Lithium Acceptance
Satellite Workshop @LithiumDays 2026
10 December 2026
Presenter: Prof Dr Stefan Hielscher
(Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies, IAMO)
Contents
This workshop addresses a core governance challenge that affects many raw material and infrastructure projects: how can participation be designed in ways that address societal conflict early enough to prevent delay, blockage, or even project abandonment? Lithium projects serve as a timely and particularly illustrative case in this broader debate.
The main focus is on the involvement of affected and relevant stakeholders before major permitting, siting, and investment decisions are made. This is typically the phase in which uncertainty, distributional conflict, legitimacy concerns, and strategic contestation are most intense.
Format
Moderated focus group discussion
Participants will discuss which policy and business approaches are most promising for making participation more constructive, credible, and effective.
Why it's worth it
Objectives
- Clarify participation as a core acceptance and governance challenge in raw material and infrastructure projects
- Imporve understanding of the typical drivers of delay, blockage, and project failure
- Identify practical options for action for policymakers, companies, and other stakeholders
Benefits
The workshop offers a compact and interactive opportunity to discuss a highly relevant practical challenge with participants from academia and practice. Participants will benefit from
- a clear analytical framing of participation as a critical success factor in infrastructure and raw material projects,
- the opportunity to contribute their own experience and perspectives in a moderated focus group discussion,
- a solution-oriented exchange on feasible policy and business responses, and
- transferable insights that go beyond lithium and are relevant to other transformation and infrastructure projects as well.
How to participate
Participation in the workshop is open to registered attendees as part of LithiumDays 2026. When registering, please select the relevant option in the ticket form.*
*subject to availability; limited capacity