By Joe Quinn, Director, Center for Strategic Industrial Materials at SAFE
The U.S. has made important strides in untangling our economy and energy needs from oil dependence, but as we do so, the U.S. and our allies are facing a new existential threat: An increasingly assertive China has worked to dominate the supply chains for the components vital to our unprecedented power to undermine and disrupt crucial segments of our economy, energy infrastructure, and even national defence needs.
A critical example of this troubling trend is happening now in the aluminium industry. Aluminium is critical to U.S. national security, the clean energy transition, and the U.S. economy. For example, aluminium makes up 75 to 80 percent of every plane built today. It is also essential for building armour plates for military vehicles, naval vessels, space and missile components, as well as propellants.