Technologies for green or renewable-energy devices like batteries, solar cells and advanced electric motors are dependent on critical metals and other elements that are threatened by major shortages, two influential American scientific groups said in a report Friday.
And China’s chokehold on the chemical elements known as rare earths is just one example, the groups said. The report called for the United States government to research and develop new sources for a broad range of critical materials and to more closely monitor the supply of and demand for them.
The study’s release follows the recent introduction of a Senate bill, consistent with the report’s recommendations, meant to ensure that the United States can globally compete in emerging energy industries. That bill, by Senator Mark Udall, Democrat of Colorado, also calls for federal money to train people to work in the advanced materials field.
Late last year, the United States Department of Energy filed a report sounding similar warnings.
nytimes
