Mineral supply gap threatens to slow energy transition – IEA

Agency calls on governments to convince investors of need to ramp up supply of critical transition metals

The IEA has warned of a looming supply gap in the market for critical minerals used in clean technology and electrification that could drive up prices and slow down the energy transition unless production “picks up sharply” over the coming decades. Governments’ climate commitments imply a fourfold increase in demand for critical minerals used in applications including electric vehicles (EVs), wind turbines and solar panels. Demand for lithium, the key element in most EV batteries, could grow by a factor of 75 by 2040, according to a new IEA report. “Critical minerals are not a sideshow in our journey to reach climate goals, they are part of the main event” Birol, IEA “Critical miner