The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
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In addition to dealing a major blow to the economy, the COVID-19 pandemic has shined a spotlight on a chink in the United States' economic and security armor – an overreliance on foreign countries for the minerals and metals that lie at the frontend of American supply chains. "The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how delicate our supply chains are and that should be a wakeup call for all of us," Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources Chair Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said d... Full story
When it comes to criticality, not all critical minerals are equal. To sort out the hierarchy of these mined materials, the United States Geological Survey has developed a powerful new tool that helps identify which mineral commodities needed by America's manufacturing sector are most at risk to supply disruptions. "This methodology is an important part of how we're meeting our goals in the President Trump's strategy to ensure a reliable supply of critical minerals," said USGS... Full story
Wind turbines, solar panels and the batteries that store the electricity these renewable energy sources generate are creating new demands for an array of minerals and metals, many of which are not mined in the United States. Recognizing that mines lie at the front end of America's expanding renewable energy supply chains, federal officials have voted to make mining projects eligible for Fast-41, a program established in 2015 to improve the timeliness, predictability, and... Full story
With graphite being a vital ingredient in the lithium-ion batteries storing clean but intermittent wind and solar energy, as well as powering the burgeoning electric vehicle sector, the U.S. Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (FPISC) has designated Graphite Creek as a high-priority infrastructure project. This designation means the world-class graphite project in western Alaska qualifies for Fast-41 – short for Title 41 of the Fixing America's Surface T... Full story
The $740.5 billion National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 passed by Congress last week instructs the Pentagon to secure domestic and allied sources of strategic minerals and metals. "The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the striking vulnerabilities and gaps in our domestic supply chains, and the need to invest in critical mineral manufacturing and processing has taken on a new urgency," said Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, who authored two amendments addressing...
President Donald Trump has declared America's heavy reliance on adversarial nations for critical minerals a national emergency that threatens the security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. The President made this emergency declaration in the Sept. 30 "Executive order on addressing the threat to the domestic supply chain from reliance on critical minerals from foreign adversaries." Trump says, "a strong America cannot be dependent on imports from foreign advers...
The European Union is taking action to ensure it has the critical minerals and metals needed for the coming "transition towards a green and digital economy" over the coming decades. "A secure and sustainable supply of raw materials is a prerequisite for a resilient economy," said European Commission Vice President for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight Maroš Šefčovič. Since 2011, the European Commission has been assembling a list of raw materials, predominately min...
Recycling metals from spent lithium-ion batteries and rare earths from outmoded computers play a vital role in the United States reclaiming its critical mineral independence, according to Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette. "Until our country can start mining and refining more of these materials or develop commercially viable substitutes, we must recycle as much critical mineral and REE content as we can from existing products," Brouillette penned in an editorial recently...
House Republicans have introduced legislation aimed at breaking the United States' dependence on foreign countries such as China for the minerals and metals critical to high-tech, renewable energy and other sectors of America's economy. Introduced by U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) and U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), the American Critical Mineral Exploration and Innovation Act of 2020 includes mine permitting reform, advanced critical minerals development strategies and...
The American Energy Innovations Act, legislation hailed as Congress' best chance to modernize the nation's energy policies in more than 12 years, bogged down in the U.S. Senate in early March after a dispute erupted among several lawmakers over an amendment aimed at limiting hydrofluorocarbons emissions from home appliances. The legislation, introduced by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and ranking committee member...
The United States depends on foreign countries for more than 50 percent of its supply of 31 minerals considered critical to the nation's economic wellbeing and national security, including 100 percent import-reliant for 14 of them, according to Mineral Commodity Summaries 2020, a recent U.S. Geological Survey report. The list of mined commodities for which the U.S. is fully reliant on foreign nations for its supply is littered with high-tech minerals and metals needed for rene...
Scientists are urging world governments to get out in front of the skyrocketing demand for the minerals and metals that are going to be needed for solar, wind and other green energy initiatives in the coming years – whether they come from terrestrial or extraterrestrial sources. According to a research report from the University of Sussex, the amount of cobalt, copper, lithium, cadmium and rare earth elements needed for solar panels, wind turbines, rechargeable batteries, e... Full story
