Critical Minerals and the U.S. Clean Energy Transition

The United States faces significant vulnerabilities in its critical mineral supply chain, relying on imports for 100% of 12 critical minerals and 50% or more for another 28 as of 2024. While the U.S. possesses deposits of many essential minerals, domestic production is hindered by permitting processes that average 16 years and the higher cost of domestic operations compared to overseas production. The document highlights the environmental risks of open-pit mining—including greenhouse gas emissions and groundwater contamination—and the specific impact on Native American reservations, where a high percentage of nickel, lithium, and cobalt resources are located. It explores secondary recovery from waste like coal ash and desalination brine as a sustainable alternative, though these methods currently face economic and technical barriers. Recent U.S. policy efforts include the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and 2025 executive orders aimed at expediting permitting and exploring deep-sea mining.

• The United States has a high level of import reliance for critical minerals; in 2024, it relied on imports for 100% of 12 critical minerals on the 2022 USGS list and 50% or more for an additional 28 minerals.
• Domestic mineral exploration and discovery in the U.S. are slowed by federal mining laws, with permitting processes taking an average of 16 years to complete.
• The U.S. produces 37 of the 50 critical minerals listed by the USGS, but only 12 of these are considered critical to the clean energy transition. Of these 12, the U.S. does not produce gallium or iridium.
• Critical mineral resources in the U.S. are heavily concentrated near Native American reservations: 97% of nickel, 79% of lithium, and 68% of cobalt resources are within 35 miles of these reservations.
• Secondary recovery from waste streams offers significant potential, such as the 17,400 tons of lithium found in desalination brine wastewater and 11 million tons of rare earth elements in U.S. coal ash stockpiles valued at $8.4 billion.
• The U.S. lacks viable recycling methods for old wind turbines and solar panels, and lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles are not expected to reach end-of-life in sufficient numbers for recycling until 2030.
• Recent executive actions in 2025 by President Trump include E.O. 14241 to expedite permitting for critical minerals, copper, uranium, gold, and potash, and E.O. 14285 to pursue deep-sea mining both within and beyond U.S. territory.

APA

Pouy, N. (2025). Critical Minerals and the U.S. Clean Energy Transition. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/issue-brief-critical-minerals-and-the-u.s-clean-energy-transition

Chicago

Pouy, Nicole. Critical Minerals and the U.S. Clean Energy Transition. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2025. https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/issue-brief-critical-minerals-and-the-u.s-clean-energy-transition.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Pouy |first1=Nicole |title=Critical Minerals and the U.S. Clean Energy Transition |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |date=14 July 2025 |url=https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/issue-brief-critical-minerals-and-the-u.s-clean-energy-transition |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pouy2025critical, author = {Pouy, Nicole}, title = {{Critical Minerals and the U.S. Clean Energy Transition}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2025}, month = jul, url = {https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/issue-brief-critical-minerals-and-the-u.s-clean-energy-transition}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }