The Energy Department moves to bolster production of strategic minerals from U.S. soil

Summary: If you like electric cars, then you've got to have ample supplies of critical elements needed to make them, like lithium and cobalt. Trouble is, the U.S. is highly dependent on foreign sources for most of the 35 rare-earth elements needed for batteries, wind turbines and other items. Now the Energy Department has launched a $30 million grant program to support increasing domestic supplies of rare-earth element. For details, we'll have two guests. We'll hear from Mike McKittrick, Energy's Research and Development Consortia Program Manager. But first, for an overview of the program, we'll hear from the acting director of the Materials Sciences and Engineering Division in Energy's basic research unit, Dr. Andy Schwartz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices