32 | Circular-Economy Truths, Purple Batteries, Low-V Backbone, & 45X — with Roger Miksad, President & Executive Director of Battery Council International

32 | Circular-Economy Truths, Purple Batteries, Low-V Backbone, & 45X — with Roger Miksad, President & Executive Director of Battery Council International

From Beyond Lithium by BioZen Batteries

December 5, 2025 · 38 min · Season 2 · Episode 2

About this episode

Roger Miksad discusses the evolution of the battery industry and the principles of a circular economy with Nate Kirchhofer.

🪨 What product is the cornerstone of the US economy, enabling workers to commute every single day? What is the real trick to a truly circular economy? And how is this all tied to the end of World War I? For answers, we turn to Roger Miksad, president and Executive Director of Battery Council International , in discussion with Nate Kirchhofer, CEO of BioZen Batteries. The rise of the electric starter and returning WWI service members-turned-mechanics helped launch a century-long battery industry that still powers modern life. Roger shares how BCI, founded in 1924, grew from a handful of “garage-scale” manufacturers into the longest-running trade association for the North American battery industry, now steering its second century at the heart of the energy transition. Learn about Roger’s path: a lawyer who engaged with batteries by way of environmental compliance, worker safety, and end-of-life rules for an intensely regulated industry. Nate and Roger unpack how BCI’s members voluntarily operate with worker-exposure standards far tighter than federal requirements, and how standardization—right down to knowing which battery fits every mass-market vehicle on the road—became a hidden…

People in this episode

Host: Nate Kirchhofer

Guest: Roger Miksad

Topics covered

  • circular economy
  • battery industry
  • electric vehicles
  • worker safety
  • innovation
  • environmental compliance

Keywords

  • batteries
  • circular economy
  • electric starter
  • worker exposure standards
  • low-voltage batteries
  • energy transition
  • standardization

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Battery Council International, BioZen Batteries

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