During its 2024 Legislative Summit, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) held a session on critical minerals moderated by ReMA’s AVP of government relations & strategic partnerships Kristen Hildreth titled “Powering the Future: Finding Critical Minerals.”
Across the world we are seeing significant growth in demand for critical minerals in response to technological advancements, consumer demands, and an increase in support for advanced energy technologies. Critical minerals, or nonfuel minerals, are essential for use in various applications but face considerable supply chain vulnerabilities.
Critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel are vital building blocks for many advanced technologies. These include electric vehicles and transit systems that transport people to-and-from their jobs, as well as energy storage systems, which enable the acceleration of renewable energy deployments. These systems ensure flexibility in providing reliable service when generation fluctuates by capturing renewable generation such as wind or solar for use during periods of peak demand. Just as a stable and sufficient energy supply is essential to national security, so are critical minerals.
Countries throughout the world and states across the nation are working to secure supply chains for critical minerals protecting them from geopolitical disruptions, market volatility, and ensuring a reduced reliance on virgin, raw materials. From the European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act and the Green Deal to the United States’ Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, and individual state efforts to support new investments and innovation, there’s no shortage of funding or tax credit opportunities available to advance critical mineral resources development.
Over the course of an hour, speakers from the U.S. Department of Energy, the European Union, and Redwood Materials shared their perspectives on the current state of global and domestic supply chains for these essential resources. Panelists outlined challenges and opportunities in securing a stable supply to meet the increasing demand for advanced energy technologies. Additionally, they highlighted the need for all levels of government, industry, and community stakeholders to collaborate and partner together to build a stable, resilient, and environmentally responsible supply chain for these essential building blocks of tomorrow.
Deployment manager at the DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains Daniel Shapiro discussed the Administration’s goals of eliminating vulnerabilities in U.S. Clean Energy supply chains, while driving unparalleled social, economic, and environmental impact through its investments.
Javier Sancho, head of global issues and innovation for the delegation of the European Union to the U.S., reviewed the importance of collaboration across borders and amongst all stakeholders. Alexis Georgeson, vice president of government relations and communications for Redwood Materials stressed the industry’s desire to bring domestic battery recycling onshore while also highlighting the company’s capacity to recover 95% of the critical minerals from batteries, such as nickel, cobalt, lithium, and copper, and remanufacture them into battery components that are supplied directly back to U.S. battery manufacturers.
With over 100 attendees, panelists fielded questions ranging from the role critical minerals play in national security, to how much of the demand for these crucial resources would be fulfilled through recycling as compared to traditional mining and resource extraction.
ReMA members play an essential role in the U.S. manufacturing supply chain providing manufacturers with roughly 40% of their raw material needs and are working to increase capacity and invest in emerging technologies to do the same for critical minerals, intending to build on the work done by the EU, Congress, the Administration, and other stakeholders to ensure a stable supply of critical minerals in a safe, circular, and environmentally sustainable way.
Stay tuned for ReMA’s Safe & Circular Electrification Roadmap in Fall 2024, which will outline the current capacity of the industry to manage and handle critical mineral containing products, how and when the industry should scale up to meet growing demands, and what measures policymakers and manufacturers should take to support a circular economy for these vital resources.
Photo Left to Right (Alexis Georgeson, Javier Sancho, Daniel Shapiro, and Kristen Hildreth). Image courtesy of ReMA.
