The West needs to produce more critical minerals. Here’s how the Pentagon should help
Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian and Communications Associate Greg Wischer write about how Western governments are seeking to build more mines and refineries for critical minerals, given their necessity in not only clean energy technologies like electric vehicle batteries but also defense applications like hypersonic glide vehicles. But beyond capital challenges (and local opposition), the West’s paucity of mines and refineries faces structural realities: geology and technology. May 30, 2024.