The Energy Act of 2020 defines a “critical material” as:
- Any non-fuel mineral, element, substance, or material that the Secretary of Energy determines: (i) has a high risk of supply chain disruption; and (ii) serves an essential function in one or more energy technologies, including technologies that produce, transmit, store, and conserve energy; or
- A critical mineral, as defined by the Secretary of the Interior.
The Energy Act of 2020 defines a “critical mineral” as:
- Any mineral, element, substance, or material designated as critical by the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the director of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Energy Critical Materials List
Pursuant to the authority under Section 7002(a) of the Energy Act of 2020, the Secretary of Energy determines the Critical Materials List. This list includes critical materials for energy, as determined by the Secretary of Energy in the amendment of the Critical Materials List and Final 2023 Critical Materials List, as well as those critical minerals on the 2025 final list published by the Secretary of Interior, acting through the director of the U.S. Geological Survey.
The Elements of Critical Minerals and Materials
| NON-ELEMENTAL CRITICAL MINERALS (USGS) | NON-ELEMENTAL CRITICAL MATERIALS (DOE) |
|---|---|
| Natural Graphite | Natural Graphite |
| Phosphate | Electrical Steel |
| Potash | Metallurgical Coal |
| Metallurgical Coal | Silicon Carbide |
BATTERIES NUCLEAR ENERGY FUEL CELLS SOLAR CELLS Antimony Boron Graphite Aluminum Cobalt Europium Scandium Silicon Graphite Graphite Silver Lanthanum Hafnium Tellurium Lead Holmium Lithium Lithium Manganese Samarium Nickel Thulium Phosphate Praseodymium Uranium Silver Zirconium DISPLAYS & OPTICS CATALYSTS SEMICONDUCTORS & MICROCONDUCTORS MAGNETIC MATERIALS Erbium Cerium Arsenic Dysprosium Germanium Iridium Boron Gadolinium Indium Lanthanum Fluorspar/Fluorine Holmium Terbium Palladium Gallium Neodymium Yttrium Rhenium Germanium Praseodymium Rhodium Hafnium Samarium Ruthenium Terbium Terbium Ytterbium Silicon LIGHTING GENERAL ELECTRONICS COMPONENTS LASERS ATOMIC CLOCKS & GPS Scandium Aluminum Dysprosium Cesium Yttrium Copper Erbium Rubidium Lutetium Holmium Magnesium Neodymium Palladium Tellurium Rhodium Terbium Ruthenium Thulium Silver Ytterbium Tantalum Tellurium Terbium Tin STEEL PRODUCTION & STRENGTHENING ALLOYS FOR AEROSPACE, DEFENSE, & HIGH PERFORMANCE Boron Beryllium Chromium Cobalt Fluorspar/Fluorine Copper Gadolinium Hafnium Manganese Lead Metallurgical coal Lithium Nickel Magnesium Niobium Platinum Silicon Praseodymium Vanadium Rhenium Scandium Tellurium Thulium Titanium Tungsten Yttrium Zinc Zirconium PLASTICS & SYNTHETIC MATERIALS LUBRICANTS RUBBER PRODUCTION CERAMICS & GLASS Fluorspar/Fluorine Graphite Neodymium Boron Lithium Tellurium Cerium Erbium Fluorspar Lead Praseodymium
Critical minerals shown here are from the 2025 List of Critical Minerals.
The Results of the 2023 DOE Critical Materials Assessment
The Final 2023 Critical Materials List includes all materials that were assessed as “critical” or “near critical” in either the short or medium term, with the exception of uranium. Section 7002(a) of the Energy Act of 2020 restricts the listing of critical materials to “any non-fuel mineral, element, substance, or material.” Based on the plain meaning of fuel, uranium used in commercial nuclear reactors is a fuel material. As the 2023 DOE Critical Materials Assessment includes only use of uranium as a fuel, DOE did not designate uranium as a critical material in the Final 2023 Critical Materials List.