Construction workers install equipment at the construction site of a lithium battery project in Renshou County, Meishan City, Sichuan Province, China, April 6, 2023.
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U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said Wednesday that she is “very concerned” about China’s control of global supply chains for critical minerals.
Her comments come as demand for minerals and raw materials essential to the energy transition soars. Metals such as nickel, copper, lithium, and cobalt have a wide variety of end uses, including electric vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels.
China is the undisputed leader in the critical minerals supply chain, accounting for approximately 60% of the world’s production of rare earth minerals and materials. US officials have previously warned that this poses a strategic challenge in the transition to low-carbon energy sources.
“This is one part of the supply chain that we are very concerned about in the United States,” Granholm told CNBC’s Sylvia Amaro on Wednesday when asked about the issue. “We don’t want to be too dependent on countries that we may not be able to share the same.” China’s dominance as an important mineral supplier.
Granholm spoke on the sidelines of the 2024 International Energy Agency Ministerial Meeting in Paris, France, where the United States has a 150-year history of working to ensure “sustainable and efficient” extraction of critical resources. It said it is updating its own regulations, including mining laws. mineral.
“But it also means partnering with friends like Australia and Canada, and that’s one of the topics we’re taking up here at the International Energy Agency,” Granholm said.
“We know that all countries want to ensure that our country has stockpiles of critical minerals and is able to diversify the supply of its stockpiles. This is our focus, both internationally and domestically. is.”
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm during the EEI 2023 event on Monday, June 12, 2023 in Austin, Texas, USA.
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As part of the rapidly growing demand for critical minerals, the IEA has warned that current supplies fall short of what is needed to transform the energy sector. This is because the production of many energy transition elements is relatively geographically concentrated.
For example, most rare earth reserves are in China, but Vietnam, Brazil, and Russia are also major rare earth countries based on reserves.
Asked how quickly the U.S. could expand cooperation and production to avoid losing out on key minerals competitions, Granholm said, “Cooperation is immediate. U.S. production will take a little more time.” It will take a while.”
“But we feel very strongly that both the extraction and processing of these critical minerals needs to be addressed by either the United States or our allies. We’re working very closely together to make sure.” [or] It is a critical mineral needed to enable the transition to a clean energy economy. ”