Climate Solutions News

Europe’s Critical Raw Material Challenge: Can Innovation Lead the Way?Europe’s transition to clean energy faces a major obstacle: dependence on imported critical raw materials (CRMs) like lithium, copper, and graphite. A new report, A Critical Raw Material Supply-Side Innovation Roadmap for the EU Energy Transition, highlights how Europe’s share of global mineral production has dropped from 25% to under 7% over 40 years, intensifying the need for domestic supply.The EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) sets ambitious targets: 10% of mining, 40% of refining, and 25% of recycling to be met domestically by 2030. However, progress has stalled due to permitting delays and local opposition.Technological innovation offers hope. Geothermal direct lithium extraction projects by Vulcan Energy in Germany and Eramet in France could meet 7% of Europe’s lithium demand. Low-carbon graphite production could supply 40% of EU needs while cutting emissions by 90%. Advanced technologies like bio-leaching for copper, AI-powered exploration, and tailings reprocessing could further boost domestic production while reducing environmental impacts.Key environmental concerns include high GHG emissions, water-intensive mining, and waste from tailings. The report urges EU policymakers to accelerate funding, streamline permits, and support innovation to reduce import reliance and secure a sustainable clean energy future.The full article on which this discussion is based can be found at https://climatesolutions.news/news/europes-critical-minerals-crunch-can-innovation-bridge-the-supply-gap. It also contains a link to the original, detailed research document.

Mike Scott, Editor of Climate Solutions News, talks to Ita Kettleborough, Director of the Energy Transitions Commission about the outcomes of COP29 in Baku. Ita shares her insights into the summit’s mixed results, highlighting significant progress in clean energy deployment worldwide, such as Indonesia’s coal phase-out commitment and China’s accelerated emission goals. However, she also emphasizes the challenges in negotiations, particularly around climate finance and Article 6. Looking ahead to COP30 in Brazil, Ita discusses the critical steps needed to align international commitments with rapid technological advancements, including more detailed NDCs, clarified financial frameworks, and renewed efforts to transition from fossil fuels.

Mike Scott, Editor of Climate Solutions News, speaks to Elizabeth Kleinveld, Head of Acceleration at Startupbootcamp.Hitting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals will require investment in over 100,000 startups, according to Elizabeth Kleinveld, Head of Acceleration at Startupbootcamp. The organisation is the largest accelerator in Europe. It has run more than 150 accelerators in 20 countries since 2010 and has worked with a portfolio of over 1700 companies so far.Visit www.climatesolutions.news/spotlight for more interviews and climate tech innovator overviews.

In this episode, we explore how Big Tech players like Google, Microsoft and Amazon are turning to nuclear power generation for their data centres. The rise of AI, in particular the power-hungry generative AI technologies, is driving a demand for more and more energy, producing increasing emissions. In fact, data centres are already responsible for around 3% of global emissions. We dig into the companies' decisions to invest in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). We also hear about Microsoft's plan to restart generation at Three Mile Island nuclear plant.For more information, check out the original article on Climate Solutions News.