Battery Value Chain Xchange USA 2026 Agenda

Transatlantic Battery Dynamics: Comparing Supply Chain Realities Across North America and Europe

• Analyzing the unique macro-economic drivers and supply chain implications requiring Lithium-Manganese-Rich (LMR) chemistries in the United States
• Evaluating the competitive cost advantages and structural market conditions accelerating Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) adoption across Europe
• Assessing how local manufacturing strategies by global leaders like CATL fundamentally reshape regional supply chain landscapes

Kimberly Berman Pivot Research

Kimberly Berman

Industry Analyst — Pivot Research

Kimberly Berman is an independent consultant at Pivot Research and an internationally recognized specialist in lithium-ion and next-generation battery technologies. She focuses extensively on the energy transition and the deglobalization of battery supply chains. A frequent presenter at leading industry conferences, Kimberly has authored numerous research papers for organizations including BMO Capital Markets and the World Bank Group. Her upcoming book explores the complex geopolitics surrounding global supply chains and champions the critical need for a circular economy mindset.

Navigating Battery Regulatory Complexity: Compliance Strategies and Dangerous Goods Transportation Realities across Supply Chains

• Navigating the shifting battery compliance landscape from a strict dangerous goods and transportation safety perspective
• Managing the downstream compliance impacts created by complex damaged, defective, or recalled battery classifications
• Transforming evolving regulatory standards into proactive corporate strategies that build measurable long-term market advantages

Elizabeth Gibbons Barber Empower to Comply LLC

Elizabeth Gibbons Barber, CDGP

Founder — Empower to Comply LLC

Elizabeth Gibbons Barber, CDGP, is a certified dangerous goods transportation specialist with over a decade of experience building compliant hazmat programs. As the founder of Empower to Comply and the resident transportation expert at Electrification Academy, she drives regulatory alignment across the EV and battery industries through standards development and direct compliance advisory work. Additionally, Elizabeth leads critical workforce development initiatives that successfully transition entry-level workers into Michigan’s rapidly growing battery industry.

Securing the Battery Supply Chain: Critical Minerals, Recycling, and Circular Material Flows

Beyond Recycling: Balancing Sustainability Goals with Manufacturing Economics in Circular Battery Ecosystems

• Building circular battery ecosystems by designing for sustainability, traceability, and strict regulatory compliance from the outset
• Closing the material loop with recycling-ready chemistries, highly recoverable elements, and innovative second-life applications
• Improving overarching manufacturing economics through high-value material recovery methods and scalable closed-loop technological strategies

Anitha Kapu Crusoe Energy Systems Inc.

Anitha Kapu

Director of Engineering — Crusoe Energy Systems Inc.

Anitha Latha Kapu is the Director of Engineering at Crusoe Technologies, bringing over 17 years of executive experience driving manufacturing, quality, and operational excellence across the tech industry. She previously held key leadership roles at SpaceX, Tesla, Amazon, Walmart, and Enovix, directing next-generation lithium-ion battery initiatives for electric vehicles, aviation, and robotics.

Currently, Anitha focuses on AI hyperscale data center infrastructure, enabling the high-performance computing platforms that power the future of artificial intelligence.

Next-Generation Battery Chemistries: Innovation Pathways, Performance Gains, and Commercial Readiness

Overcoming Strategy Execution Friction: Three Leadership Challenges Slowing Industrial Battery Scale-Up

• Identifying hidden execution bottlenecks that rapidly expose structural vulnerabilities within fast-paced industrial scaling environments
• Analyzing how cross-functional complexity and entrenched leadership operating habits quietly decelerate strategic corporate momentum
• Implementing practical, high-pressure management tactics to restore operational clarity, team alignment, and accountability frameworks

Kevin Judge iNOBL

Kevin Judge

CEO & Founder — iNOBL

Kevin Judge is a best-selling author, international speaker, and the Founder and CEO of iNOBL, an advisory firm that reduces leadership friction, execution risk, and organizational drag. With nearly 30 years of experience spanning entrepreneurial ventures and corporate environments, Kevin helps CEOs, executive teams, and boards strengthen alignment, operating discipline, and accountability when performance stalls. He is the creator of the Strategic Results Framework™ and authored The SMB Playbook to help organizations overcome operational strain and competing priorities.

Optimizing Energy Efficiency in Dry Room Design for Next-Generation Battery Manufacturing

• Defining critical dry room design parameters early to minimize capital expenditure and long-term operational costs
• Managing exponential increases in supply airflow and energy consumption caused by lower dew points and higher occupancies
• Implement energy-efficient dehumidification systems capable of maintaining dew points down to -80°C for advanced battery technologies

Keith Hoge Bry-Air

Keith Hoge

Business Development Consultant — Bry-Air Asia

Keith Hoge is a mechanical engineer and business development consultant specializing in the US battery value chain. He advises companies on scaling technologies across battery materials, energy storage, and advanced manufacturing, successfully bridging the gap between innovation and commercialization.

Today, Keith represents Bry-Air Asia, a global leader in advanced dehumidification systems. His expertise helps organizations deploy the critical, high-performance environmental control systems necessary for next-generation battery production and manufacturing excellence.

Scaling Global Battery Manufacturing: Gigafactory Execution, Supply Chains, and Production Readiness

Commercializing the World’s First Direct Battery Recycling Infrastructure in Korea

• Commercializing localized direct battery recycling facilities to process industrial scrap and downstream manufacturing defect streams
• Integrating high-efficiency, closed-loop reclamation technologies directly inside high-volume production gigafactories
• Optimizing cell manufacturing unit economics through targeted extraction of high-purity cathode and anode raw materials

Yu-Tack Kim Advanced Battery Recycle