SELMA Materials

Green energy transition implies a significant increase in demand for materials.

  • Green energy transition implies a significant increase in demand for materials.
  • Moving away from fossil fuels introduces many material challenges.
Ref. International Energy Agency, ” The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions”, https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions
  • Problem 1: Supply chain of raw materials is not stable. One needs to bring the value chain, at least partially, to the EU.
Ref. International Energy Agency, ” The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions”, https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions
  • Problem 2: The environmental impact of extracting critical raw materials can be significant. The most compact and efficient electrical machines use rare-earth-based permanent magnets. Sustainable material solutions should be identified and developed.
Ref: https://hir.harvard.edu/not-so-green-technology-the-complicated-legacy-of-rare-earth-mining/
  • Problem 3: The consumption of critical materials is growing; there might be shortage in raw materials supply. Optimization/minimization of material use is a critical issue.
Ref. International Energy Agency, ” The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions”, https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions