India is a rich source of rare earths elements

Rare earth elements and critical minerals

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According to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, ‘Rare Earth Metals are a family of 17 elements in the periodic table, which involve 15 Lanthanides group elements, along with Yttrium and Scandium. They were discovered in 18th-19th century, with Yttrium being the first and Promethium the last discovered rare earth element.’

These elements are divided into two forms: Heavy and Light Rare Earth Elements. Light rare earth elements are uncritical being abundantly available, while heavy elements are more critical due to their high demand and less availability. Among LREEs, Neodymium is the most critical one as it is extensively used in all mobile phones, medical equipment and electric vehicles. It is important for the manufacturing of permanent magnets that are used in wind turbines and data storage systems. The heavy elements like, dysprosium, yttrium and cerium are critical for clean energy technologies, however, due to their limited supply, they have a small market.

A greener future

Energy security and shift to a green future have been at the core of the India-US strategic partnership, after their defence and trade relations. The green future partnership began taking shape since the India-US energy dialogue in 2005, which set up five working groups focusing on emerging technologies and renewable energy, besides oil, gas, coal, energy efficiency, and civil nuclear.