Nano One Materials Corp (TSX:NANO) has continued to beef up its advisory resources with the appointment of Frank R. Fannon as a strategic advisor to the battery materials specialist. Fannon’s experience and insight on the importance of responsibly sourced, secure, domestic supplies of critical energy materials will be an additional and important resources for the company’s advisory committee.
Fannon is noted for his work in the US State Department where he elevated global awareness of the critical role that minerals play in the energy transition.
In May 2018, Fannon was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as the inaugural Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, a position he held until January 2021. As “America’s Energy Diplomat,” he led whole-of-government initiatives in the Indo-Pacific, the Americas, Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean, and Middle East to advance free, open markets, and resilient responsible supply chains. He also established the multi-country Energy Resources Governance Initiative to share global mining best practice and improve governance.
“Free nations are playing catch up”
“Free nations are playing catch-up to determine who will shape the clean energy economy, and according to what standards. In order to improve our environment and security, we must develop and deploy leapfrog technologies at scale,” Fannon said following his appointment.
Fannon joins Nano One’s Advisory Committee along with Dr. Yuan Gao, Joe Lowry, Robert Morris and Dr. Byron Gates.
Nano One has been focused for some time now on the role its patented battery materials technologies can play in supporting and developing sustainable supply chains. CEO Dan Blondal has told The Armchair Trader on more than one occasion that he things the company’s expertise can be effectively utilised by a variety of partner firms within battery supply chains.
Fannon is currently the managing director of Fannon Global Advisors, a strategic advisory focused on geopolitics, the energy transition, and market transformation. He is also a non-resident senior advisor at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, and a visiting senior fellow at the Center for Technology Diplomacy at Purdue.
Prior to his time at the State Department, Fannon established BHP’s U.S. Corporate Affairs function as a Managing Director and served as Chief U.S. Advisor to the BHP Foundation, focused on transparency and governance, environmental resilience, and education equity.
Prior to BHP, Fannon led government affairs for Murphy Oil Corporation where he facilitated new country entry in multiple regions and developed the industry’s first point-of-purchase consumer energy campaign. Previously, he served as counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, where he drafted, negotiated and helped pass key legislation. Fannon also served as counsel to Senators Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO) and Pete V. Domenici (R-NM).