In order to provide for the great transformation of industrial societies, the adequate supply of rare earth elements is of crucial importance. Technologies to promote sustainable energies such as solar cells, wind turbines, and batteries in hybrid-electric vehicles depend on metals like neodymium – most recently only known by a very limited number of experts. However, due to rapidly increasing demand, states have started to develop strategies to ensure a sufficient supply in the years to come. After Germany published a resource strategy in the fall of last year, the Department of Energy of the United States presented its own document on the subject by mid-December. As Secretary of Energy Steven Chu pointed out: "Each day, researchers and entrepreneurs across the United States are working to develop and deploy clean energy technologies that will enhance our security, reduce carbon pollution, and promote economic prosperity. This strategy is an important step in planning for growing global demand for clean energy products that will help strengthen the U.S. economy and create jobs."

The so-called Critical Materials Strategy provides a risk analysis for 14 elements of the periodic table. As a result, five rare earth metals, as well as indium, are considered the most critical ones due to existing supply risks and their important to accomplishing a sustainable energy transformation. Apart from stockpiling, recycling and further research & development have been identified as crucial policy areas to ensure sufficient supply of rare earth metals. The strategy also mentions the field of diplomacy as an effective strategy, as cooperation with other partners such as the European Union and Japan can help provide useful information and improve transparency in critical materials markets. The overall objective of the diplomatic efforts is, therefore, focused on a global open market for rare earth metals. In addition, it may also be useful for the transatlantic partners to enter into a dialogue on how to improve the capacity of countries for recycling, reuse, and more efficient use of critical materials. In doing so, the US would combine the field of diplomacy with one of its three main goals outlined in the strategy, namely to use critical material as efficiently as possible. (Dennis Taenzler)

See also the EU website providing information on the Raw Materials Initiative http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/raw-materials/documents/index_en.htm.

The linkages between resources and conflict are subject to a paper series just published by adelphi and the Wuppertal institute.

The Critical Materials Strategy is accessible here.

Published in: ECC-Newsletter, 1/2011