Thank you to everyone who joined us for this year’s #SAFESummit2026. Over two days, we tackled a wide spectrum of challenges—from energy and critical minerals to supply chains, infrastructure, and industrial capacity. One theme was clear: the systems underpinning our energy security are being fundamentally redefined.

U.S. projects for direct lithium extraction are gaining momentum as lithium prices rebound and battery demand endures. Several companies are pushing previously delayed ventures and oil giants like Exxon and Chevron are advancing rival projects, @amenasaiyid and @cm_energyintel report. SAFE’s Zoe Oysul tells @energyintel that future periods of oversupply “are likely,” and that making greater predictability and revenue certainty particularly will be important for long-term investment decisions. energyintel.com/000001a0-b76…

SAFE's nonpartisan coalition of 22 retired four-star admirals and generals and former Fortune 500 CEOs have called on Congress for the swift passage of the bipartisan Connected Vehicle Security Act (CVSA). In a letter to U.S. Senate and House leaders on Tuesday, the Energy Security Leadership Council urged for a clear legal backstop to restrict Chinese connected vehicles and vehicle connectivity systems from entering the U.S. The CVSA alone will not address " will not address our dangerous dependence on adversaries for essential technologies and commercial inputs, but it is an important measure for data security and sends a clear, policy signal to American automakers," the Energy Security Leadership Council wrote. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

" The no. 1 factor that will determine whether the US or China wins the AI race is whose technology is most broadly adopted in the rest of the world." Hear more from @R_McCleery of @Securing_Energy in our latest episode of the PAVEcast. Listen on your favorite podcast platform!

Register for SAFE's webinar this Wednesday, "Clearing Constraints: Executive Order 14420 and the Component Chokepoints Slowing Grid Expansion" hosted by our Center for Grid Security. Join us to learn which components are the most pressing bottlenecks for grid buildout, why some of these chokepoints sit further upstream than most people realize, where adversarial supply chain dominance poses the greatest risk to grid security, and what the right investment mechanism looks like for each constraint. Register here: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi…

The Trump-Xi Summit in D.C. is just under two weeks away, and the question remains: What will China do about the export controls it announced last October on rare earth elements, REE production equipment, high-density lithium-ion batteries, and more? ➡️The background & timeline: - China issues its export controls on October 9, 2025. - President Trump and Xi meet in South Korea on October 30, 2025, resulting in both countries delaying export controls and restrictions by one year. - China agrees to suspend its October 9 export controls, while the U.S. also delays a rule it had issued on September 29, 2026 restricting exports to subsidiaries that are 50% or more owned by entities on the Commerce Department’s Entity List, notably affecting Chinese tech giants like Huawei and DJI. - These one-year suspensions are set to expire on November 10, 2026. 🔴So, what will be affected if China were to fully implement its October 9 export controls? 1. Superhard materials used in semiconductors, precision optics, aerospace, and other advanced manufacturing. 2. Rare-earth production equipment and technology, extending Beijing’s control beyond materials to the tools and know-how needed to build processing capacity outside China. 3. Five additional medium and heavy rare earth elements critical to magnets, lasers, fiber optics, and other applications. 4. High-density lithium-ion batteries and battery materials, including cathode and anode materials and production equipment. 5. A framework giving China extraterritorial reach over products containing certain Chinese-origin rare earth materials, magnets, or technologies. SAFE's Center for Critical Minerals Strategy covered it in detail last October. Read it here: thefuse.org/retaliationtoglo…

Op-ed from @SenArmstrong lays out the truth: America’s ability to build is central to our economic and national security. Permitting reform is essential to strengthening domestic steel and aluminum, accelerating critical mineral development, and enabling the power and transmission infrastructure needed to compete with China’s rapid grid expansion.

