U.S. Seeks to Manufacture Critical Rare Earth Materials

The United States is facing a critical shortage of product made from rare earth materials that are essential in manufacturing important components for more than 200 products, including high-tech consumer products such as cellular telephones, computer hard drives, electric and hybrid vehicles, flat-screen monitors and televisions, and significant defense applications such as electronic displays, guidance systems, lasers, and radar and sonar systems.

According to the Emerging Information and Technology Conference (EITC), the largest uses of rare earth materials are in the manufacturing of permanent magnets used in wind turbines, the drive trains of hybrid and electric vehicles, and energy-efficient applications. These currently account for 29 percent of total global demand.

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