Geo lecture #13

Critical minerals

Any non-fuel mineral essential to the economic or national security of the U.S, which has a supply chain vulnerable to disruption.

U.S Geological Survey (USGS)

The agency that provides a list of critical minerals, updated every 3 years, used for mapping critical mineral potential in the U.S.

Department of Energy (DOE) critical minerals assessment

Focuses on clean energy technologies and includes additional minerals beyond those listed by the USGS.

Clean energy technologies

Technologies including vehicles, stationary storage, hydrogen electrolyzers, solar energy, wind energy, nuclear energy, and solid-state lighting.

Demand increase for critical minerals

Driven by the deployment of clean energy technologies to meet net-zero emissions goals by 2050, estimated to rise by 400-600% by 2040.

Lithium-ion batteries

Lightweight batteries used in electric vehicles and for stationary energy storage, including types like nickel manganese cobalt and lithium iron phosphate.

Hydrogen electrolysis

A low-carbon method of producing hydrogen used as an energy carrier and chemical reactant.

Cobalt

A ferro-alloy metal that is corrosion-resistant and can be magnetized; heavily produced in the Congo and Zambia.

Lithium

The lightest metal, primarily sourced from the Atacama Desert, Chile, and a key element for battery production.

Salton Sea lithium extraction

A potential lithium source identified by DOE analysis in 2023, which could produce enough lithium to support all vehicles currently on U.S. roads.

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between DRC and Zambia

A U.S.-signed agreement to develop a supply chain for electric vehicle batteries, centralizing production in the DRC and Zambia.

Electrical steel

An iron alloy with silicon used in electric vehicle technologies.

Silicon carbide

A material included in the DOE's list of critical minerals, important for clean energy technologies.