IEA Member countries gathered at the IEA headquarters in Paris for the Table-Top Exercise and Diversification Workshop on rare earth elements, held under the IEA Critical Minerals Security Programme.
Rare earth elements are essential for a wide array of strategic applications, including energy technologies, automotive manufacturing, AI data centres, semiconductors, aerospace, and defence. Yet their supply remains among the least geographically diversified of all critical minerals. The new export controls introduced in April 2025 - and the additional measures announced in October, later suspended for one year - highlight the vulnerabilities facing global supply chains.
Building on the last year's workshop on graphite, the 2025 exercise addressed short-term emergency response and long-term diversification strategies, providing a platform to exchange knowledge, test emergency response frameworks, and strengthen international cooperation for supply diversification.
Countries explored a range of supply, demand, and economic measures to mitigate immediate disruption risks. Using the new IEA Critical Minerals Information Dashboard, participants identified opportunities to develop more diversified supply chains through collaboration and strategic partnerships, reviewed policy tools to accelerate project development, and discussed pathways for innovation, recycling and broader ecosystem development.
The IEA will continue expanding its Critical Minerals Security Programme to help countries enhance resilience against disruptions and promote supply diversification. Today's challenges echo a pivotal moment in energy history. In the early 1970s, when oil price shocks strained many energy-importing countries, governments came together to establish the IEA and build emergency stocks to safeguard their economies against supply disruptions. This landmark cooperation has helped limit the severe economic impacts of oil supply disruptions for decades.
With critical minerals underpinning strategic industries and economic growth, the IEA Critical Minerals Security Programme aims to mobilise collective action to build more secure and resilient mineral supply chains and reduce structural risks.
