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Reports by Tom Moerenhout, Cina Vazir & Irina Patrahau • July 09, 2025
This report represents the research and views of the authors. It does not necessarily represent the views of the Center on Global Energy Policy. The piece may be subject to further revision.
Contributions to SIPA for the benefit of CGEP are general use gifts, which gives the Center discretion in how it allocates these funds. More information is available here. Rare cases of sponsored projects are clearly indicated.
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The United States is at a pivotal moment to modernize its approach to critical mineral stockpiling. Minerals are increasingly central to American strategic interests, yet the US remains heavily reliant on foreign suppliers, particularly China, for processed materials. This dependency exposes the US to major vulnerabilities in national, economic, and climate security. The National Defense Stockpile (NDS) can be a key policy lever to reduce these vulnerabilities. At present, however, the NDS is underfunded, covering only a fraction of projected needs in a national emergency. It also may not be realizing its potential to address underlying market failures that threaten US economic interests in addition to its historical defense role.
This report, part of the Critical Materials Initiative at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA, finds that an economic stockpile with market-shaping quantities of material may cost more than six times the amount of a defense-oriented stockpile. It is therefore important to integrate stockpiling choices into the wider array of policy options, analyzing whether a stockpile is the most efficient tool to address the specific market failure at hand for each material and transaction.
The report outlines five foundational choices if a stockpiling strategy is adopted, as bipartisan support suggests is possible, and offers related recommendations for US policymakers designing such a system:
The US would need to ensure that the NDS is properly funded to meet its current mandate before considering expanding its scope to industrial resilience and economic security, which would require additional sustained investment over decades rather than a one-off appropriation. But the country does face an important window to align mineral stockpiles with the strategic landscape of the 21st century. A well-designed system can reduce supply chain vulnerabilities, support domestic and allied industries, and enhance America’s geopolitical leverage.
Lithium plays a critical role in the global energy transition. It is the core ingredient of lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs) and are used in stationary energy storage systems.
On April 30, 2025, the United States and Ukraine signed a long-anticipated economic partnership agreement establishing the US–Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund.
The Rockefeller Foundation and the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA jointly organized a workshop from December 3rd to 6th, 2024, in Bellagio, Italy, on how to finance responsible critical mineral supply chains.
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Reports by Tom Moerenhout, Cina Vazir & Irina Patrahau • July 09, 2025