Securing Minerals for the Energy Transition: Unlocking the Value Chain through Policy, Investment and Innovation

Despite recent progress in boosting the production of certain materials, supply shortages are still anticipated for many of the critical minerals and metals necessary to produce the lower-carbon technologies that are key to the energy transition. Left unchecked, this could mitigate nations’ ability to decarbonize their economies.

Global leaders have acknowledged the need to secure the critical minerals supply chain, as the consequences of inaction have the potential to extend beyond the low-carbon transition and mining ecosystem to encompass geopolitical, economic and environmental considerations.

In a previous paper, SMET discussed the risks of inaction along with collaborative risk management solutions. This paper explores various approaches for unlocking critical minerals supply. It identifies barriers to investment and innovation in critical minerals and associated solutions for addressing them. It also highlights the need for global multistakeholder collaboration across the value chain and wider ecosystem to lower barriers and enable solutions.