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The availability of critical minerals for China’s renewable energy development: an analysis of physical supply

  • Jianliang Wang
    ,
  • Lifang Yang
    ,
  • Jingli Lin
    ,
  • Yongmei Bentley
Research Output: Contribution to journal Article Peer-review

Sustainable Development Goals

  • SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
    SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy

Abstract

In the context of depletion of fossil energy and environmental impacts of its use, society has begun to develop vigorously renewable energy (RE). As a result, concerns about the availability of critical minerals used in RE systems have been raised. This paper uses a generalized Weng model to analyze the long-term production of critical minerals for China’s RE development. In our pessimistic case, the results show that the production of most of the minerals investigated for China will peak before 2030, with a relatively high decline rate thereafter. This is an unsustainable situation for China’s RE development unless large and growing quantities of these minerals can be imported. In our optimistic case, although this delays the peak date only slightly, it significantly increases the maximum production rate and lowers the subsequent decline rate. The impacts of many other factors on production, and the implications of China’s domestic minerals production on world’s minerals supply chain, are also analyzed. We conclude that both China and the world should pay close attention to the potential supply risks to critical minerals. Possible measures in response are suggested for both China and the world.

Publication Information

Output type

Research Output: Contribution to journal Article Peer-review

Original language

English

Pages from-to (Number of pages)

Pages 2991-2306

Journal (Volume, Issue Number)

Natural Resources Research (Volume 29)

Publication milestones

  • Accepted/In press - 13/01/2020
  • Published - 13/01/2020

Publication status

Published - 13/01/2020

ISSN

1520-7439

External Publication IDs

  • handle.net: 10547/624024
  • Scopus: 85078062983

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