If the production and processing of critical minerals cannot keep up with the accelerating adoption of batteries, EVs, wind turbines and solar PV technologies, the pace and success of the global energy system transformation will be put at risk. In this explainer, Lilly Yejin Lee and James Glynn at the Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University address the big questions, drawing on the data underlying the IEA’s “The Role of Critical … [Read more...]
Will the computing power needed for self-driving cars create a carbon emissions problem akin to data centres?
Few predicted, in their early days, that the scale-up of data centres would result in them having a measurable impact on global energy consumption. Today they contribute 0.3% of global emissions. That’s a big enough number to put it on the global radar and for the IEA to be monitoring it. Will the wide scale take-up of autonomous vehicles have the same effect? Yes, explains Adam Zewe at MIT who describes new research from there. In summary, one … [Read more...]
Critical minerals and materials: supply bottlenecks and risks need international cooperation
The growth in demand for minerals and materials needed for the energy transition is putting a strain on supply. Mining and processing are the two key bottlenecks. Dolf Gielen, Martina Lyons, Francisco Boshell and Peter Chawah at IRENA summarise the multiple challenges. New capacity is not the only problem: the geographical concentration of where the mining and, in particular, the processing is being done is the primary risk. China’s dominance in … [Read more...]
Biden’s major report on critical minerals supply: domestic mining + processing, innovation, EVs, global allies + more
In June, The White House issued its 250-page report on the global critical minerals supply chain, and how the U.S. can ensure continued supply as well as build up its own mining and manufacturing base. It is the fullest picture so far of how the U.S. is evaluating mineral access and supply chain resilience, says Reed Blakemore at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center. Here he reviews the report, in particular the section on energy which … [Read more...]