What’s standing between us and a bigger, more secure U.S. grid? Join SAFE's Center for Grid Security on Sept. 16 for a webinar on the component chokepoints holding slowing grid expansion, and what it will take to clear them. We’ll explore supply chain risks, adversarial dominance, manufacturing constraints, and the investment mechanisms needed to address each chokepoint. Register here: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi…

Export bans on tungsten and battery scrap (black mass) took effect today. Led by the Commerce Department, the temporary rule will last for one year. The restrictions are intended to increase domestic recovery of critical minerals. Doing so, however, will require additional processing capacity to absorb the domestically retained material. The government is already investing in that buildout. Last week, the Energy Department announced $500 million for projects spanning battery recycling, manufacturing, and critical-mineral processing—including one project to process black mass and another to recycle battery materials directly into cathode active material. But new capacity will take time to come online. In the interim, key questions remain: How broadly will waivers be used if there are no domestic buyers? And will the government show willingness to step in as an interim buyer? Two weeks before the restrictions were announced, the National Defense Stockpile had issued a request for information on the potential acquisition of tungsten hard scrap.

New on the PAVEcast: Rachel McCleery of @Securing_Energy shares insights on the intersection of vehicle connectivity and national security, the evolving policy landscape, and why US leadership in advanced transportation tech matters. Listen on your preferred podcast platform!

Last month, the Senate Commerce Committee unanimously passed the Connected Vehicle Security Act and with it, further amplifying that national and economic security must be addressed in vehicle connectivity systems. SAFE's Rachel McCleery sat down with @PAVECampaign for their latest podcast episode to discuss the legislation, how it tackles the cybersecurity and data governance risks around connected vehicles, and what it means for companies moving forward. Listen: pavecast.buzzsprout.com/1904…

Two words explain why a seemingly obscure FAA drone rule matters for energy and industrial policy and national security: demand and scale. The Army wants to produce 10,000 drones a month by the end of 2026, scaling to a million a year. For context, Ukraine produced over 5 million this year alone. Without an invasion to drive urgency, the U.S. needs a commercial sector to underpin its defense buildout. We saw this play out in shipbuilding, where China's capacity is now estimated at 200x that of the U.S.—a strategy built on expanding commercial scale which could then feed naval shipyards. For real drone industrial capacity we need commercial demand, humming along at scale, that can flex when the Pentagon needs a surge. That's where the FAA's forthcoming BVLOS rule comes in. Right now, most drones must stay within an operator's line of sight—a Maserati confined to a dead-end street. A workable rule could push delivery costs from $13.50 to $2.00 per flight, unlocking the kind of commercial market that gives U.S. manufacturers something to build against. Read SAFE's analysis, partially explained in Taylor Swift and Game of Thrones terms: thefuse.org/energy-and-indus…

The national average for diesel hit $5.47/gallon this week, up 8% in a month, with California and Hawaii edging past $7/gallon. Diesel cracks (the difference between the cost of diesel and crude oil) are off the charts at near $100 a barrel—that’s 3x last year’s average. Diesel is the workhorse of the economy. While most households are highly exposed to gasoline prices and air travel depends on jet fuel, many low-margin but essential businesses like trucking and farming live or die on diesel—and prices are ripping. Part of the story is continued shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, but (as we have mentioned in recent updates) damages to energy infrastructure in the Middle East and Russia have strained global refining capacity, including here in the U.S. Surging diesel prices will ripple through the economy and serve as a continued reminder that producing more oil can only go so far in terms of insulating us from global price dynamics. Stay tuned as this situation continues to develop.

The critical minerals stockpiling landscape is getting crowded—and increasingly hard to define as governments experiment with new models. Project Vault is the United States’ entry into this evolving policy landscape, blending government-backed financing with industry-led flexibility. In the first of a 3-part series, we break down: - How stockpiles and strategic reserves differ by function - Why Project Vault's public-private model is unlike traditional programs like the National Defense Stockpile and Strategic Petroleum Reserve - The open questions that will define its impact, from market signals to speculation guardrails With a $10B EXIM loan and $2B in private investment behind it, Project Vault could become a defining model for U.S. mineral security. But big questions remain on scope, pricing, and coordination. Read the full breakdown by Abigail Hunter and Zoe Oysul: thefuse.org/inside-project-v…