"For example, cobalt supply from the Democratic Republic of Congo is about 60 or 70% of the world production," Liguti explains.Īn overview of the challenges and opportunities of the climate crisis, as it changes the world we know. More than three-quarters of the global production of critical raw materials used for energy comes from just three countries.Ĭhina leads with 66% of the global supply share, followed by South Africa with 9% and the Democratic Republic of Congo with 5%.Īnd in some cases, a single country can be responsible for over half of the global output. "The production of some of those materials is highly concentrated in certain countries today," he adds. "The first challenge is the availability of those critical raw materials," explains Dario Liguti, the director of sustainable energy at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. The European Union has established a list of 30 critical raw materials, mostly minerals, that are considered strategic to the EU's economy and that have high supply risk. READ | OPINION | SA can be a significant player in the global EV market despite energy crisis While rare earth elements are mainly used in permanent magnets for EV motors and wind turbines. "Essentially all of the clean energy technologies that we need to decarbonise the energy system require large amounts of minerals and metals," he explains.Įlectric vehicle (EV) batteries for instance need large amounts of lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite.
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