By 2050, about 4.5 million people will be working in the energy storage industry globally, and 19 million men and women will be working in solar across the planet. The majority of transportation workers will shift from building and servicing internal combustion vehicles to electric vehicles. Overall, an estimated 42 million people will be employed by a renewable energy or EV company by mid-century. This is a new industrial revolution.

If the United States is to take a leadership role and truly take advantage of this new industrial revolution, we need to invest in the foundational building blocks of clean energy that allow these jobs to land in our own backyard. We need a massive investment in creating a domestic supply of the critical minerals that build batteries, magnets and a clean energy manufacturing industry.

Today, critical minerals are often dug — by hand — from African soil by Chinese companies, then transported to China for refinement and production into lithium-ion batteries, powerful magnets for wind turbines and more. Rare earth metal mining has played an important role in the rise and strength of China’s economy and workforce. As a result of their supply and the willingness to mine it, we’re reliant on a somewhat less-than-friendly supplier for the inputs we need to build a robust clean energy manufacturing industry.

New technologies are enabling supply through mining & recycling
The United States has enough critical minerals in ground reserves to create our leadership supply. Yet in many cases, we’re restricted from accessing these supplies by today’s dirty and capital-intensive processes for refining metals. The large, dirty furnaces and harmful acids and solvents used to turn mined dirt into valuable minerals create massive pools of hazardous chemical waste and powerful emissions that can violate stringent (and appropriate) U.S. environmental regulations. China has been substantially more lax on those regulations and has, therefore, taken an almost insurmountable leadership role in the energy revolution. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

The battery recycling industry is also poised to take off, with new recyclers entering the market and existing players gearing up for massive expansion as more EV batteries reach end of life. Yet, again, the recycling industry is dependent on old, emissions-heavy technologies like pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy to extract critical minerals from e-waste for new battery manufacturing.

To properly capitalize on this moment — and without sacrificing our environmental standards — we need cleaner alternatives to our existing refining processes to open the doors for cleantech manufacturing and the jobs it brings. Emerging processing technologies that use only electricity (which can be clean) or advanced filtration membranes can allow the U.S. to economically create supply while still protecting our environment. If we are true to our goal of decarbonization, we need to ensure the medicine for a decarbonized world is as clean as the cure.

Recycling and mining create the high-paying jobs we need, in the places that often need it most
The overwhelming need for these materials is creating tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of jobs to meet upcoming demand. These are good-paying jobs, like the $80,000 a year jobs currently being offered at a lithium mine in Nevada, which began operations this year, and in a community where the average income is about $21,000 annually. The battery recycling industry is on a full-out sprint and is predicted to reach $18.3 billion by 2026 and will have many sustainable, well-paying jobs along with it. An added benefit of battery recycling is that it’s best done locally — reducing the need for transportation of dangerous batteries. As a result, many expect that jobs will pop up in a diversity of communities, not just at manufacturing hubs or on the coasts.

Why are we surrendering these opportunities to other countries when the mining and recycling industry could very easily serve as a good-paying alternative to oil and coal jobs, which are quickly disappearing? Investment in these new technologies cannot come soon enough, and luckily, they’re right around the corner.

This inevitable global energy transition requires pure and plentiful critical minerals, significant domestic manufacturing capabilities, and a robust, resilient and secure supply chain. It also needs a significant and well-paid workforce. American workers and working families have always been the engine of our leadership, and this transition to an electrified economy stands as an exciting opportunity to completely reinvigorate our stagnant workforce. We need to ensure we have the technologies that can give us a competitive advantage, and catalyze a workforce ready to compete for what will certainly be competitive industries. Let’s not lose out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to once again lead the way to a better future.