Desire Runganga is an engineer with qualifications in mining, economics, and law. He has experience across engineering, policy, and strategic advisory. In his previous role at the Subsea Innovation Cluster Australia, he led a consulting project to develop a strategy for Western Australia’s offshore wind cluster, which was later commissioned by the Western Australian Government. He is also an active contributor to the Western Australian GreenTech Hub, where he develops evidence-based innovation challenge statements, maps clean-tech value chains, and synthesises stakeholder insights into policy and industry reports.

As a lead author of government- and industry-commissioned strategic reports, Desire has also published across leading engineering and economics journals. His work draws on analyses of thousands of stakeholders and international expert consultations, as well as lab-based experimentation, with a particular focus on mining, critical minerals, and clean energy technologies.

He currently contributes to thought leadership and market intelligence on critical minerals and clean-tech innovation in Western Australia, including leading analysis on global gallium supply, demand, and pricing outlook for an Australian gallium mining company.

Desire has worked across six universities in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Australia in both research and lecturing roles, primarily in engineering and economics. He has supervised over 20 engineering dissertations. Professionally, he is certified in mining engineering operations, having completed over 300 training shifts in industry. His work is driven by a commitment to advancing resource governance, innovation ecosystems, and sustainable energy transitions through globally coordinated solutions.

He is set to complete his PhD in Mining Engineering at the Western Australia School of Mines, where his research focuses on critical minerals assessments, mineral economics, and global collaboration in securing critical minerals for the energy transition.