In 2017, the Trump administration issued Executive Order 13817, which states “The United States is heavily reliant on imports of certain mineral commodities that are vital to the Nation’s security and economic prosperity. This dependency of the United States on foreign sources creates a strategic vulnerability…” Of the 35 critical minerals designated in a 2018 Department of Interior (DOI) report, the United States is 75-100% reliant on 24 of them. Many of these are essential inputs to clean energy technologies such as lithium-ion batteries, solar modules, and wind turbines.
We can expect that the tremendous growth and innovation in resource-dependent clean energy technologies will continue, and so will the increasing demand for the critical minerals which form the building blocks of these technologies. This has important implications for geopolitical dynamics, industrial growth, innovation in high-tech sectors, and responsible consumption and production. The United States’ approach to addressing these issues should focus on issues across the supply chains, as well as building a thriving domestic industry with robust regulations and environmental practices.
As each of the individual minerals have their own set of supply chain conditions, they will require a suite of thoughtful policy prescriptions. Steps have already been taken towards managing this “strategic vulnerability,” including the introduction of The American Mineral and Security Act (S.1317), requiring the DOI to develop and maintain a list of critical elements and to improve their domestic production.
However, as outlined in a strategy publication from the Department of Commerce, more work remains to be done. The publication describes six “calls to action” ranging from an improved workforce, to speeding up permitting, to acknowledging the importance of supply chains, and better understanding the domestic resource base.
If the future of the critical minerals market is not addressed with effective policy and innovation it could negatively impact the economic and national security of the United States.
Professor Bazilian is quite correct in reminding us about critical resources, as many affect the ultimate contribution of renewable energy sources. I am going to concentrate on lithium which is… Read more »
I’m not familiar with Eason’s “World Lithium Supply, so I’m not in a position to comment on it. However, if it’s like similar reports I’ve read, it’s based on known… Read more »
Lithium isn’t a bottleneck – and hybrids require complicated dual drive train that is inferior for many reasons. Happy to discuss!
Thanks for the reply, Emily. A quick search tells me you know a lot about the lithium market. I’ll take your word then that lithium isn’t a bottleneck. As to… Read more »
I think rather than look at replacing all vehicles right away, it’s more useful to look at the penetration rate of new vehicles sold. While a useful theoretical exercise for… Read more »
Emily, I enjoyed hearing you speak at the recent minerals event last week. I’d love to gather your take on the future of lithium when considering options like the geothermal… Read more »
Hi Faith! Geothermal co-production, as well as oilfield production, is very interesting because we’re talking about producing lithium chemicals from a brine that alone would not be economically feasible. Because… Read more »
really appreciated your comments, Emily — great to have a true expert in the conversation. Per your comment about 2010 analysis being out of date — I think the US… Read more »
I’m not going to comment on the world supply of lithium because if history has anything to teach us about estimating how much of anything exists, the numbers can be… Read more »
One must separate the problem into two parts. In the near-term the policies that are advocated can help obtain strategic materials. In the long term with the goal of 10… Read more »
I could not agree more. For stationary applications, the argument for lithium in any medium or long term scenario doesn’t hold up.
Why is there not a single word about recycling these critical minerals in any of the discussion thus far? Why is not better to “mine” recycled batteries for lithium and… Read more »
We have not yet reached a critical mass of batteries to make recycling economically feasible. When there are EVs that have been on the road for about 8 years, there… Read more »
This is a complex but extremely important topic. The most strategic of the “critical minerals” that we import are the refined “rare earths”. At present, China totally dominates the world… Read more »
As I understand the issue, China’s rare earth dominance has resulted from a willingness to endure environmental contamination and unsafe working conditions and then turn around and supply the product… Read more »
I thought the relative concentration of REEs in some of China’s formations is higher & that’s part of their comparative advantage? The points on thorium are fascinating — much appreciated.
Among the strategies for critical minerals outlined in the US government document, acquisition of assets abroad may perhaps be the most critical one. I believe that Africa has a significant… Read more »
such an important point! We just published research on this topic, looking at critical mineral competition — we happened to focus on the United States and China, but I would… Read more »
Thanks to Morgan Bazilian for setting out the key points to a very important conversation, one that more innovators and policymakers need to join. And thanks to him, as well,… Read more »
Just a bit about lithium and coal … Fracking wastewater is being reinjected into the deep earth as it contains radon in addition to other toxics so it can’t be… Read more »
I first want to say that being aware of changing mineral needs, sources, and geopolitics makes sense. But second, I also want to caution that the mineral drivers of today… Read more »
Clean energy technology is an important tool to ensure clean energy substitution. Key technologies such as wind power forecasts, dispatch technology for optimal coordination of wind power and other power,… Read more »