NEW ENERGY GEOPOLITICS SHAPED BY ENERGY TRANSITION: THE ENERGY BALANCE FOR RARE EARTH ELEMENTS AND CRITICAL MINERALS

Year 2021, Issue: 60, 5 - 28, 25.12.2021

Cemal Kakışım

Abstract

Energy transitions have affected world development historically. Energy transitions first started with the use of wood as a heating source reached renewable energy sources that are environmentally-friendly, safer and cleaner such as sun, wind, wave, biomass and, geothermal. Renewable energy sources and new energy technologies are leading tools in combating global warming and climate change. However, the energy transition causes new geopolitical tensions in terms of energy security. Inputs such as cobalt, lithium, germanium, tellurium, and neodymium are used for the production of wind tribunes and solar panels, for the construction of power plants, and products such as electric vehicles and energy storage units related to new energy technologies. These inputs are found in small quantities in certain countries, which therefore are called rare earth elements or critical minerals. The fact that critical minerals becomes one of the most important components of the energy transition leads to global competition regarding access to these resources. This study explains the new energy geopolitics specific to critical minerals, an important component of the so-called energy transition analyzes the global competition in production, export, and import of critical minerals as well as addressing the geopolitical approaches emerging in the axis of countries with mineral reserves.

Keywords

Critical Minerals, Rare Earth Elements, Lithium, Cobalt

References

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