategy and business development support to Companies in the Power, Mining, Oil & gas sectors including a 20-year career with Nexen (now CNOOC) in numerous Executive roles including President of the Global Energy Marketing & Trading Business, VP Business Development and also VP Business Operations for the Chemical Business.
Doug has been serving on Public, Private and Government Boards and has a global perspective having dealt with customers and partners in 30 + countries. Doug is a Registered Professional Engineer (Alberta) and holds a BASc in chemical engineering from Queen’s University.
Brent Rochon
SVP Nickel Marketing
Brent Rochon has over 30 years’ experience at some of the world’s largest mining companies with particular experience in the nickel sector. Brent previously held a number of senior positions at Vale over 22 years and was most recently Vice President of Nickel across Europe and the Americas overseeing 60% of Vale’s Nickel sales and all Cobalt sales. Prior to that, he was responsible for the worldwide commercial activities of Vale’s copper sales and intermediate products.
Prior to Vale, Brent was Director Marketing at Teck Corporation, one of Canada’s leading mining companies with operations and projects spanning across Canada, the US, Chile and Peru. Brent holds an MBA, International Business from York University and BSc, Engineering Mining from Laurentian University.
Ken Baxter
SVP of Engineering
Ken Baxter has extensive over 35 years in the design and commissioning of metallurgical plants including innovative and technically challenging process plants. He has spent many years managing process design teams in gold and base metals, predominantly copper.
Alongside David Dreisinger, Ken was responsible for the process development and design of the Mt Gordon and Sepon hydrometallurgical plants and the Kansanshi Autoclave copper plant. Ken was formerly VP Technology; Director of Hydrometallurgy at SNC Lavalin Group, the largest construction company in Canada with operations in over 160 countries. His previous experience also includes Technical Manager Copper at Bateman Engineering and Process Engineer at Signet Engineering. Ken received a Master of Scientific Studies University of Queensland 1981 and Bachelor of Science Geology University of Queensland 1974.
Eric Trusiewicz
Special Adviser, Supplementary Cementitious Materials
Eric Trusiewicz is a specialist on heavy industrial decarbonization, particularly cement & concrete. He is active as a board member, advisor and operating executive working with venture-backed cleantech startups.
Eric has worked as an Entrepreneur in Residence at the $2bn clean-tech venture capital fund Breakthrough Energy Ventures, as a fellow at Stanford University, and prior to that has a decade of experience in the cement industry in a variety of executive roles across Europe and the United States at CEMEX. Eric holds a Master’s degree in Management from Stanford University Graduate School of Business, as well as a Bachelor’s degree from Yale University.
Investors
Grantham Environmental Trust
Grantham takes early-stage positions in important yet underfunded climate opportunities in sectors that are overlooked and underestimated by other investors.
Voyager Ventures
Voyager invests in early-stage climate technology companies creating the foundation of a decarbonized global economy and a livable future for all.
Counteract Carbon Removal
Counteract helps carbon removal companies to accelerate their growth by providing patient capital, hands on support, and access to expert networks.
Technical Partners
Atlas’ technology, processing methods and impact analysis have been reviewed by leading third party experts:
Engineering and design studies
Project design and metallurgical studies
Testing of our hydrometallurgical process
Economic analysis and nickel market studies
Advising on the optimal location for our plant
Supplementary cementitious materials (“SCM”) testing