The change to a decarbonized energy system is shooting the demand from the critical minerals necessary for new carbon technologies, such as photovoltaic plates or batteries. Depending on the emission reduction scenario that is considered in 2040, world demand could be multiplied four to six times with respect to the current one, so adequate planning is required to guarantee its supply.
This is collected in the report ‘Energy Transition and Critical Minerals ”, prepared by Professor Mariano March and published by Fundación Naturgy that, in addition, Analyze the future of the extractive industry of this type of materials to the ambitious decarbonization objectives worldwide.
According to the report, “Critical minerals would go from representing 11% of the total value of the international trade of energy raw materials in 2019, 47% in 2050, while fossil fuels would evolve in the opposite direction, moving from 89% to 18%.”
Mariano March’s report offers an overview of the challenges raised by critical minerals, putting special emphasis on the problem existing around his supply security. “Without safe and resilient supply chains of these minerals and their derived products, energy transitions run the risk of becoming slower and more expensive.”
Since 2010, as renewables have penetrated the mix Energy, “the average amount of minerals needed per unit of electricity generation capacity has increased by 50%.” According to the expert, “an electric car multiplies by six mineral raw materials used by a conventional car (with internal combustion motor) and a wind plant requires nine times more minerals than a combined natural gas cycle center.”
Lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite are crucial for the performance, longevity and energy density of the batteries. Rare earth elements are essential for wind turbines and electric vehicles. And electrical networks need a lot of copper and aluminum. They are some examples of the new dependence that decarbonization can generate. In this sense, March argues that “the management of environmental, economic, social and geopolitical impacts generated throughout the entire value chain of the new raw materials necessary for the energy transition, from its extraction and processed to its final recycling, constitutes a huge challenge.”
World leadership
In full career for the leadership of the energy transition, the states are competing for the control of the supply chains of low technologies in carbon emissions. In this sense, March recalls that “China leads this competition outstanding. climatic ”.
Therefore, for the expert, “reinforce the security of supply of the critical minerals necessary for the energy transition constitutes a strategic objective for the European Union and each of its member states”, so it advocates to ensure proper investment in new sources of supply; promote technological innovation at all points of the value chain; climb the recycling; Improve the resilience of supply chains and market transparency; incorporate more strict environmental, social and governance norms; and strengthen international collaboration between producers and consumers.
A solid mining strategy for Spain
In this context, Daniel Torrejón Braojos, Deputy Director General of Mines of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, and Paula Fernández-Canteli Álvarez, Director of Institutional and International Relations of the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain, recently agreed to establish as “key” that Spain has a solid mining strategy.
Thus, both experts manifested in a day organized by Fundación Naturgy, together with the Spanish chapter of the Rome Club, focused on ‘critical minerals’. They also referred to the strategic importance of critical minerals in the energy sector, as well as the challenges and opportunities of these vital resources for the energy transition.
In his speech, Daniel Torrejón emphasized that “we have been without a mining strategy for 40 years. The road map in which we are working – approving approval – has 46 measures, which must be landed with an action plan, which includes lines of action, budget and a specific manager, in addition to a detailed program”.
For the expert in mines, “two of the lines of action of this action plan, especially from the budgetary point of view, are the mining exploration program and the exploration program of the rafts and dumps.”
For his part, Fernández-Canteli explained that, in 2022, the Geological and Mining Institute did the study of fundamental raw materials. “The list refers to fundamental raw materials of interest to Europe. But in Spain we can have other interests, so specific interest for the energy transition in Spain and for socioeconomic impact was added.”
For the Director of Institutional and International Relations of the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain, the exploration program is one of the key elements, due to the importance of having indications and geological evidence that there is a mineral. “But we have to locate it, understand the law you have, the possibilities of exploitation.”
Likewise, this expert referred to the inventory of mud balsas and dumps that are in Spain, where minerals that are now of interest and must be recovered.
Finally, Fernández-Canteli highlighted the importance of direct recycling within the circular economy model, stressing that the efficient use of the materials used represents one of Europe’s key strategies to guarantee access to all the elements that are needed.