The Electrified Battlefront: energy, critical minerals and defense with Joe Bryan

Today, we investigate the intersection of the energy transition, critical minerals and defense. As with commodities, warfare is also going through rapid and profound change, with the electrification of defense over the last 20 year. Batteries proliferate the battlefield and the energy transition is impacting national security. We are seeing the shift from capital assets to small, cheap weapons such as drones that can have profound impacts. This poses a particular problem for the US, where energy dominance has been based in hydrocarbons along with their warfare fighting capabilities. Now in an electrified battlefront, supply chains that support them sit in China, threatening the West's defence capabilities. Our guest is Joe Bryan, principal at Muswell Orange, a boutique consulting firm, focused on energy and particularly its intersection with national security. Before his return to the private sector, Joe was a senior advisor to the Secretary of Defense and was the Department sector, of Defense Chief Sustainability Officer. He previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Navy for Energy, where he was responsible for policies relating to the Department's installation and operational energy programs. Earlier in his career, Joe led investigations for the Senate Armed Services Committee and served on both Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence and the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. He has consulted on energy policy around the world and began his Investigations. He has consulted on energy policy around the world and began his career working on electricity restructuring and state level policies to encourage growth of clean energy markets.