Critical Minerals & Energy Storage Conference - Day 1 Conclusions: Fastmarkets Takeaways Day 1

Research evidence excerpt

Critical Minerals & Energy Storage Conference - Day 1 Conclusions: Fastmarkets Takeaways Day 1

Deutsche Bank

Research

North America Industry Date

Canada 24 June 2026

United States Fastmarkets

Industry Update

Industrials Takeaways Day 1

Metals & Mining

Critical Minerals & Energy Storage

Conference - Day 1 Conclusions

Corinne Blanchard

High focus on geopolitics and support to Lithium & Critical Minerals Research Analyst

We are attending a 3 day conference from Fastmarkets in Las Vegas covering +1-904-645-2360

Lithium, Critical Minerals & Energy Storage. We will also be hosting a Fireside Chat

David Begleiter

with the Fastmarkets team on July 2nd at 10am ET. Register here. Research Analyst

+1-212-250-5473

In this note, we are summarizing the key takeaways from presentations and

conversations with industry experts.

n North American battery demand has been and continue to experience a

structural realignment driven by i) OEMS integrating lower cost battery

systems to unlock mass market platform and ii) surging AI demand.

n LFP cells made in the US benefiting from the 45x are cost competitive vs

China-based cells, according to Fastmarkets experts. However intense

foreign investment restricts US compliant cells.

n Geopolitics discussions remain central given the current competition at

both the corporate and country levels to access and mine critical

minerals. That competition has created smaller margin profit profile for

most.

n Many players mentioned the main challenge of the Lithium supply chain

remains the dominance of China, especially in the conversion process.

n ALB team mentioned that while the US has battery factories and a

willingness to develop the Lithium industry, the lack of resources is critical

and impend this. ALB mentioned conversion and processing need to be