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Critical Minerals

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As new technologies, including for power generation, transmission and distribution, energy storage, transportation, manufacturing, and buildings, are arising, so does the need for minerals and elements essential to their production. The energy transition will be a commodities transition too. Many State Energy Offices and state economic development, environmental, and natural resource agencies are considering how energy-related critical mineral and material production, processing, and recycling may offer economic opportunities, but are also working on addressing challenges of developing mines and processing facilities, along with siting, environmental, and social impact concerns. It is becoming increasingly important—and time sensitive—for states and their private-sector partners to elevate the importance of supply chain vulnerabilities and risks that may affect the availability and cost of materials needed for producing and using clean energy technologies on which states may rely to meet their environmental, economic, and other objectives.

NASEO Event Recordings
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- NASEO Electricity and Transportation Committees Webinar: Building Batteries! Enhancing Supply Chains and Domestic Manufacturing for Critical Materials and Batteries (September 2021)
- NASEO Transportation Committee Call: Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling (December 2023)
NASEO Critical Minerals Resources
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- Critical Energy-Related Minerals: Considerations for State Energy Planning, Policy, and Programs
  - Critical Minerals: State Planning and Policy Considerations, presentation to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Task Force on Energy Supply, Indianapolis, IN, August 18, 2023
Other Resources
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- U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. DOE), Critical Materials 101 Video Series
- Association of American State Geologists, State Geological Surveys, https://www.stategeologists.org/surveys
- California Energy Commission, Lithium Valley Fact Sheet, https://www.energy.ca.gov/filebrowser/download/4041
- International Energy Agency, “The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions,” 2021, https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/24d5dfbb-a77a-4647-abcc-667867207f74/TheRoleofCriticalMineralsinCleanEnergyTransitions.pdf
- Minerals Education Council, https://mineralseducationcoalition.org/
- National Research Council, “Minerals, Critical Minerals, and the U.S. Economy,” 2008 https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12034/minerals-critical-minerals-and-the-useconomy
- U.S. Department of Commerce, “A Federal Strategy to Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals,” https:// www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/2020-01/Critical_Minerals_Strategy_Final.pdf
- U.S. DOE, Ames Laboratory, Critical Materials Innovation Hub, https://www.ameslab.gov/cmi
- U.S. DOE, Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries, “National Blueprint for Lithium Batteries 2021- 2030” (June 2021) https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021-06/FCAB%20National%20 Blueprint%20Lithium%20Batteries%200621_0.pdf
- U.S. DOE, National Energy Technology Laboratory, Critical Minerals Sustainability https://netl.doe.gov/coal/rare-earth-elements
- U.S. DOE, Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, Division of Mineral Sustainability https:// www.energy.gov/fecm/division-minerals-sustainability Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, Division of Mineral Sustainability, “Multi-Year Program Plan for Division of Minerals Sustainability” (October 2021) https://www.energy.gov/ sites/default/files/2021-10/MSD%20Multi-Year%20Program%20Plan%202021_0.pdf
- U.S. DOE, Office of Policy, “America’s Strategy to Secure the Supply Chain for a Robust Clean Energy Transition” (February 2022) https://www.energy.gov/policy/securing-americas-clean-energysupply-chain (includes links to full report, individual chapter, and fact sheet)
- U.S. Department of the Interior (U.S. DOE), Schulz, K.J., DeYoung, J.H., Jr., Seal, R.R., II, and Bradley, D.C., eds., 2017, “Critical Mineral Resources of the United States—Economic and environmental geology and prospects for future supply,” https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp1802
- U.S. DOI, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Division of Energy and Mineral Development, https://www.bia.gov/ bia/ots/demd
- U.S. DOI, U.S. Geological Survey, Critical Mineral Commodities in Renewable Energy, https://www.usgs. gov/media/images/critical-mineral-commodities-renewable-energy
- U.S. DOI, U.S. Geological Survey, “International Geoscience Collaboration to Support Critical Mineral Discovery,” Fact Sheet 2020-3035 (June 2020) https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2020/3035/ fs20203035.pdf U.S. Geological Survey, “List of Critical Materials” (Feb 22, 2022), https://www.usgs.gov/ news/national-news-release/us-geological-survey-releases-2022-list-critical-minerals
- U.S. DOI, U.S. Geological Survey, “Mineral Commodity Summaries 2022,” available via https://www. usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/mineral-commodity-summaries
- U.S. DOI, U.S. Geological Survey, National Mineral Information Center, https://www.usgs.gov/centers/ national-minerals-information-center U.S. Geological Survey, Rare Earths Statistics and Information, https://www.usgs.gov/centers/ national-minerals-information-center/rare-earths-statistics-and-information
- White House, Building Resilient Supply Chains, Revitalizing American Manufacturing, and Fostering Broad-Based Growth 100-Day Reviews under Executive Order 14017” (June 2021), https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/100-day-supply-chain-review-report.pdf
- West Virginia University Rare Earth Extraction Facility https://wvwri.wvu.edu/programs/minerals/rare-earth-recovery
- [World Bank] Hund, K., D. La Porta, T.P. Fabregas, T. Laing, and J. Drexhage, 2020, “Minerals for Climate Action: The Mineral Intensity of the Clean Energy Transition.” International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank, https://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/961711588875536384/Minerals-for-Climate-Action-The-Mineral-Intensity-of-the-CleanEnergy-Transition.pdf
- Wyoming State Geological Survey “Critical Minerals in Wyoming Summary Report” https://sales.wsgs.wyo.gov/critical-minerals-in-wyoming-summary-report-2019/

Critical Minerals

NASEO Event Recordings

NASEO Critical Minerals Resources

Other Resources