The Department of Energy released a second Request for Information (RFI) soliciting information from the public on rare earth metals and other materials used in the energy sector. Responses to this RFI will inform an update to DOE’s
Critical Materials Strategy
, released in December 2010 (earlier post).
The report found that several
clean energy technologies—including wind turbines, electric vehicles, photovoltaic cells and fluorescent lighting—use materials at risk of supply disruptions in the short term. The report assessed five rare earth metals (dysprosium, neodymium, terbium, europium and yttrium), as well as indium as most critical in the short term. (“Criticality” here is a measure that combines importance to the clean energy economy and risk of supply disruption.)
This year, DOE will update its analysis in light of rapidly-changing market dynamics. DOE will analyze the use of critical materials in petroleum refineries and may examine the use of critical materials in other applications not addressed in last year’s report. Finally, DOE may identify specific strategies for materials identified as critical, including strategies with respect to substitution, recycling and more
efficient use.
The purpose of the new RFI is to solicit feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders on issues related to demand, supply chain structure, financing, R&D, energy technology transitions and recycling of rare earth metals and other materials used in the energy sector. DOE is specifically interested in information on rare earth elements (e.g.,
yttrium, lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, terbium, europium, samarium, and dysprosium), gallium,
lithium, cobalt, indium and tellurium, as well as other materials of interest identified by the respondents to this request.