The Power Current with Chris Berry

In this episode of Power Current , host Chris Berry sits down with Flemming Bjørnslev of Aquatech to explore one of the biggest challenges facing the global rare earth industry: processing. Flemming explains why the future of Western rare earth supply chains depends not only on discovering new deposits, but on building the technical expertise to separate, refine, and produce high-purity materials...

My guest today is Mr Tomasz Nadrowski, portfolio manager of the Amvest Terraden Critical Minerals Fund and author of the terrific new book titled “Mineral War – China’s Quest for Weapons of Mineral Destruction”. Tomasz has spent over 15 years managing commodity mining equity portfolios for a host of institutional clients and was a Director at the World Economic Forum and VP of Business Development...

My guest today is Martin Turenne, President and CEO of FPX Nickel. Martin has a decade and a half of markets experience – almost all in the nickel market and has some really interesting views on market structure and the future direction for nickel. In this conversation we cover a wide range of topics including the “trail of tears” in the nickel market, the OPEC-like dominance of Indonesian nickel...

Chris Berry interviews Christian Kargl-Simard, CEO of Blue Moon Metals, about his transition from metallurgical engineering into the world of junior base and critical metal production. Kargl-Simard shares insights on Blue Moon’s portfolio of five brownfield, permitted assets located in stable jurisdictions such as the United States and Norway. A primary focus of the discussion is the critical role...

While the war in Iran has put a spotlight on oil prices and the risk of a global energy shock, a number of critical chemical inputs are also under threat. One of the most important — and least talked about — is sulfuric acid. As the West races to scale up mining projects, reliable access to inputs like sulfuric acid is essential. So what happens if that supply is disrupted or cut off entirely? Con...

Last week I was visiting investors and companies on the West Coast of the US for a project I’m working on and the predominant topic was Geopolitics. Specifically, how to interpret it, how to price it, and how to build a business in a highly strategic sector as the rules seemingly continue to change. Metals prices are broadly WAY UP so equity investors should be happy and the companies themselves s...

Hello and welcome back to this episode of The Power Current. The Power Current is a podcast that tries to provide clarity around what happens when commodities, geopolitics and technology all collide. The Power Current is a production of the Clear Commodity Network. Today we're looking at company building in the critical metals space in Saskatchewan with Christopher Hopkins, CEO of Canadian Ene...

Industrial policy debates around critical metals continue to rage in national and financial capitals. What works best? Price floors? Export controls? Tariffs? A mixture? I wanted to flesh out these and other questions with two individuals that have been steeped in the policy and financial questions that the markets are struggling to answer: Arnab Datta and Alex Turnbull. Arnab is the Managing Dire...

Today, we’re taking a deep dive into green technology with Graham Bain, the Principal Analyst for Energy Transition Research at Enverus. Graham has a background as a geologist and now runs a team covering CCUS, geothermal, and direct lithium extraction technologies. One constant in investing is that technology is a profoundly deflationary force that creates many more opportunities than it destroys...

Hello and welcome back to the first episode of 2026 of The Power Current with me, your host Chris Berry. The Power Current is a production of the Clear Commodity Network. With the metals markets defying gravity, we’ve seen some obvious no-brainers like lithium and copper and some surprises like gold and silver. Despite that, coming into 2026, the market consensus for one metal in particular was qu...

Today’s guest is long-time friend, author, and Director at 3-Legged Capital David S Abraham. I first met David in 2012 after I read and reviewed his book The Elements of Power. Since then, David has worked throughout both government and the private sector and is an adjunct professor at Boise State University. In today’s pod we discuss how the battery and magnet supply chains are evolving given the...

In today's pod we take a closer look at the boron market with Paul Weibel, CEO of 5E Advanced Materials. In recent weeks we’ve looked at ferrosilicon, advanced anode materials, and so I wanted to examine a market like boron which is underfollowed relative to some of the more familiar materials like lithium or cobalt. I was surprised to learn just how ubiquitous boron is in multiple sectors of...

