Highlights

• TechConnect World 2026 (March 10–12, Raleigh) brings together DOE labs, defense agencies, and Fortune 500 firms to address critical mineral extraction, separation science, and magnet manufacturing—spanning the entire rare earth supply chain from upstream mining to downstream applications.
• Federal engagement is evident through premier sponsorship by agencies like FBI, Manufacturing USA, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin, while technical sessions feature researchers from Oak Ridge, Argonne, Ames, and PNNL tackling separation chokepoints and cerium-based magnet innovation.
• The conference signals America's shift from debating rare earth resilience to executing commercialization strategy—integrating unconventional feedstocks, advanced separation chemistry, NdFeB life-cycle analysis, and defense-aligned supply chains into mainstream industrial policy.

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Event: TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo

Dates: March 10–12, 2026

Location: Raleigh Convention Center & Raleigh Marriott CityCenter

Presented by: TechConnect

Powered by:Advanced Technology International (ATI)

For more than 25 years, TechConnect has branded itself as one of the world’s largest applied innovation pipelines—linking universities, federal laboratories, startups, defense agencies, and Fortune 500 technology scouts. In 2026, Raleigh becomes a convergence point for advanced materials, critical minerals, magnet innovation, semiconductors, energy storage, and defense-aligned supply chains.

For Rare Earth Exchanges™ readers, this is not merely a conference. It represents at least one form of  strategic pulse-check on domestic rare earth and critical materials execution.

Raleigh, NC Skyline

Sponsors & Strategic Alignment                                                                                                           

Premier Sponsors

• MSD Solutions Lab
• National Safety Council
• TechHub Marketplace
• Work to Zero

Gold Sponsors

• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI Jobs)
• Manufacturing USA

Silver Sponsors

• Boeing
• Federal Laboratory Consortium
• Lockheed Martin
• Hawaii Technology Development Corporation
• Texas State University

Supporting organizations include American Elements and Naval Surface Technology & Innovation Consortium, alongside LEAN Power / EMC²—underscoring defense-industrial alignment.

The sponsorship stack alone signals federal engagement, defense integration, and commercialization intent.

Agenda Themes: Structured by the Rare Earth Supply Chain

Upstream: Mining, Extraction & Resource Recovery

Key sessions include:

• Extraction of Critical Minerals from Diverse Sources
• Rare Earth Recovery from Coal Waste & Acid Mine Drainage
• Monazite Flotation & Phosphogypsum REE Recovery
• Turning Waste into Resource: Secondary Feedstocks

Speakers and contributors represent:

• Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Argonne National Laboratory
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
• Colorado School of Mines

The technical focus spans unconventional feedstocks, coal ash valorization, membrane-based extraction, electrodialysis, and techno-economic modeling of domestic recovery pathways.

Midstream: Separation, Metallization & Refining

Standout tracks:

• Advances in Critical Mineral Separation Technologies
• HEHEHP and DGA extractant chemistry
• Ligand engineering for selective REE recovery
• Dimethyl ether (DME) fractionalcrystallization
• Membrane solvent extraction

This is separation science—the chokepoint of U.S. rare earth vulnerability. Multiple DOE laboratory researchers address performance metrics, selectivity engineering, field-driven separation strategies, and process scale-up considerations.

Downstream: Magnets, Graphite, Batteries & Manufacturing

Permanent Magnets

Session: Innovations in Magnet Materials and Manufacturing Techniques

Highlights include:

• Cerium-based magnet development
• MnBi rare-earth-free magnet research
• Field-assisted 3D-printed magnets
• NdFeB techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life-cycle assessment

Featuring researchers from Ames National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, this track directly addresses magnet resilience.

Graphite & Battery Materials

Sessions examine:

• Synthetic graphite supply chain modeling
• Biographite production pathways
• Lithium recycling economics
• Sodium-ion battery systems

Electrification strategy is interwoven across energy storage, grid resilience, and advanced manufacturing discussions.

Speakers by Supply Chain Role

Upstream & ResourceModeling

• NETL researchers
• Coal and acid mine drainage recovery specialists
• University mineral processing teams

Separation & Chemical Engineering

• ORNL solvent extraction leaders
• PNNL separation chemists
• RWTH Aachen process engineers

Magnet & Alloy Development

• Ames magnet research teams
• ORNL Ce-magnet specialists
• Industry-focused motor integration experts

Policy & Strategic Framework

• DOE Office of Technology Commercialization
• NIST Advanced Manufacturing Office
• Defense SBIR program leadership

Exhibitor Landscape: Federal Infrastructure + Applied Industry

The Expo Hall blends federal innovation infrastructure with commercialization engines.

Federal Presence

• DARPA SBIR
• Army SBIR
• Navy SBIR
• SBA Innovation
• USPTO
• NOAA
• MDA

Industrial &Materials Firms

• Bruker
• IDTechEx
• Duke Energy
• Ericsson
• Advanced materials startups and recycling innovators

This is not a niche rare earth gathering. It is a systems-level innovation platform where critical minerals intersect with defense, semiconductors, AI, energy storage, and advanced manufacturing.

Why ThisMatters

TechConnect World 2026 makes something unmistakable.

The United States is no longer debating only rare-earth resilience. It is embedding extraction, separation, magnet manufacturing, recycling, and life-cycle analysis into mainstream advanced manufacturing strategy.

Upstream feedstocks.

Midstream separations.

Downstream magnets and batteries.

Federal capital aligned with industrial primes.

For Rare Earth Exchanges™ readers, this is where supply chain strategy meets the realities of commercialization.

The chemistry exists.

The policy scaffolding is forming.

The industrial base is re-engaging.

The remaining variable is scale, and as we have proposed, a deeper industrial policy.

Raleigh in March may be more than just a conference. It may be a snapshot of America’s industrial recalibration.