This is a Proposed Determination and Request for Information (RFI) issued by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This Proposed Determination recommends a draft critical materials list pursuant to section 7002(a)(2) of the Energy Act of 2020 along with the methodology and analysis used by DOE. The RFI seeks public input to improve upon DOE’s Critical Materials Assessment for energy. Specifically, this RFI seeks input on:
- Data and Information to Support Revision of Analysis
- Improvements to the Methodology
Historically, DOE has leveraged the assessment of critical materials to inform priorities for research activities. Since 2010, DOE’s research portfolio has expanded into a Critical Materials Research, Development, Demonstration, and Commercialization Application (RDD&CA) Program. Inclusion on DOE’s critical material list will inform crosscutting priorities including, but not limited to:
- Critical Materials RDD&CA Program priorities
- Eligibility for the Inflation Reduction Act 48C tax credit
The dynamic nature of criticality necessitates ongoing updates to the assessment. For example, in 2011 rare earth elements (terbium, europium, and yttrium) were assessed to be critical for fluorescent lighting, but the rapid market growth of light emitting diode (LED) lighting mitigated the supply risk. LED lighting requires roughly an order of magnitude less rare earth phosphor and has surpassed fluorescent lighting market share. DOE anticipates updating the assessment every three years to reflect the most current data underlying the methodology.
Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to CriticalMaterialsRFI@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm ET on June 20, 2023.