Full Title: Material and Resource Requirements for the Energy Transition
Author(s): Energy Transitions Commission
Publisher(s): Energy Transitions Commission
Publication Date: July 12, 2023
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
In its latest report Material and Resource Requirements for the Energy Transition the ETC dives into the natural resources and materials needed to meet the needs of the transition. Large investments and strong policy support are needed to ensure that the supply of some key minerals grows quickly and sustainably over the next decade to meet rapidly growing demand.
There is no fundamental shortage of any of the raw materials to support a global transition to a net-zero economy: geological resources exceed the total projected cumulative demand from 2022-50 for all key materials, whether arising from the energy transition or other sectors.
However, even with strong action on innovation and recycling, scaling supply rapidly enough to meet demand growth between now and 2030 will be challenging for some metals, and mining will need to expand significantly.
Without strong action to improve materials efficiency, increase recycling or increase mined supply, there could be significant supply gaps for six key energy transition materials: lithium, nickel, graphite, cobalt, neodymium and copper.