Critical Minerals for a Clean Energy Transition
The term “clean energy transition” is likely one you’re familiar with given the recent windfall of climate-related legislation from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill — both of which were signed into law in the last year. These bills provide more than $500 billion in tax credits, loan guarantees, and other incentives, hoping to spur clean energy innovation from R&D to demonstration. However, investments in clean energy are not limited to the public sector. The private sector is also investing heavily in clean-energy startups with approximately $70 billion invested over the past two years. Public figures like Bill Gates have remarked that recent innovation is accelerating “faster than {he} dared hope.”
Recent cost reductions in solar photovoltaics (PVs), wind turbines, and electric vehicles (EVs) have further enabled this energy transition away from fossil-based systems as more than a third of publicly traded private companies have launched net-zero targets.
However, a shift away from traditional hydrocarbon resources is far from a drop-in exchange and comes with its share of challenges. A primary one arises in the supply chain of critical minerals required to enable the development and deployment of these technologies. For example, a typical electric car demands six times the mineral requirements when compared to a conventional car with an internal combustion engine, and onshore wind requires nine times the mineral inputs per megawatt produced compared to a natural gas plant. Beyond the increased need for critical mineral components, many of these mineral requirements are widely varied beyond established fossil fuel supply chains and subject to price volatility due to demand swings and geopolitics.
Revolutionary changes to our systems of energy production and electrification of our day-to-day life could lead to an almost unrecognizable world of abundant clean energy, but we need to better understand where we are going to find and extract these critical minerals that we are going to rely on. To read our latest white paper on this transition by Fellow Mitch Juneau, click here or read it embedded below.
Prime Movers Lab invests in breakthrough scientific startups founded by Prime Movers, the inventors who transform billions of lives. We invest in companies reinventing energy, transportation, infrastructure, manufacturing, human augmentation, and agriculture.
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