Critical Minerals: Reducing U.S. Import Reliance with Substitution and Recycling
A GAO report examines how the U.S. can reduce reliance on imported critical minerals for batteries and semiconductors through recycling and substitution. While battery recycling shows near-term promise, semiconductor solutions remain a long-term challenge.
Why it matters
Securing supply chains for critical minerals is essential for U.S. economic stability and the transition to green energy technologies.
The U.S. relies on imports for many critical minerals that are essential to the battery and semiconductor industries. But their supply chains are vulnerable to disruptions.
We looked at how substitution and recycling technologies might reduce reliance on imports. Battery recycling—extracting minerals from batteries for reuse—could reduce imports in 2 to 3 years. Policy options that could help reach this goal include establishing infrastructure for collecting and recycling materials.
By contrast, substitution and recycling may not reduce short-term import reliance in the semiconductor industry.
An electronic chip with small rock-like items on it.
Technologies like batteries and semiconductors are essential to the U.S. economy but rely on imports of lithium, gallium, and other critical minerals. GAO found that substitution and recycling technologies could help reduce U.S. reliance on these imports. But progress is likely to take many years in some cases.
Potential for technologies to reduce critical mineral import reliance
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