What does a ‘metal intensive’ future entail?

Critical metals, such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese, are key to the path towards net zero. The UK Government released their Critical Minerals Strategy in early 2023, which sets out to improve the resilience of the critical metal supply chain. 

In this article from the Policy@Manchester publication ‘On Resilience’, Dr Sampriti Mahanty and Professor Frank Boons explore the resilience of critical metals, and evaluate the Critical Minerals Strategy.

• The increasing demand for certain metals means that some countries find their natural resources in increasingly high demand compared to others. The scramble for new critical metal supplies, and the dispersion of critical metal resources in particular geographies, raise geopolitical conflicts.
• As climate targets become more ambitious, more minerals and metals will be needed for a low-carbon future. This increasing demand will be met by exploration and extraction from new metal sources, but it is important to consider that the extraction of metals is often a very energy-intensive process. The traditional extraction process has the potential to reduce the benefits of low-carbon technologies in terms of reducing carbon emissions. 
• The implementation of solutions is only possible through the collaboration and commitment of system actors to a circular economy of technology metals.

The pathway to net zero will put the mining and metals sector to the test. Many key ‘clean’ technologies – including batteries, fuel cells, electrolysers, and solar photovoltaics – rely on ‘critical’ metals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, manganese, and the ‘rare earth’ elements. The ‘criticality’ of these metals stems from their economic importance, the lack of alternative materials, and the risk of their supply chains being disrupted. 

As they become central to decarbonisation, the future looks more ‘metal intensive’ than ever, with various challenges arising for policymakers. Given the importance of such critical metals, the UK government released the Critical Minerals Strategy (CMS) earlier this year. The strategy sets out the plan for improving the resilience of the critical metal supply chain, underpinned by three main goals: 

• Accelerate the growth of the UK’s domestic capabilities;
• Collaborate with international partners; 
• Enhance international markets to make them more responsive, transparent, and responsible.  

We unpack three challenges to these goals, some of which are acknowledged in the strategy, and some are not: geopolitical frictions, scarcity, and value conflicts.

Read the full publication on the Policy@Manchester page