Fastmarkets 2026: AI, Defense And The Lithium Recovery

Fastmarkets CEO Raju Daswani and Fastmarkets Fast Forward host Andrea Hotter join Howard Klein and Matt Fernley ahead of the Fastmarkets' 2026 Global Lithium, Battery and Critical Minerals Conference in Las Vegas. Topics discussed include the lithium market reset, rising ESS demand, BYD’s global growth, Rio Tinto’s lithium strategy, critical minerals financing, Pentagon supply chain priorities, and why strategic materials are no longer a niche topic. Register for Fastmarkets Conference (Use code 'SPEAKER25' for 25% off): https://globalevents.fastmarkets.com/lithium-supply-and-battery-raw-materials-conference Listen to Fastmarkets' Fast Forward Podcast: https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/fast-forward-podcast/ Follow Fastmarkets: LinkedIn (Raju Daswani): https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajudaswani/ LinkedIN (Andrea Hotter): https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-hotter-ah1/ X/Twitter: https://x.com/FastmarketsMM ___ Chapters (00:00) Conference Preview (03:10) Market Mood (05:52) Strategic Materials Shift (08:28) Speaker Highlights (10:47) Networking And Investors (13:43) Fast Forward Podcast (17:21) BYD’s Global Growth (20:41) Mining Finance Gap (27:34) Pentagon Supply Chains (35:23) Europe’s Minerals Response (37:08) Rio’s Lithium Strategy (42:58) ESS Growth (45:42) Final Details Links Sign up for the Lithium-Ion Bull newsletter / Matt’s blogs: https://rkequity.com/ Questions: [email protected] Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/rockstockchannel Podcast   Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lithium-ion-rocks/id1457969172 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0KiMIZOPaDg8ENfPJMSINq Follow us on X (Twitter): Howard: https://x.com/LithiumIonBull Matt: https://x.com/matt_fernley Rodney: https://x.com/RodneyHooper13 _________________________________________________ DISCLAIMER NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE. DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH. Howard, Matt, and Rodney are not financial advisors or broker-dealers. This video is provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment or financial advice. Please conduct your own independent research and read the disclaimer at the end of the video or on RK Equity’s website: https://www.rkequity.com Intro and outro audio credit: Jamie Klein