With two weeks to go, Critical Minerals Expo North America, Battery Recycling Expo North America and E-Waste World Expo North America have published their full conference agendas, featuring more than 60 expert speakers tackling some of the most pressing issues facing the critical materials and resource recovery industries.
Taking place on October 28–29, 2026 at the Cobb Convention Center in Atlanta, the three co-located events will bring together industry leaders, policymakers, engineers, investors, recyclers and technology providers for two days of expert discussions, market analysis and technical insight.
The programs will address critical minerals supply chain security, domestic refining capacity, battery recycling economics, evolving regulations and the growing challenge of electronic waste generated by AI infrastructure.
The Critical Minerals Expo North America program will examine the commercial, political and technological forces shaping North America’s access to strategic materials, with discussions spanning rare earths, base metals, investment, processing and international partnerships.
On October 28, a panel titled Creating a Closed Loop Solution for Critical Materials: From Concept to Operation will bring together Jack Jia of Microsoft, Rhownica Birch of Western Digital, Luke Wray of Paladin Envirotech, Professor Munir Humayun of Florida State University and Daniel Bina of Critical Materials Recycling. The discussion will examine what it takes to move critical materials recovery from research into commercial deployment.
Other sessions will explore the outlook for rare earths markets in 2026/27, opportunities for partnerships between Ghana and North America, and the development of digital marketplaces for secondary critical materials. A base metals panel featuring representatives from Metso, the International Zinc Association, the Nickel Institute and Westwin Elements will examine how industry can prepare for future supply chain demands.
The program continues on October 29 with a particularly timely discussion: America’s Race for Rare Earths and China’s November Reckoning. Moderated by Tracy Hughes, Executive Director of the Critical Minerals Institute, and featuring industry veteran Constantine Karayannopoulos, American Rare Earths CEO Mark Wall, and North American Chair of the MMTA Noah Lehrman, the panel will examine China’s critical minerals export controls and their implications for North American supply chains, shortly before key November deadlines.
Further sessions will address critical materials for the aerospace and defense industries, the role of government and industry in strengthening domestic supply chains, and Boeing’s critical minerals supply chain strategy. The agenda also includes The Intelligence Advantage: How AI Can Transform Critical Minerals Strategy and Capital, exploring the potential for AI to support decision-making in an increasingly complex market.
KaLeigh Long, Founder and CEO of Westwin Elements, who will join the base metals panel, said:
“It is a privilege to join industry leaders at the Critical Minerals Expo North America to make the case for base metals as a national priority,” said Long. “Nickel is foundational to our defense, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing industries. America cannot achieve mineral security without the domestic capacity to refine the materials our industrial base depends on. Restoring domestic nickel refining is not just an economic priority. It is a matter of national security.”
The Battery Recycling Expo North America conference on October 28 will focus on the technologies, policies and commercial developments influencing battery circularity and the recovery of valuable materials.
The morning program will examine North American battery recycling policies and practices, the development of domestic supply chains and the role of recycling in meeting future demand. Noah Vasquez, Battery Metals Price Analyst at S&P Global, will present a market outlook covering battery demand, U.S. refining projects and the impact of black mass exports on domestic supply chains.
Regulation will also feature prominently, with Phoebe O’Connor of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency discussing end-of-life battery regulations and critical minerals recovery.
Later sessions will explore sustainable gigafactory design, AI applications in battery recycling supply chains and the challenges created by rapidly evolving battery chemistries. Speakers include Ryan Melsert, CEO of American Battery Technology Company, Thomas Laengle, CEO of Avian, and Dr. Gaurav Jha, CEO of Niobia.AI.
The program will also address the practical considerations that influence recovery rates, operational safety and plant economics, including mechanical pre-treatment and black mass production.
On October 29, E-Waste World Expo North America will examine the changing economics of electronics recycling, regulatory developments and the recovery of critical materials from end-of-life electronics.
The growth of AI infrastructure will be a central theme. Jim Puckett, Founder of Basel Action Network, will present The AI E-Waste Wave: What is Coming and Can We Sustainably Handle It?, examining the potential scale and environmental implications of waste generated by data center expansion.
Puckett will then join Michael Ellis, Circular Economy Lead at Google Cloud, for a fireside chat exploring the challenges and opportunities presented by this emerging waste stream.
The agenda will also cover state-by-state policy and extended producer responsibility, data privacy requirements in electronics recycling, and opportunities to recover critical materials from electronic, industrial and urban waste. Alexandra Levesque, Co-founder and CEO of iUMiX SA, will discuss approaches to building a traceable metal recovery ecosystem through biotechnology and local processing.
Additional sessions will explore solar panel recycling, drawing on operational experience from Italy, and the changing commercial value of electronics recycling. The conference will close with Rethinking E-Waste and Critical Materials, led by Corey Dehmey, CEO of SERI, examining the industry’s shift toward circularity and more secure critical materials supply chains.
With the full agenda now available, industry professionals can review the sessions and speakers across all three conferences and plan their visit around the topics most relevant to their work.
Attendance is free for industry professionals, with a complimentary Conference Pass providing access to Critical Minerals Expo North America, Battery Recycling Expo North America and E-Waste World Expo North America.
With the events just two weeks away, attendees are encouraged to register in advance and plan their conference schedule.
