Tech Business
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Written by Gizmo
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Wednesday, 22 December 2010 22:03 |
From EE-Times
A long-awaited report from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) on rare earth scarcity concludes that in the short term the "clean energy economy" is at risk of supply-chain disruptions.
As a result, the study recommends the development of domestic U.S. extraction, processing and manufacturing capabilities as well as cooperative efforts with Japan and Europe to mitigate scarcity worldwide.
The report also promised to follow-up with a more complete U.S. rare-earth development strategy by the end of 2011.
"The DoE's new strategy closely reflects the direction laid out in the legislation on rare earths my Committee passed through the House last September. Our bipartisan bill would provide ready-made authority for many elements of DoE's strategy," said House Committee on Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon about a bill, H.R. 6160, that has passed in the House, but awaits debate in the Senate. "I've argued for greater international collaboration on issues like this [too] so I commend the Department for making this an important part of its effort going forward."
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