In a world trying to shift away from fossil fuels, the development of new sources of power has been an imperative, with often impressive progress being made in areas such as the development of lithium battery-powered electric vehicles
However, the issue of scalability has been a major concern, with key questions over whether certain materials with the right attributes can be found in sufficient quantity to meet growing global demand. This question has been asked of lithium, but also other elements among the 17 substances classed as ‘Rare Earth’ materials.
However it seems the chemical manufacturing sector does not have to fear this problem after all, according to the latest research by the US Geological Survey.
After studying 20 materials needed to enable the green energy sector to replace fossil fuels, it has declared that the substances required are, despite their name, “relatively abundant” in most cases. There will be shortages of dysprosium and tellurium, used in wind farms and solar panels respectively, but alternatives exist for these materials.
One of the study’s authors, climate scientist Zeke Hausfather, said: “Decarbonisation is going to be big and messy, but at the same time we can do it,” adding: “I’m not worried we’re going to run out of these materials.”
These comments come at a time when two major new discoveries of Rare Earth materials have been found in Scandinavia. In mid-January, the largest deposit of minerals in this class yet discovered in Europe was identified in northern Sweden. While still small on a global scale, it has been followed by a further major discovery in Norwegian territorial waters under the North Sea.
Norway’s discovery includes 45 million tonnes of zinc, 38 million tonnes of copper and 24 million tonnes of Magnesium.
European discoveries will be particularly useful in helping the continent avid excessive reliance on countries like China, with the economic and geopolitical implications this could entail.