CLEAN TECH: DOE to Craft Strategy on Crucial Rare-Earth Minerals

Summary posted by Meridian on 3/18/2010
Source: Environment & Energy News PM
Author: Katie Howell

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) this week announced plans to develop a strategy for assuring United States access to 17 rare-earth metals critical to the growth of clean energy technologies. These metals are necessary components of wind turbines, energy-efficient light bulbs, catalytic converters and hybrid car components. The metals, while relatively abundant, are difficult to extract, and half the global reserves are located in China, a country that will not be able to meet its domestic demand for such minerals within about two years. David Sandalow, DOE's assistant secretary for policy and international affairs, said "[T]here's no reason to panic, but there's every reason to be smart and serious as we plan for growing global demand for products derived from strategic materials. The United States intends to be a world leader in clean energy technologies, and to support that effort, we're shaping the policy...to help prevent obstruction of supply and materials needed for those technologies." Sandalow said the DOE will pull together a strategic vision that will assess ways to diversify the global supply chain, develop substitutes for the metals, and promote recycling, reuse and more efficient use of the rare-earth minerals. In a related development, Representative Mike Coffman (R-Colorado) introduced a bill, H.R. 4866, that would authorize a series of new assessments and programs in an effort to secure a domestic rare-earth mineral supply chain http://www.eenews.net/EEDaily/rss/2010/03/18/9. The article can be viewed online at the link below.

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our team contact us site map	CLEAN TECH: DOE to Craft Strategy on Crucial Rare-Earth Minerals Summary posted by Meridian on 3/18/2010 Source: Environment & Energy News PM Author: Katie Howell The United States Department of Energy (DOE) this week announced plans to develop a strategy for assuring United States access to 17 rare-earth metals critical to the growth of clean energy technologies. These metals are necessary components of wind turbines, energy-efficient light bulbs, catalytic converters and hybrid car components. The metals, while relatively abundant, are difficult to extract, and half the global reserves are located in China, a country that will not be able to meet its domestic demand for such minerals within about two years. David Sandalow, DOE's assistant secretary for policy and international affairs, said "[T]here's no reason to panic, but there's every reason to be smart and serious as we plan for growing global demand for products derived from strategic materials. The United States intends to be a world leader in clean energy technologies, and to support that effort, we're shaping the policy...to help prevent obstruction of supply and materials needed for those technologies." Sandalow said the DOE will pull together a strategic vision that will assess ways to diversify the global supply chain, develop substitutes for the metals, and promote recycling, reuse and more efficient use of the rare-earth minerals. In a related development, Representative Mike Coffman (R-Colorado) introduced a bill, H.R. 4866, that would authorize a series of new assessments and programs in an effort to secure a domestic rare-earth mineral supply chain http://www.eenews.net/EEDaily/rss/2010/03/18/9. The article can be viewed online at the link below. The original article may still be available at www.eenews.net/eenewspm/rss/2010/03/17/6 As tagged by Meridian Institute: Energy: Energy, Batteries, Climate Change, Fuel Cells, Wind Implications: Human Enhancement, Governance, Economic Competitiveness Materials And Manufacturing: Manufacturing, Materials Nanomaterials: Metal Nanoparticle Regions: North America, East and South Asia and the Pacific Stakeholders: Government, Industry Minerals And Metals: Metals Related Forums: Materials and Manufacturing Metals and Minerals Economic Competitiveness Governance print format	NDN Home Subscribe Manage Subscription Search News Archives 3rd International Seminar on Nanosciences and Nanotechnology -- Seminario Naotecnologias Cuba (7/29/2010) The 3rd International Seminar on Nanosciences and Nanotechnology, organized by the Office of the Scientific Advisor to the State Council of the Republic of Cuba and the Center for Advanced Cuban Studes (CEAC), will take place from September 6-10, 2010, in Havana, Cuba. The aim of the conference is to open new paths of cooperation for the development of CEAC, consolidate existent and emerging networks in the country, and provide elements for the design of a national strategy in this field. [More] Super-sizing a Cancer Drug Minimizes Side Effects -- MIT News (7/29/2010) Scientists at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) have designed a new version of the drug cisplatin, one of the first chemotherapy drugs given to patients diagnosed with cancer, that spares the kidneys, allowing doctors to use higher doses. [More] An Asphalt Pact Cut Fumes—& Created A Model -- New Haven Independent (7/29/2010) At a recent conference hosted by the United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), convened to talk about the potential health hazards in the nanotechnology industry, a successful partnership between government, industry, and workers to tackle worker safety in the asphalt industry was looked to as a possible model for addressing worker safety in the nanotechnology industry. [More] Nanomagnets Remove Pathogens from Blood -- Nanowerk (7/28/2010) Researchers from the Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering of the ETH Zurich, Switzerland, have demonstrated a novel use of nanomagnets to rapidly and selectively remove heavy metal ions, overdosed steroid drugs and proteins from human blood. [More] More News... Learn how to include these headlines on your own website by clicking here. Please email us if you require text-only versions of the daily emails.