Implications of Looming Rare Earth Shortages on Renewables and Other Green Energy Industries
The most recent installment in the Roundtable's GreenTech briefing series took place on March 16. The briefing highlighted the potential for near-term shortages in the U.S. of rare earth metals, which are critical to next-generation wind turbines, hybrid vehicles and electric cars, cell phones and other critical defense, communications and high-tech systems.
Our special guest was Mark Smith, CEO of Molycorp Minerals, LLC, the only U.S. company that currently produces rare earths on U.S. soil. Smith's presentation was preceded by his testimony in D.C. on the rare earths situation before the the U.S. House Science and Technology Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight.