The US Department of Energy released an updated Critical Materials Assessment, assessing energy-specific critical and near critical materials to 2035.

The latest update of the US Department of Energy’s (DoE) Critical Materials Assessment (CMA) is the first refresh of the DoEs criticality list since the 2019 Critical Materials Strategy Report.  The 2023 update identified a total of seven products (dysprosium, cobalt, gallium, graphite, iridium, neodymium and terbium) to be critical in the short-term (by 2025), increasing to a total of thirteen critical products in the period to 2035.  The additional products listed as critical in the medium-term assessment include lithium, nickel, platinum, magnesium, silicon carbide and praseodymium.  The inclusion of lithium and nickel brings the DoE’s criticality assessment in line with several other criticality studies, including the USGS, which listed 50 commodities considered as critical in Q1 2022.       

The DoE will use the updated CMA to develop an integrated strategy to address material-specific risks over the period to 2035.  The CMA will also allow the DoE to build upon its ‘America’s Strategy to Secure the Supply Chain for a Robust Clean Energy Transition’ report released in February 2022.   

Project developers will welcome the updated 2023 CMA as it also lists materials which are eligible for tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act.  This is vitally important for projects under development within the USA, as investors can claim tax credits ranging between 6% and 30% of qualifying investment based on if prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements are met.