CJ Cherryh wrote a series of books that had a lot of technology related issues: Foreigner_universe. It's been years since I read them but they were good and i wouldn't mind reading the extended series now that they have been written.
If I remember correctly one of the first things that happened was scientists having to go down to this alien planet and learn what the periodic table of the elements were for this world so they could figure out what things they could still create.
"key elements" = Periodic Table of Elements, different ones or missing pieces would surely change what is able to be created technologically.