U.S. urged to safeguard supply of 'energy-critical elements'

Researchers call them "energy-critical elements," and a report urges the U.S. government to take swift steps to safeguard the supply of 25 of them - elements from odd slices of the periodic table and often odder corners of the globe.

U.S. urged to safeguard supply of 'energy-critical elements': "'A shortage of any of these elements could significantly impact the large-scale deployment of new energy technologies,' said Thomas Graedel of Yale University, a co-author of the report released Friday by the American Physical Society and the Materials Research Society. The report was unveiled at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

On Thursday, Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) introduced a bill directing the U.S. Geological Survey to conduct a study of the issue, a broad inquiry that would, among other things, track the global supply chain of these elements, which are often produced as byproducts of mining more abundant minerals, such as copper. The bill also calls on the Department of Energy to help secure a steady supply of the elements."