NSCEB Analysis: Biotechnology Key to Securing Critical Mineral Supply Chains

Using copper as a case study, the NSCEB explores how biotechnology solutions can reshape U.S. critical mineral supply chains, reducing geopolitical vulnerabilities and strengthening our national security.

15 September 2026

Washington, D.C. – Today, the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB) published new analysis exploring how biotechnology can improve access to critical minerals and provide a solution to a major national security challenge.

Using copper as a case study, the new analysis highlights the role biomining plays in ensuring a reliable supply of critical minerals for multiple industries, including defense. It notes that while China has developed a chokehold over the global copper smelting industry, the United States has the innovation and expertise to expand domestic biomining capabilities but has not yet taken the necessary steps to scale the technology. The paper provides recommendations for ways the United States can close this gap and increase access to domestic supplies of critical minerals, including investing in early-stage technology, developing commercial and precommercial infrastructure, and entering into purchasing agreements to boost industry growth.

“Access to critical minerals like copper is an increasingly urgent national security issue,” said NSCEB Chair Senator Todd Young. “Our economy and our military depend on supply chains that we don’t fully control, and advancements in biotechnology give us a tool to change that. Copper is just one example of how biomining will unlock new sources of critical minerals, expand domestic supply, and reduce strategic dependencies. This is an area where strategic policy decisions and American scientific innovation can work together to make our country more resilient and secure.”

“We’re only beginning to see what becomes possible when we harness biology to tackle some of our toughest industrial challenges,” said NSCEB Commissioner Alexander Titus. “Critical minerals are a great example: we can design biological systems with enough precision to help recover valuable materials from previously unusable sources. Biotechnology can help build more resilient supply chains while creating entirely new sources of American industrial and technological advantage.”

Read the new issue paper here.

Recommendations:

The recommendations for scaling-up biotechnology to strengthen domestic critical mineral supplies, include:

Establish and fund an Independence Investment Fund, led by a non-governmental manager, that would invest in technology startups that strengthen U.S. national and economic security.
- Introduced in the House of Representatives as the Independence Investment Fund Act (H.R.6412)
Authorize and fund the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Commerce (DOC) to develop a network of manufacturing facilities across the country for precommercial bioindustrial product scale-up.
- Introduced in the House of Representatives as the Bioindustrial Scale-Up for Supply Chains and Energy Resiliency Act (H.R.7936)
- Introduced in the House of Representatives as the Bioindustrial Infrastructure for Open Scale-up, Commercialization, and Accelerated Launch Ecosystems (Bio-SCALE) Act (H.R.8918)
Direct the Department of Defense (DOD) to work with private companies to build commercial facilities across the country to biomanufacture products that are critical for DOD needs.
- Passed into law in the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act (S.1071, Sec.243)
Require the Department of Defense (DOD) to enter into advance market commitments (AMCs) and offtake agreements for biotechnology products that are needed for defense.
- Passed into law in the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act (S.1071, Sec.246).

Read the NSCEB’s April 2025 report to Congress here.

About NSCEB: The National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology is a time-limited, high-impact legislative branch advisory entity whose purpose is to advance and secure biotechnology, biomanufacturing, and associated technologies for U.S. national security and to prepare the United States for the bioindustrial revolution. The Commission published a comprehensive report in April 2025, including recommendations for action by Congress and the federal government. The bipartisan Commission is composed of Congressionally-appointed Commissioners with members from both the Senate and the House of Representatives as well as experts from industry, academia, and government. For more information about the Commission and to view the report, visit: biotech.senate.gov.

Contacts: 

NSCEB: press@biotech.senate.gov 