Foundational Perspective · Pulling the Thread
A Mine Is Not a Supply Chain.
Recycling is not reintegration. And recovering materials does not rebuild industrial capability.
Read Pulling the ThreadThe Evolution of Technology Stewardship
Ideas That Open
the Conversation.
Explore the opening themes of our editorial series, from hidden value chains to the resources already in circulation. These questions help frame the Alliance’s emerging research agenda.
The Evolution of Technology Stewardship
Issues 001–006 · Issue 003 Follow-Up
Issue 001
We Built a World We Can No Longer See.
The opening issue examines how specialization and globalization made the products of technology easier to see than the relationships supporting them. What does it take to bring the full value chain back into view?
Recognition · Bringing invisible value chains into view Read Issue 001
Issue 002
$6.5 Trillion at Risk. Our Technology Is More Fragile Than We Think.
Strategic dependencies reveal how a small number of materials and processes can affect vast areas of economic activity.
Discovery · The dependencies beneath the product Read Issue 002
Issue 003
The Other Mine Is Already Above Ground.
Critical materials are scarce, but valuable resources are already embedded in technology across the economy.
Recovery · The value already in circulation Read Issue 003
Issue 003 Follow-Up
America’s Industrial Security Is Already in Our Hands.
The follow-up examines the growing recognition of recoverable critical materials as strategic resources, connecting retired technology with industrial and national security.
Stewardship · Recoverable materials as strategic resources Read the Follow-Up
Issue 004
The Chip Race Has a Lifecycle Problem.
Semiconductor capacity depends on specialized equipment, materials, energy, water and the lifecycle systems around them.
Lifecycle · The infrastructure behind the fab Read Issue 004
Issue 005
Everyone Is Accountable for a Piece. But How Does Each Move Affect the Whole?
AI infrastructure exposes how decisions about compute, power, water and critical materials compound across the system.
Accountability · The consequences across the whole Read Issue 005
Issue 006
The Loop Still Doesn’t Close.
Policy can protect strategic materials, but recovery alone cannot close the loop without domestic refining, qualification, offtake and manufacturing.
Circularity · The missing links between recovery and reuse Read Issue 006Research Library
Questions Worth Pursuing.
The opening series explores questions that connect the Alliance’s priorities: how to reveal dependencies, preserve resources and strengthen the systems technology requires. Bring your perspective to the questions that deserve deeper research.
Help Inform the Research
Bring a Question from Your World.
Share a dependency, a gap in knowledge or a challenge that would benefit from expertise across disciplines.