Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian agency: Russia will conduct a nuclear test if the US does
Al-Nakhalah: We are the rightful owners, and we must fight to retrieve our rights
Al-Nakhalah: The enemy and its allies must know that we can never surrender to their terms and diktats after all the sacrifices made
Al-Nakhalah: The prisoner exchange clause can be completed in the next few days, and thus we will have pulled the [explosion] fuse and removed the enemy's justifications for aggression
Al-Nakhalah: The Resistance has expressed its willingness to negotiate on the basis that there are items that can be dealt with positively, the first of which is the prisoner exchange item
Al-Nakhalah: Trump's plan entails the Palestinian people's declaration of complete surrender to the enemy
PIJ Secretary-General, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, in an address aired on Al Mayadeen: The Resistance is engaging in a fierce negotiating battle under the so-called Trump plan
Russian Federation Council approves joint military cooperation agreement with Cuba
Al-Nunu: Today, the lists of prisoners required to be released, the agreed-upon criteria and numbers, were exchanged
Al-Nunu from Sharm el-Sheikh: Negotiations focused on mechanisms for implementing an end to the war, the withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, and the exchange of prisoners

US to face mineral shortages amid boost in electric car production

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 10 Aug 2023 09:47
4 Min Read

An assessment by the US Department of Energy states that critical mineral demand will need to increase by 600% by 2040 to achieve net zero by 2050.

  • x
  • Refined tellurium is shown at the Rio Tinto Kennecott refinery Wednesday, May 11, 2022, in Magna, Utah (AP)
    Refined tellurium is shown at the Rio Tinto Kennecott refinery on May 11, 2022, in Magna, Utah (AP)

According to experts, new clean energy strategies need to be developed by the US to reduce dependence on critical minerals as a result of shortages and to avert China’s supply chain dominance.  

In the US Department of Energy (DOE)'s assessment last week, the list of critical materials was expanded to define those indispensable to the clean energy transition with a high risk of supply shortage, and six new elements were added. 

The list, per the DOE, will keep expanding as the globe races to net-zero emissions. The department highlighted the importance of establishing dependent critical mineral supply chains necessary for energy security.

Among the critical minerals were nickel, platinum, and silicon carbide, which were added next to lithium and magnesium in the medium term (2025-2035), while graphite, terbium, and iridium join cobalt, gallium, dysprosium, and neodymium as those considered critical in both the short and medium term (from now until 2035).

The status of copper and aluminum was transferred from non-critical to "near critical" in the medium term due to their necessity for electrification across a wide spectrum.

Read next: US moves closer to Mongolia to access country's minerals

Citing data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), the DOE's assessment stated that critical mineral demand will need to increase by 600% by 2040 to achieve net zero by 2050. The supply shortage in critical minerals comes amid the development of electric vehicles, which the IEA claims could account for 60% of all auto sales by 2030.

Now, China is the leading nation for the production of 30 of 50 minerals which the US Geological Survey classified as critical with vulnerable supply chains.

Related News

Russia ratifies military deal with Cuba amid US escalation

Araghchi denies any contact with US envoy Witkoff over nuclear talks

A scarcity scare 

Business strategy consultant for Artax Consulting, Jonathan Poston, said: "Rare earth elements are a group of 17 elements that are essential for a wide range of clean energy technologies, including magnets, batteries, and catalysts." He further explained that "China is the world's leading producer of rare earth elements, along with graphite - critical to lithium-ion batteries - and there are concerns about China's control of the global supply chain."
 
A prediction by Poston, who has taught geopolitics and trade at universities in Ecuador, Belize and China, shows that domestic mining will increase in the US in a bid to close the gap, while looking for alternatives.

"New technologies will also emerge that reduce the need for critical minerals, such as battery tech that doesn't use lithium-ion," he said, believing that the US will need to resort to a multilateral approach to tackle the matter as resource sharing through global alliances and ventures will prove more important to secure mineral supplies.

The availability of cobalt, which is used in the manufacture of high-performance magnets, and is essential for electric vehicles and wind turbines, is a matter of worry, according to Poston, who voiced concerns about the political stability and human rights record in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which is the world's leading producer of cobalt. 

California's Mountain Pass, owned by MP Materials, remains the only integrated rare-earth mining facility in the US as it currently ships to China for refinement and final processing.

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence claims that China refines almost 90% of the world's neodymium and praseodymium. Meanwhile, MP Materials has recently and finally begun processing rare earth minerals on its own, hoping to deliver to GM electric motor magnets by the end of this year. 

Read more: Beijing to ban export of rare earth metals in response to sanctions

Brookings Institution scholar Michael O’Hanlon, a Pentagon’s Defense Policy Board member, told Sputnik that reserves in the US have declined 90% since the end of the Cold War, adding that it could "beef it up" as it struggles to establish diversified supply chains.

Pentagon's strategic materials team argues that the reserves' aim is to "decrease and preclude dependence upon foreign sources or single points of failure for strategic materials in times of national emergency." 

47 commodities - including cobalt, platinum, palladium, iridium, and zinc, along with other base and precious metals are currently stored in the Defense Department.

  • United States
  • Lithium
  • electric vehicles
  • Net Zero
  • critical minerals

Most Read

Tucker Carlson speaks at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, Sunday, September 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (AP)

Tucker Carlson: Israeli officers gave orders on Iran inside Pentagon

  • Politics
  • 2 Oct 2025
A Hamas fighter in combat fatigues stands before the ceremony for the handover of Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, February 22, 2025 (AP)

Hamas responds to Trump plan, backs Gaza withdrawal, exchange

  • Politics
  • 3 Oct 2025
Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder revealed

Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder exposed

  • Politics
  • 5 Oct 2025
Al-Quds Brigades strike a command and control center north of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, in an undated screengrab from the al-Quds Brigades military media

Gaza resistance announces major operations against Israeli forces

  • Politics
  • 1 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Retired Israeli General Brik says Israel has reached point of no return.
Politics

Retired Israeli General Brik: 'Israel has reached point of no return'

Depleted by foreign wars, US seeks to re-arm for another confrontation
Politics

Depleted by foreign wars, US seeks to re-arm for another confrontation

Gaza’s newborns gasp for life as hospitals collapse amid Israeli war
Health

Gaza newborns gasp for life, share oxygen masks amid collapsed system

UK arms exports to 'Israel' reach record high despite ban calls
Politics

UK arms exports to 'Israel' reach record high despite ban calls

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS