Geopolitics of the Energy Transition: Critical Materials

GEOPOLITICS OF THE ENERGY TRANSITION CRITICAL MATERIALSco-operationclimatestandardstradeglobalvalue creationresilientresponsibletransparentminingsupply chaininnovationchangechangeeconomystockpilingmarketsefficiencyriskmineralsmetalslabourresourcerightsrightsrisklabourinclusioncorporationshuman securityfuturelithiumcobaltnickelsupplydemandcopperinnovationMNCdemand ABOUT IRENAThe International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organisation that supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future. It serves as the principal platform for international co-operation, a centre of excellence, and a repository of policy, technology, resource and financial knowledge on renewable energy. IRENA promotes the widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy, including bioenergy, geothermal, hydropower, ocean, solar and wind energy, in the pursuit of sustainable development, energy access, energy security and low-carbon economic growth and prosperity. www.irena.org© IRENA 2023Unless otherwise stated, material in this publication may be freely used, shared, copied, reproduced, printed and/or stored, provided that appropriate acknowledgement is given of IRENA as the source and copyright holder. Material in this publication that is attributed to third parties may be subject to separate terms of use and restrictions, and appropriate permissions from these third parties may need to be secured before any use of such material.ISBN: 978-92-9260-539-1CITATION: IRENA (2023), Geopolitics of the energy transition: Critical materials, International Renewable Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi.For further information or to provide feedback: publications@irena.orgThis report is available for download: www.irena.org/publicationsDISCLAIMERThis publication and the material herein are provided “as is”. All reasonable precautions have been taken by IRENA to verify the reliability of the material in this publication. However, neither IRENA nor any of its officials, agents, data or other third-party content providers provides a warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, and they accept no responsibility or liability for any consequence of use of the publication or material herein. The information contained herein does not necessarily represent the views of all Members of IRENA. The mention of specific companies or certain projects or products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by IRENA in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The designations employed and the presentation of material herein do not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of IRENA concerning the legal status of any region, country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of frontiers or boundaries.This publication was supported by voluntary contributions from the Governments of the Netherlands and Norway.All photos of minerals and metals without own credit are used under licence from Shutterstock. 3CRITICAL MATERIALSACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThis report was authored under the supervision and guidance of Elizabeth Press (Director, IRENA Planning and Programme Support) by Thijs Van de Graaf (IRENA consultant and lead author), Martina Lyons, Isaac Elizondo Garcia, Ellipse Rath (IRENA) and Benjamin Gibson (ex-IRENA).The authors are grateful for the reviews, inputs and support provided by IRENA colleagues Roland Roesch, Rabia Ferroukhi, Anastasia Kefalidou, Claire Kiss (ex-IRENA), Deepti Siddhanti, Divyam Nagpal, Francis Field, Francisco Boshell, Griffin Thompson (IRENA consultant), Kathleen Daniel, Kelly Rigg (IRENA consultant), Michael Renner, Mirjam Reiner, Paul Komor, Sophie Sauerteig (ex-IRENA), Stephanie Clarke, Ute Collier and Zhaoyu ‘Lewis’ Wu.Other valuable inputs were provided by Sara Geeraerts (IMEP); André Månberger, Dastan Bekmuratov, Gavkharkhon Mamadzhanova, Ida Dokk Smith, Indra Overland, Julia Loginova, Mari Tønnessen, Philip Swanson, Roman Vakulchuk and Tatjana Stankovic (NUPI).Peer review was provided by Henry Sanderson (Benchmark Mineral Intelligence); Jan Morrill, Paulina Personius, Payal Sampat and Vuyisile Ncube (Earthworks); Sebastian Sahla (EITI); Yana Popkostova (European Centre for Energy and Geopolitical Analysis); Irina Patrahau (HCSS); Karsten Sach (IRENA consultant); Patrícia Alves Dias and Vangelis Tzimas (JRC); Hans Olav Ibrekk and Jonas Volden Weltan (MFA, Norway); Jean-Philippe Bernier and Jeffrey Akomah (Natural Resources Canada); David Manley (NRGI); Clarisse Legendre, Louis Marechal, Luca Maiotti and Przemyslaw Kowalski (OECD); Jim Krane (Rice University's Baker Institute); Kathryn Sturman (Sustainable Minerals Ins