Webinar series: Critical Materials for the Energy Transition

14 July 2022 | Virtual

Deep-Sea Mining Technology

The energy transition is driving increased demand for the use of critical materials for technologies such as batteries, electric motors, wind turbines, solar PV panels and electrolysers. Technology improvements in deep-sea mining technology can relieve supply bottlenecks by opening the door to previously inaccessible resources if done sustainably.

Deep-sea mining is a growing subfield, which involves extracting metals and minerals from the ocean floor at depths of 200 meters or more. The regions of interest for deep-sea mining are widely distributed across the globe. Whilst there are three main types of deep-sea mineral deposits of commercial interest, this webinar focused on polymetallic nodules. Our speakers from the Metals Company, International Seabed Authority and Nauru shared insights into the technologies and processes involved in deep-sea mining, new technological breakthroughs, and what lies ahead for deep-sea mining.

The presentation slides can be found here.

18 May 2022 | Virtual

Rare Earth Elements

Rare earth elements are a group of 17 chemical elements, several of which are critical for the energy transition. Neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium are key to the production of the permanent magnets in EVs and wind turbines, yttrium and scandium for hydrogen electrolysers, while europium, terbium and yttrium in energy-efficient fluorescent lighting. While conventional energy also relies on rare earth elements, the mix of energy-relevant rare earth elements that are needed going forward differs from the past.

Following the release of the recent IRENA technical paper Critical Materials for the Energy Transition: Rare Earth Elements, this webinar shared insights into demand and market growth projections of rare earth elements for EVs and wind turbines. It cast light on the supply side and the outlook for the mining and processing of rare earth elements, current costs and their implications, and approaches to enhance the security of rare earth elements supply including through the role of innovation in reducing dependency on rare earth elements. IRENA’s presentation was followed by commentaries from several of our reviewers – from the European Commission Joint Research Centre, Natural Resources Canada, ENEL Foundation, Rare Earth Industry Association and Global Wind Energy Council.

The presentation slides can be found here.