The Power Current with Chris Berry
Jun 23, 2026 · 48 min · 12 segments
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…
Flemming BjornslevGuestChris BerryHostYou know, look, you can't really open up a newspaper or... go to another podcast or go to another conference and not talk about rare earths and magnets today.
I think a lot of that has to do with the way that the political winds are blowing in national capitals.
What do you think has fundamentally changed in the rare earth market over the past few years? Why is it front page news again?
I believe the biggest change is that rare earths have moved from being a niche mining topic to a strategic supply chain priority.
As you know, a few years ago, the conversation was mostly about resource availability and mining capacity, and today the focus is much broader.
Who can process, separate, refine, and deliver high purity rare earth products at a commercial scale.
And I think the market has also realized that rare earths are not really rare in terms of geology.
The more difficult challenge is building the technical infrastructure to convert that material into separated purified products that conserve magnets, EVs, wind turbines, electronics, and defense applications.
And so why do you think, where does the urgency come from? I think, again, a lot of this is policy driven, but just, again, love to hear your take uh, where you think the urgency really is, is centered around building these Western aligned supply chains.
Well, I think that there is urgency because Rare Earths sits at the intersection of energy security, industrial competitiveness, and national security.
These materials are critical for permanent magnets, electric vehicles, wind generation, robotics, advanced electronics, and defense systems.
For decades, much of the downstream rare earth processing and separation capacity has been concentrated in a very limited number of geographies.
Western governments and companies now want more resilient, diversified supply chains that are closer to end markets and therefore less exposed to geopolitical disruptions.
It requires processing plants, water management, chemical handling, separation technology, polishing systems, waste minimization, and above all, environmental compliance.
And that is why urgency is creating opportunities across the entire value chain, in my
You know, look, you can't really open up a newspaper or... go to another podcast or go to another conference and not talk about rare earths and magnets today.
I think a lot of that has to do with the way that the political winds are blowing in national capitals.
What do you think has fundamentally changed in the rare earth market over the past few years? Why is it front page news again?
I believe the biggest change is that rare earths have moved from being a niche mining topic to a strategic supply chain priority.
As you know, a few years ago, the conversation was mostly about resource availability and mining capacity, and today the focus is much broader.
Who can process, separate, refine, and deliver high purity rare earth products at a commercial scale.
And I think the market has also realized that rare earths are not really rare in terms of geology.
The more difficult challenge is building the technical infrastructure to convert that material into separated purified products that conserve magnets, EVs, wind turbines, electronics, and defense applications.
And so why do you think, where does the urgency come from? I think, again, a lot of this is policy driven, but just, again, love to hear your take uh, where you think the urgency really is, is centered around building these Western aligned supply chains.
Well, I think that there is urgency because Rare Earths sits at the intersection of energy security, industrial competitiveness, and national security.
These materials are critical for permanent magnets, electric vehicles, wind generation, robotics, advanced electronics, and defense systems.
For decades, much of the downstream rare earth processing and separation capacity has been concentrated in a very limited number of geographies.
Western governments and companies now want more resilient, diversified supply chains that are closer to end markets and therefore less exposed to geopolitical disruptions.
It requires processing plants, water management, chemical handling, separation technology, polishing systems, waste minimization, and above all, environmental compliance.
And that is why urgency is creating opportunities across the entire value chain, in my
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