I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2090 

To improve assessments of and research about energy critical elements, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 2, 2011 

Mr. HULTGREN (for himself, Mrs. BIGGERT, and Mr. LIPINSKI) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, 

and Technology, and in addition to the Committees on Natural Resources 

and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined 

by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 

within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To improve assessments of and research about energy critical 

elements, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Energy Critical Ele5 ments Advancement Act of 2011’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INFORMATION GATHERING, ANALYSIS, AND DIS2 SEMINATION. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior, 

4 acting through the Director of the USGS, and the Sec5 retary of Energy, acting through the Administrator of the 

6 Energy Information Administration, shall collaborate to 

7 improve assessments of energy critical elements that in8 cludes— 

9 (1) discovered and potential resources; 

10 (2) production; 

11 (3) use; 

12 (4) trade; 

13 (5) disposal; and 

14 (6) recycling. 

15 (b) DUTIES.—The entity within the USGS that gath16 ers the information for the assessments under subsection 

17 (a) shall— 

18 (1) regularly survey emerging energy tech19 nologies and the supply chain for elements through20 out the periodic table necessary for those tech21 nologies in order to forecast potential supply disrup22 tions; and 

23 (2) make available such information in the ag24 gregate, with appropriate protection of proprietary 

25 information, to the United States scientific commu26 nity, including industry, institutions of higher eduVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:01 Jun 07, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2090.IH H2090

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1 cation, and the United States Department of Energy 

2 National Laboratories and Technology Centers. 

3 (c) DESIGNATION.—The Director of the USGS shall 

4 designate the entity within the USGS that gathers the in5 formation for the assessments under subsection (a) as a 

6 ‘‘Principal Statistical Agency’’. 

7 SEC. 3. RESEARCH. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Energy, in 

9 coordination with the Secretary of the Interior, shall es10 tablish a research program to advance basic knowledge 

11 and enable expanded availability of energy critical ele12 ments, including research on basic materials science, 

13 chemistry, physics, and engineering associated with energy 

14 critical elements, including materials characterization and 

15 substitution, recycling, and life-cycle analysis. 

16 (b) RESEARCH PLAN.—In consultation with the Crit17 ical and Strategic Mineral Supply Chain Subcommittee of 

18 the National Science and Technology Council, the Sec19 retary shall develop and update biennially an integrated 

20 research plan to guide program activities. 

21 (c) LIMITATION.—Research under subsection (a) 

22 shall be limited to areas that industry is not likely to un23 dertake due to technical and financial uncertainty. 


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1 SEC. 4. REPORT. 

2 Within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

3 the Critical and Strategic Mineral Supply Chain Sub4 committee of the National Science and Technology Council 

5 shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

6 Technology of the House of Representatives and the Com7 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

8 Senate a report on the recycling of energy critical ele9 ments, including— 

10 (1) the logistics, economic viability, and re11 search and development needs for completing the re12 cycling process; 

13 (2) options for both the Federal Government 

14 and industry, including an assessment of the 

15 strengths and weaknesses of such options, for im16 proving the rates of collection of post-consumer 

17 products containing energy critical elements; and 

18 (3) an analysis of the methods explored and im19 plemented in various states and countries, such as 

20 Japan and South Korea. 

21 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

23 (1) ENERGY CRITICAL ELEMENT.—The term 

24 ‘‘energy critical element’’ means each of the fol25 lowing: 

26 (A) Helium. 


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1 (B) Lithium. 

2 (C) Scandium. 

3 (D) Cobalt. 

4 (E) Gallium. 

5 (F) Germanium. 

6 (G) Selenium. 

7 (H) Yttrium. 

8 (I) Ruthenium. 

9 (J) Rhodium. 

10 (K) Palladium. 

11 (L) Silver. 

12 (M) Indium. 

13 (N) Tellurium. 

14 (O) Lanthanum. 

15 (P) Rhenium. 

16 (Q) Osmium. 

17 (R) Iridium. 

18 (S) Platinum. 

19 (T) Cerium. 

20 (U) Praseodymium. 

21 (V) Neodymium. 

22 (W) Samarium. 

23 (X) Europium. 

24 (Y) Gadolinium. 

25 (Z) Terbium. 


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1 (AA) Dysprosium. 

2 (BB) Ytterbium. 

3 (CC) Lutetium. 

4 (DD) Any other element designated as an 

5 energy critical element by the Critical and Stra6 tegic Mineral Supply Chain Subcommittee of 

7 the National Science and Technology Council. 

8 (2) USGS.—The term ‘‘USGS’’ means the 

9 United States Geological Survey. 

Æ 


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