Much happened in the world of critical raw materials during the fortieth week of the year. The United States wants to intensify cooperation with Norway as well as with India in the field of supply chains, while the government of the United Kingdom purchased an ailing gallium arsenide semiconductor factory. In other news, the German government’s raw materials fund has launched—the details in our roundup.
Norway, U.S. Deepen Cooperation on Critical Minerals
The United States and Norway have reaffirmed their cooperation on critical minerals. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on “High-Standard and Market-Oriented Trade of Critical Minerals” in Washington on Monday. Under the agreement, the two sides will work on secure, transparent supply chains that advance labor and environmental standards.
To the article.
Just a few days later, the USA also signed an agreement with India to strengthen the raw material supply chains for green energies. The background was a meeting between the two countries’ trade ministers.
To the article.
Rare Earths: Department of Energy Gives Green Light for Wyoming Facility
U.S. critical minerals company Rare Element Resources has received approval to begin operations at its rare earth processing and separation demonstration plant in Upton, Wyoming. The plant is now set to go online in the fourth quarter of 2024, provided the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission also gives the green light.
To the article.
Rare Earths: Ionic Secures UK Government Grants
Ionic Rare Earth’s subsidiary, Ionic Technologies, has secured two grants totaling $1.7 million from the UK government to advance the European rare earth supply chain. The first grant aims to expand the partnership between Ionic and its partners to produce magnets from recycled rare earths. The second grant seeks to establish better methods to demagnetize end-of-life rare earth magnets.
To the article.
German Raw Materials Fund Launches
The German government’s raw materials fund is moving into implementation, as announced by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action on Wednesday. The fund, endowed with one billion euros, is intended to support projects that contribute to securing the German and European raw material supply through extraction, processing, or recycling. Applications can now be submitted to the state development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW).
To the article.
Strategic Investment: British Government Purchases Semiconductor Factory
The United Kingdom has acquired a struggling domestic gallium arsenide semiconductor factory from U.S. company Coherent Inc. With this strategic investment, the British government aims to strengthen the national security and defense supply chains.
To the article.