{"id":27980,"date":"2022-12-02T11:45:54","date_gmt":"2022-12-02T11:45:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=27980"},"modified":"2022-12-02T11:53:20","modified_gmt":"2022-12-02T11:53:20","slug":"are-africas-battery-metals-the-key-to-the-global-energy-transition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/are-africas-battery-metals-the-key-to-the-global-energy-transition\/27980\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Africa\u2019s battery metals the key to the global energy transition?"},"content":{"rendered":"
With global carbon emissions set to remain at record levels, world leaders need to ensure that climate action is a top priority. Huge efforts are needed to source a secure supply of battery metals required for electric vehicles (EVs) and renewables. Without this, transitioning to clean energy is going to be a major challenge worldwide.<\/p>\n
Guaranteeing a secure supply of critical raw materials has become more of a challenge in recent months due to Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. Currently, Russia holds a sizeable market share of the global metal production industry, and although the US and European Union (EU) have not yet imposed sanctions on Russian metal, there is a chance that this may change in the near future as there are no signs of the war in Ukraine de-escalating. Because of this, global leaders must look to other potential sources of battery metals.<\/p>\n
Africa has some of the world\u2019s largest reserves of battery metals, including lithium, tin, and cobalt, and is therefore positioned to fill the gaps left by Russia\u2019s absence from the global mineral supply chain. However, the critical minerals that Africa mines are currently shipped to Europe and China, where value is added to the product. For Africa to truly capitalise on the global energy transition and the subsequent demand for critical raw materials, the continent should not only position itself as a key supplier of raw materials but also ensure that infrastructure is built to bring a fully integrated African EV value chain into reality.<\/p>\n
The Innovation Platform<\/em> takes a look at Africa\u2019s potential role in the global energy transition and explores whether the continent can overcome some of the barriers that are preventing its ability to seize the opportunities presented by the clean energy shift.<\/p>\n The war in Ukraine has caused severe disruptions to global critical minerals markets and subsequently exposed vulnerabilities to the security of the supply of battery metals needed for the energy transition. Currently, Russia\u2019s supply of aluminium, nickel, palladium, and vanadium is crucial to the supply chains of modern manufacturing production. Russia accounts for 43% of global<\/a> palladium production, which is essential to the global production of catalytic converters, with many countries, such as the US and the UK, depending on Russia for their palladium imports. The country also accounts for 11% of global nickel production and 15% of world nickel exports, which is a metal used in EVs.<\/p>\nGeopolitical tensions causing supply chain uncertainty<\/h3>\n