The Hill News

China’s threat to slash its export of some metals by 35% this year is causing panic in congressional hearing rooms. Some Members of Congress are proposing to hoard minerals to safeguard our future. That’s not only unnecessary, it’s counterproductive. The fact is we are not running out of anything anytime soon. Instead the U.S. faces short-term disruptions in supply that can be smoothed-out with a thoughtful, coordinated strategy.

When viewed from a narrow perspective, the U.S. energy future might look precarious. Emerging technology options abound with exotic elements. Electric cars use dysprosium, wind turbines utilize neodymium, advanced solar cells are coated with tellurium. Scaling up any of those technologies will require kilotons of these energy critical elements (ECEs), over 90% of which are mined outside the U.S. 

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