Karla Cervantes Barron

Consultant & Visiting Researcher Independent & Imperial College London

Karla is an Independent Consultant and Visiting Researcher based at Imperial College London. Karla is the Technical Lead of the Critical Minerals in Africa project in the Climate Compatible Growth (CCG) Programme, a UK-funded programme focusing on low-carbon transitions. The work involved creating a platform to evaluate battery mineral value addition in 14 southern African countries. Karla has engaged with other CCG partner countries including Lao PDR, Viet Nam and Zambia to conduct research on industrial efficiency and critical mineral supply. Karla was part of CCG from the beginning as a Postdoctoral Research Associate, and then Senior Research Associate in the Resource Efficiency Collective at the University of Cambridge. Her research focused on the critical and bulk materials used in low-carbon energy and transport systems including future material demand and supply. Prior to this, Karla worked in the non-alcoholic beverage sector in Mexico in two of the biggest global companies in the areas of quality, operations and environmental responsibility. Karla studied Chemical Engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), later obtained an MSc in Environmental Systems Engineering from University College London, and a PhD in Engineering from the University of Cambridge.