How to reduce dependence on imports of innovation-critical raw materials

These are some 30 metals and minerals found in the Earth's crust that have become the key to ending our dependence on fossil fuels. They are used, for example, to make lithium-ion batteries for electric cars and vital components for solar and wind power.

"The EU currently consumes around 25% of the world's production of innovation-critical raw materials, while we only contribute 1-2% to production.

"This shows that we are very dependent on imports," says Linus Brander, a senior researcher at RISE with a PhD in mineralogy and petrology who has been following the debate on innovation-critical raw materials for more than a decade.

Transition needs fossil-free energy and mining

Over the past year, he has seen a shift in the public debate – more people understand the connection between fossil-free energy and the need for mining to make the transition a reality. The question of why other countries, where environmental and labour conditions are often worse, should mine their resources when it could be done in much better conditions in Sweden and the EU has also grown.

"Here we have a better energy mix, which is largely fossil-free, and we have strong environmental laws, and we can mine in a more sustainable way than in other places in the world. I think more people are now making the connection between the products we use and the materials and technology they are based on," says Linus Brander.

Rapidly growing demand

The need for action is clear: the demand for innovation-critical raw materials is growing rapidly. Wind and solar power are on the rise, and plug-in cars still account for only a few percent of the total vehicle fleet. For example, EU demand for lithium for lithium-ion batteries alone is forecast to be up to 15 times higher than today by 2030 and up to 45 times higher by 2050.

"At the same time, the rest of the world will be making the transition. If you take a country like South Africa as an example, even though it is sunny and has a lot of areas suitable for wind power, 95 per cent of its energy production is linked to coal," says Linus Brander.

On top of that, living standards around the world are rising.

"As more people become better off, they will want smartphones and everything else we have. Reducing poverty and misery is something we want, but it also means that the demand for these raw materials increases every year," says Linus Brander.

Available in Sweden

As demand grows, it becomes increasingly important to identify which raw materials can be found at home. Studies by the Swedish Geological Survey (SGU), for example, show that several of the metals and minerals critical to innovation are available in sufficient quantities in Sweden, and that mining is possible in several places.

Bergslagen, which has a long mining tradition, has cobalt, graphite and manganese, as well as several of the other innovation-critical raw materials. Another is Norra Kärr, a few kilometres north of Gränna, where a group of substances known as rare earth elements have been found, which are used to generate electricity in wind turbines.

But despite the presence of several of these innovation-critical raw materials, no mining is currently taking place.

"There are many dimensions and issues to consider. The extraction of metals and minerals often has a significant impact on nature and surrounding communities. At the same time, we need these resources, and often the innovation-critical metals and minerals we import are mined in ways that are not sustainable and do not meet the requirements we would set in Sweden. This is a dilemma that is not easy to solve," says Peter Stigson.

At the same time, he believes that the debate about mining will intensify as the supply of raw materials fails to meet demand.

"Both global equity issues and world market prices could determine whether new mines are started or old ones reopened," he says.

Import dependence creates vulnerability

The big player in the market is China. On the one hand it has plenty of some of the raw materials, such as rare earths, but above all it is a major player at all stages, both in refining and in assembling components and end products.

So it is not enough for Sweden and the EU just to mine the metals and minerals – we also need to develop whole value chains.

"If we send the raw material to China for processing, we are still very dependent. So, in addition to starting to exploit the large deposits we have, it must also be possible for production and processing to take place within the EU," says Linus Brander.

Recycling – difficult but necessary

Another important part of improving access to innovation-critical raw materials is to increase and develop recycling. Today, the products in which raw materials are used are often very complex, making recycling difficult. We also need to start looking at the use of old waste that has previously gone to landfill rather than being recovered as valuable raw materials. According to Peter Stigson, one key is to review all of today's different regulations to increase the opportunities for recycling.

"There are a lot of instruments that need to be harmonised. Today, this is an obstacle to building our energy transition more on resources that we ourselves are responsible for extracting and recycling," he says.