(Minews) - Growing demand for renewable energy could put pressure on the supply of critical minerals such as cobalt, indium and copper, according to a report from environmental charity WWF in collaboration with renewable energy consultancy Ecofys.
To provide a close to zero-emission energy sector, materials such as rare earths, copper, cobalt, indium and gallium are needed which could be subject to supply chain bottlenecks, according to the report entitled Critical materials for the transition to a 100% sustainable
energy future.
The report examines whether non-energy raw material supply bottlenecks could occur under a 100% renewable energy scenario, which relies on using materials already under growing demand from manufacturers of TVs, mobile phones and other devices.
“Modern, innovative energy-related technologies often have a high demand for these materials. And they do not stand alone,” Dr Stephan Singer, the director of global energy policy at WWF, said.
“Modern information technology sectors from computers to TV flat screens and mobile phones, various industrial applications and processes, lighting technologies and transportation applications also increasingly require these materials,” he said.
The most critical bottleneck, according to the report, occurs in supply chains for lithium and cobalt, which are used for batteries in electric vehicles, because current production levels of the two materials are not sufficient to meet the yearly peak demand for batteries.
This deficit was calculated under a scenario that assumes a complete shift to the use of plug-in hybrids or electric cars for light duty vehicles.
Instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where most cobalt is produced, and the dominance China has in cobalt refining could also lead to short-term supply bottlenecks and supply insecurities, the report said.
But the bottlenecks could be alleviated by a shift towards the use of less cobalt-intensive cathodes and by recycling or substituting lithium.
There is less concern about bottlenecks for indium, gallium and tellurium, according to the report, as they can be substituted with silicon in thin film photovoltaic technologies.
It is also estimated that substitution of indium in LCDs will become commercially available in the next three years, the report said.
“For some photovoltaic technologies, supply bottlenecks can be expected, but in all cases there are ways to at least partly overcome them. But it is anyways possible to continue with currently dominant crystalline silicon technology for which no supply bottlenecks exist,” the report said.
Copper, which has not been highlighted as a critical metal by other studies, could become a bottleneck on increased demand from several technologies needed to make the world more sustainable.
But reducing demand through substitution and increasing recycling could reduce the likelihood of a bottleneck occurring.
The report also warns that governments need to legislate and introduce regulations to encourage recycling and reusing precious and rare metals, while also supporting research and development for new materials and efficiency, in order to avoid supply constraints.
“A transition to a 100% sustainable energy supply is possible, in spite of supply chain bottlenecks, which can be mitigated through increased recycling and substitution,” Singer said.
