It is believed that there are enough materials in the soil to go around. But mines take time and money to develop. Many materials focus on specific countries such as China, Russia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Supply constraints and price spikes that threaten the shift to greener technologies and disrupt businesses are in sight without intervention to develop supply chains, experts warn.
“The supply of clean energy depends on extracted natural resources, which are shaped by geological, geopolitical and governance challenges,” says KPMG in its report published yesterday.
“The beginning of that supply chain – sourcing metals, minerals and resources could prove to be the weakest link.”
Back in 2012, officials warned of looming raw material problems in a report warning of pressures on the supply of some raw materials, including those used in high-tech, defense and environmentally friendly technologies.
British politicians have since been betting on green technologies that increase demand for these materials, ban the sale of new internal combustion engines by 2030, and plan to quadruple wind power to reduce CO2 emissions to zero by 2050.
It is hoped that many of these wind turbines and batteries will be made in the UK. That requires a lot of raw materials. The Faraday Institution estimates that in 2035 the UK will need 14,000 tons of cobalt, 75,000 tons of lithium and 86,000 tons of nickel to produce 92 GWh of EV batteries. This corresponds to a consumption of less than 2,000 tons today.
