The EU’s energy transition “could be endangered” by an inability to source enough key raw materials, such as the rare-earth elements used in wind turbines with permanent-magnet generators and the silicon and glass needed for solar panels, according to a European Commission report.
The annual raw material demand from the European wind sector could increase by 15-fold by 2050, with “significant demand increases” expected for concrete, steel, plastic, glass, aluminium, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel and zinc.
