The periodic table you may remember from chemistry class had two additional rows of elements below the main table. In the top added row are rare earth elements, metals critical in everyday technologies like cell phones and flat-screen TVs. Their global demand has skyrocketed for use in renewable energy technologies like solar panels and electric vehicles.
So-called “rare earths,” metals with names like Yttrium and Scandium, are not really all that rare. Most are more abundant than silver, gold and platinum. They are found in small concentrations, rather than in large, natural stores.
The United States currently imports more than 80% of its rare earth elements from offshore suppliers. A recent federal supply-chain assessment found an “over-reliance on foreign sources and adversarial nations.” Through policy and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Biden Administration has pushed to build the U.S. supply of critical minerals needed for the clean energy transition, including rare earths.
