Full Agenda Announced for North America’s Leading Critical Minerals, Battery Recycling and E-Waste Events
More than 60 expert speakers will address key challenges facing the critical materials and resource recovery industries at Critical Minerals Expo North America, Battery Recycling Expo North America and E-Waste World Expo North America.
📍 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.
Critical Minerals Expo North America
The program will explore rare earths markets, domestic refining capacity, international partnerships and the impact of China’s export controls on North American supply chains.
Speakers include 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. Other contributors include KaLeigh Long, CEO of Westwin Elements; Mark Wall, CEO of American Rare Earths; and Constantine Karayannopoulos, an industry veteran. Sessions will also examine Boeing’s critical minerals supply chain strategy and AI applications in critical minerals markets.
💬 KaLeigh Long, Founder and CEO of Westwin Elements, said:
“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.”
Battery Recycling Expo North America
The conference will address battery recycling policies, domestic supply chains, end-of-life battery regulations, sustainable gigafactory design and black mass production.
Contributors include Noah Vasquez, Battery Metals Price Analyst at S&P Global; Phoebe O’Connor of the US Environmental Protection Agency; Ryan Melsert, CEO of American Battery Technology Company; Thomas Laengle, CEO of Avian; and Dr. Gaurav Jha, CEO of Niobia.AI.
E-Waste World Expo North America
The program will examine the growing volume of electronic waste generated by AI infrastructure and data centre expansion. Jim Puckett, Founder of Basel Action Network, will address the potential scale and environmental implications of AI-related e-waste before joining Michael Ellis, Circular Economy Lead at Google Cloud, for a discussion on this emerging waste stream.
The agenda will also feature Alexandra Levesque, Co-founder and CEO of iUMiX SA, on traceable metal recovery, alongside sessions on extended producer responsibility, data privacy, solar panel recycling and critical materials recovery from electronic and industrial waste.
🎟️ Attendance is free for industry professionals, with a complimentary Conference Pass providing access to all three events.
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