A bunch of companies suddenly became hungry for it starting around 2021. They were investing in electric vehicles and energy storage systems for utilities. But when they went looking for lithium suppliers, they found the market to be a bit limited ....

And while flaky, blackish-gray graphite won’t be involved in a lot of marriage proposals, it is key to many types of manufacturing. “From steelmaking to semiconductors to electric vehicle batteries,” said Morgan Bazilian, a professor at the Colorado ....

Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy, discusses how EV manufacturers are dealing with increased competition to secure lithium used to produce batteries.

But there are no guarantees, said Adrienne Marshall, a hydrologist at the Colorado School of Mines. “We don’t know how much that will help the reservoirs and help hydropower production,” she said.

Now, EV tax credits are only available to people who buy cars assembled here. That change is a big deal, said Morgan Bazilian at the Colorado School of Mines.

“OECD countries are kind of pushing faster now that they’ve had the issues with their conflict in Ukraine,” said Ian Lange, director of the mineral energy economics program at the Colorado School of Mines.

That could give Beijing leverage, said Morgan Bazilian at the Colorado School of Mines. “Will we see pushback on that level of economic warfare from the Chinese?”

“They try to protect against the risk to their company’s profits,” said Morgan Bazilian, a professor of public policy at the Colorado School of Mines.

But Morgan Bazilian at the Colorado School of Mines said it might actually help quash some investor worries about long-term oil and gas infrastructure. That’s because, he said, this measure doesn’t directly legislate a reduction in greenhouse gas ....

“If we remove a gas tax, an economist would tell you that if you lower the price, you will increase demand,” said Morgan Bazilian, who directs the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines. “By doing this, one could minimize ....