Space for Critical Raw Materials
In Europe, there is little mining for critical raw materials such as neodymium, dysprosium, and cobalt, which are essential for the production of wind turbines. These raw materials are primarily imported from countries such as China, Congo, and Australia. Although Europe is working on initiatives to reduce this dependency, importing these raw materials remains necessary for the energy transition.
However, the extraction of these raw materials has significant environmental and social impacts in the countries where mining takes place. Mining can lead to deforestation, water pollution, and land rights conflicts. This illustration shows how much rock must be moved, crushed, and screened to obtain the materials needed to build a single wind turbine.
Different types of solar panels use different critical raw materials to convert solar energy into electricity. These critical raw materials are primarily mined outside of Europe.
To achieve the Dutch climate goals for 2050, 15% of current global neodymium production would need to be transported to the Netherlands. This is despite the fact that the Netherlands represents approximately 0.74% of global GDP. Neodymium is used, among other things, in permanent magnet generators in wind turbines (to convert motion into electricity).
Data from: Metabolic et al. (2021). Een Circulaire Energietransitie.
The raw materials needed for our digitalization and energy transition can be defined in various ways: chemically, scientifically, and strategically.
Chemical: determined by the properties of the raw materials;
Critical: determined by the economic importance and the risk of disruption to supply chains;
Strategically: determined by political decision-making regarding crucial industries.
Two F-35 fighter jets contain as many critical resources as 7,000 air conditioning units.