Page 185 - CW E-Magazine (21-11-2023)

Special Report

India: Critical minerals need supply security

he ongoing energy transition Dr. M.P. SukuMaran nair
and move to low carbon and no
Tcarbon energy resources neces- Director, Centre for Green Tech-
nology & Management, Kochi
sitate a dramatic shift to new genera- Formerly, Secretary to Chief Minister
tion fuels and feedstock and the capi- Kerala & Chairman
talisation of frontend and emerging Public Sector Restructuring & Audit
technologies such as digitization, data Board, Govt. of Kerala
analytics, machine learning and use of Email: nairmps50@gmail.com
a variety of sensors. Besides the soft- drmpsukumarannair.com
ware that will go into the working of
each of these technologies, the hard- tion to a low carbon emissions econo-
ware required to create them is also my, and the renewable energy techno-
important. A series of mineral materi- logies required to decarbonise various
als of construction have been identified Chile, Argentina, and China have the sectors and achieve the ‘Net Zero’ com-
to go into the making of these products, largest reserves of lithium available in mitments of an increasing number of
and are termed as critical minerals in mines around the world today. countries around the world.
the present context of energy transition,
decarbonisation, and development of Critical minerals The mining of these minerals is
new and sustainable energy resources. The term ‘critical minerals’ was first found to cause significant environ-
These minerals are distributed unevenly used in 1939 when the Strategic and mental damage and health risks from
across the surface of earth, but there Critical Minerals Stockpiling Act was contaminated water and therefore the
are certain areas where they are avail- passed in the US. The US Energy Act recommended technologies and policies
able in abundant quantities. Therefore, of 2020 defines critical minerals as an to mitigate environmental impacts of
it is necessary for all countries to have essential component in the manufactur- mining are to be strictly adhered to.
access to enough of these materials for ing of a product and having high risk The criticality of minerals vary from
their development programmes through of a supply chain disruption. They also country to country depending on
negotiated settlements and supply serve an essential function in one or domestic availability and projected
arrangements. With production of rene- more energy technologies the absence industrial demand.
wable energy resources and decarboni- of which would have significant conse- Table 2: Applications of critical minerals
sation technologies taking a leap for- quences for the national economy and
ward, the requirement for critical mine- security of the country. Equipment Critical elements required
rals is expected to increase manifold. Table 1: Critical minerals Solar panels Ga, Ge, In, Te,
Mineral Countries of occurrence Wind turbines Al, Pr, Nd, Sa, Dy
The global energy transition to Batteries Co, Li, Mn, La, Ce, Pr, Nd,
renewables, electric mobility, battery Lithium Australia, Chile, Argentina, China, Graphite
storage systems, production of low-car- US, Canada. Electrical Li, Ni, Co, Mn, Graphite
bon hydrogen, solar panels, wind tur- Cobalt DR Congo, Australia, Indonesia, vehicles
bines, smart devices, sensors, and digi- Cuba, Philippines, Russia, Electrolysers Ni, Zr, La, Y, Pt, Pd, Ir,
Canada, China, US, and Zambia.
tal controls, as well as the expansion of Co, Ta, Gd, Ce
transmission infrastructure, have mas- Copper Chile, Australia, Peru, Russia, Lighting La, Ce, Eu, Tb, Y
sively boosted demand for critical mine- Mexico, US, DR Congo.
rals and metals. A five-times relative Nickel Australia, Indonesia, Brazil, In its 2020 report titled Minerals
increase in demand is predicted over Russia. for Climate Action: The Mineral Inten-
the next decade for certain minerals, These minerals are essential for the sity of the Clean Energy Transition, the
especially those connected to energy advancement of many sectors, includ- World Bank had warned that a low car-
storage technologies, such as lithium, ing high-tech electronics, telecommuni- bon future will be very mineral-inten-
graphite, and cobalt. According to the cations, transport, and defence. They sive. Four minerals – lithium, cobalt,
US Geological Survey (USGS), Australia, are also vital to power the global transi- copper, and nickel – are the most im-

Chemical Weekly November 21, 2023 185

Contents Index to Advertisers Index to Products Advertised