Center on Global Energy Policy

• Pickering Energy Partners (“PEP”) announces that a team led by Managing Directors Robyn Underwood and Jason Kivett have joined the PEP Investment Banking practice.
• The former Barclays investment bankers have worked together for over a decade with extensive experience across the energy sector.
• Abib provides rich market insights based on his experience as the former Global Head of Energy Investment Banking for Credit Suisse.
• "Our clients turn to us for our dedication to the energy sector, and our ability to get deals done," said Dan Pickering, Chief Investment Officer of Pickering Energy Partners.

• VANCOUVER, BC, June 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SIGMA Lithium Corporation ("Sigma Lithium" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: SGML, TSXV: SGML), dedicated to supplying the next generation of electric vehicles with environmentally sustainable and high-purity lithium, is pleased to announce its official sponsorship of The Aspen-Columbia Global Energy Forum, a collaborative effort between The Aspen Institute's Energy & Environment Program and The Center on Global Energy Policy.
• Sigma Lithium is honored to partner with The Aspen-Columbia Global Energy Forum which gathers leaders from around the world representing a range of industries, governments, thought leaders, and global institutions to discuss global energy transitions, markets, geopolitics, and security.
• Sigma Lithium's participation in the three-day Aspen-Columbia Global Energy Forum, taking place in Paris, France from June 11-13, 2023, represents another milestone in the company's commitment to the environmental sustainability of the lithium mining industry through innovation and global collaboration.
• Sigma Lithium CEO and Co-Chairperson Ana Cabral-Gardner said the following about this important partnership: "We are honored to join the group of corporate sponsors partnering with the Aspen Institute and Columbia University.

• Much of the international news coverage has focused on the clashing ambitions of the two generals.
• Specifically, that differences over the integration of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces into the regular army triggered the current conflict on April 15, 2023.
• Drawing on this expertise, it is important to underline that three decades of contentious energy politics among rival elites forms a crucial background to today’s conflict.

How energy has shaped Sudan’s violent political economy

• In the late 1990s, amid a devastating civil war, President Omar Al-Bashir’s military-Islamist regime announced that energy would help birth a new economy.
• It had already paved the way for this reality, ethnically cleansing the areas where oil would be extracted.
• This enabled it to weather internal political crises, increase the budgets of its security agencies and to spend lavishly on infrastructure.
• That’s a phenomenal sum and testament to its belief that the dams would become the centrepiece of Sudan’s modernised political economy.

South Sudan secedes

• Then, in 2011, South Sudan seceded – along with three-quarters of Sudan’s oil reserves.
• Sudan was also plagued by power cuts as the dams proved very costly and produced much less than promised.
• Both the Sudan Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces deepened their involvement in Sudan’s political economy.

Soaring fuel, food and fertiliser prices

• This brought together Sudan Armed Forces, Rapid Support Forces and a civilian cabinet.
• Inflationary pressures worsened as food and energy prices rose.
• It also strengthened a growing regional black market in which fuel, wheat, sesame and much else was illicitly traded across borders.

Overlapping crises

• Amid these overlapping energy, food and political crises, Sudan’s Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces have been violently competing for control of the political economy’s remaining lucrative niches, such as key import-export channels.
• Both believe the survival of their respective institutions is essential to preventing the country from descending into total disintegration.
• In view of such contradictions and complexity, there are no easy solutions to Sudan’s multiple crises.

• Probius , a deep tech company bridging the data gap between biology and AI, today announced two new members elected to the board of directors .
• View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221019005068/en/
  John J. MacWilliams and Janis Naeve named to Probius Board of Directors (Photo: Business Wire)
  The strength brought by these two leaders comes at a fascinating time for Probius, said Emmanuel Quevy, CEO of Probius.
• Johns insights into the transformational impact that high-fidelity data can have will help fuel the AI revolution from discovery to clinical applications.
• Probius is positioned to transform how biological data impacts the digital age as no company has, said Mr. MacWilliams.