From Rock to Resilience

Time: May 6, 2026, 14:00-14:45

Can the Nordics safeguard Europe’s critical metals essential for the electric motors and batteries? Hear from the CEOs shaping this future: Rare Earths Norway, developing the Fen complex in Telemark—home to Europe’s largest confirmed rare earth deposit—and Terrafame, extracting nickel and cobalt in Finland.

Every electric car, power generator, and charging station begins deep underground, yet Europe’s green transition depends on a handful of metals shaped increasingly by geopolitics rather than geology. Some argue the Nordics can move Europe from dependency to resilience – starting with the rock itself.

Electric motors and batteries are at the core of electrification, but the raw materials that enable highperformance motors and longrange batteries are among the most exposed parts of the cleanenergy value chain. Rare earths like neodymium and praseodymium power efficient electric motors, while metals such as nickel are essential for lithiumion batteries. Europe’s continued reliance on imports and concentrated processing leaves electrification vulnerable to geopolitical tension, export controls, and supply disruptions.

But what if the Nordics could change that story?

Joining the discussion are companies sitting at the center of Europe’s future value chains.

Speakers:

Bård Bergfald

CEO
Bergfald Miljørådgivere

Bård Bergfald is an environmentalist and an industrialist. He was one of the pioneers in the EV sector in Norway, as…

Alf Reistad

CEO
Rare Earths Norway AS

Rare Earths Norway (REN) holds the extraction rights to Europe’s largest documented deposit of rare earth elements (REE)—materials ranked by…

Antti Koulumies

CEO
Terrafame

Antti Koulumies is the CEO of Terrafame. Antti and his team are focused on guiding the company through a pivotal…

Monica Araya

Independent Adviser
ClimateWorks

Monica is a senior adviser to various initiatives. She is Director of the Natural Resources Governance Institute (NRGI)’s Governing Board…

Moderator:

Sunniva Rose

Physicist and Science Communicator
Norsk Kjernekraft AS

Sunniva Rose holds a PhD in nuclear and energy physics from the University of Oslo, where her research focused on…