My guest today is Vikram Handa, Managing Director at Epsilon Advanced Materials. Epsilon Advanced Materials is a global manufacturer of high performance and high-quality anode and cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. The company has ambitious plans to build much needed anode capacity in the US, Finland, and India and in today's discussion, we cover all of this and other topics including th...

In this episode of The Power Current, host Chris Berry interviews economist Adrián Godás at the Fast Markets Conference in Las Vegas. They discuss the current state of the lithium and cobalt markets, the challenges of supply and demand, and the role of recycling in the battery supply chain. Godas shares insights on market dynamics, pricing expectations, and the importance of government policy in s...

In this episode of The Power Current podcast, host Chris Berry interviews Dr. Cormac O'Laoire, Managing Director at Electrios Energy, discussing the evolution of the battery industry, particularly focusing on lithium-ion and LFP technologies. They explore the current trends in the battery supply chain, the shift in battery chemistry narratives, and the overlooked areas within the industry. The...

In this episode, Trevor Hall takes the host seat to interview Paul Lusty, Head of Battery Raw Materials at Fastmarkets. This conversation delves into the future projections of the lithium market, exploring the dynamics of supply and demand, the role of renewable energy, and the importance of other battery raw materials like cobalt and manganese. The discussion highlights the challenges and opportu...

In this episode of The Power Current, host Chris Barry interviews Ken Brinsden, CEO of Patriot Battery Metals, discussing the current state of the lithium market, the evolution of off-take agreements, and the importance of vertical integration in lithium mining. Brinsden shares insights on the demand dynamics, processing challenges, and unconventional takes on the future of the lithium supply chai...

This week we continue with a deep dive into how tariffs and regulatory policy are impacting the ways in which the critical material supply chain is being built. In the wake of the podcast with Tantalus Systems where we looked deeper into the challenges and opportunities of the electricity grid, today’s podcast centers on material science with a deep dive into Ferroglobe.  Ferroglobe is a global le...

Chokepoints - American Power in an Age of Economic Warfare with Eddie Fishman As China and the US jockey for geopolitical pre-eminence, the war to decide the victor will not necessarily be fought with missiles and drones. In fact, the economy has become the true weapon of choice with tariffs, export controls, currencies, and clearing networks serving as ammunition. Evidence of this economic warfar...

The recent blackout in Spain and Portugal was a wake-up call. Why did it happen? What can prevent something like this from happening again? While there were multiple factors that led to the collapse of the grid, there are solutions, and here to talk about one such pathway forward is Peter Londa, CEO of Tantalus Systems Holdings. Tantalus is a tech company that helps utilities modernize their distr...

One of the major changes we have seen globally in recent years along the clean energy supply chain is the willingness of governments in countries like China, the US, and the EU to jumpstart funding for projects through investment or production tax credits or grants and loans. The Trump Administration has thrown some of this into doubt with a reshuffling of priorities and threats to somehow cancel...

This episode of Power Current delves into the intricacies of black mass production with Lee Allen of Fastmarkets, exploring its definition, importance, and the current landscape of the recycling market. Lee Allen shares insights on the geographical distribution of black mass production, challenges in scrap battery supply, and the competitive dynamics affecting pricing. The discussion also highligh...

Our guest today is Mr Erik Olson. Erik is President of Venn Strategies and Spokesperson for the North American Graphite Alliance.  He has a wealth of experience in Washington DC serving for 14 years on the staff of Congressman Ron Kind (D- Wisconsin). The North American Graphite Alliance (NAGA) represents producers of battery-grade natural and synthetic graphite, both of which are used to create a...

My guest today is Mr. Tem Tumurbat. Tem is co-founder and managing partner at Nomadic Venture Partners. Nomadic is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in digital and light hardware technologies focused on decarbonizing the metals, manufacturing, and transport sectors. Tem co-founded Nomadic in 2021 and focuses on fund strategy, fundraising, portfolio construction, valuation, and finan...

William Bergh and Eden Yates - Cling Systems Cling Systems is a company dedicated to true battery circularity through wringing out friction and costs associated with battery procurement to create a true battery second life ecosystem. Cling is unique in many ways not the least of which is the fact that this is the company’s second time on the podcast. In this episode, we cover how the battery suppl...