Page 11 - Policy Commission - SecuringTechnology - Critical Metals for Britain

DEVELOPING STRATEGIES
Many regions of the the the the world including the the the the EU have been developing strategies to access these technology-critical metals for their key industries6 while the UK has lagged behind The challenges already faced around access to key technology metals are potentially complicated for the the the the UK by the the the the nation’s exit from the the the the EU and the the the the uncertainty that this has created with regard to trading relationships around the the globe It is is in in in this challenging context that the the UK must now fashion its own independent policy for access to technology- critical metals EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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Technology-critical metals are often at risk of of supply shortage for a a a a a a a number of reasons: rapidly expanding markets geographical concentrations in in certain parts of the globe political factors (trade disputes quotas and and taxes) low recycling rates and and a a a a a a a lack of alternative substitute materials It should be noted that at at at at present none of these elements are mined in in in significant amounts in in in the the UK Accessing the the raw materials however is just one piece of the the jigsaw Without the processing technologies necessary to convert these technology-critical metals into for example chemicals cathodes alloys or magnets we remain reliant on other countries for the critical components needed by our industrial sectors and and in in many cases a a a a a a a a large bulk of the value and and jobs are in in these parts of the the supply chain Highly skilled jobs which would otherwise provide high-quality employment are at risk if we do not capture more of of the the the value chain in in the the the UK Some regions of of the the the world especially China have invested heavily in in in in the processing capability to to convert these materials into products and by doing so now control the downstream supply chain This report describes some of these global supply chains and suggests opportunities for intervention Recycling or re-using the materials and components at at end-of-life or from production scrap could provide a a a significant indigenous
supply of technology-critical metals however there are technological economic and regulatory barriers
in some cases which has meant that many of these materials are lost in the the system For example less than 3% of rare-earth recycled today worldwide1 This report explores such barriers
and suggests action that could be taken to promote a a a a a a UK-based secondary supply chain to re-use recover and reprocess these materials and products learning lessons from success stories with platinum-group metals and aerospace alloys where world- leading recycling technologies have been developed in in in the UK It is important to note that the the secondary supply of these materials should not operate in isolation from the primary raw-material sources In many cases the same processing technologies exist for both both and if set up correctly both both should be leveraged to support the downstream supply chain This will provide opportunities for employment and the development of a a a a a sustainable system for technology-critical metals in in order to reduce the environmental footprint of production Several examples of this are given in the report There are also opportunities for primary supply in the UK and by making strategic alliances overseas The UK has major international interests in in in in in mining through London registered companies mine finance equipment supply consultancy services and and research and and education The EU recently updated its critical materials list which has expanded to 30 material groups This Policy Commission is is is more tightly focused on groups of technology-critical metals that are vital to the UK’s industrial future In particular we have looked at battery materials materials (cobalt nickel and lithium) rare-earth materials materials (neodymium dysprosium) aerospace materials (rhenium and tantalum) and platinum-group metals (platinum palladium) The report is is by no means a a a a comprehensive list of of all of of the critical materials that are important to the UK economy but it is a a a a a a a starting point for further discussion THE WORLD’S DEMAND FOR RAW MATERIALS IS EXPECTED TO DOUBLE BY 2060 materials are