Report urges action to prevent rare earth metal shortages

The report recommends actions to prevent shortages and allow a smooth implementation of the European Commission’s (EC) Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan, aimed at accelerating the development and deployment of low-carbon technologies.

EC vice-president Antonio Tajani, commissioner for industry and entrepreneurship, said: ‘European companies need to have a secure, affordable and undistorted access to raw materials. This is essential for industrial competitiveness, innovation and jobs in Europe.’

Following the commission’s report on critical raw materials at EU level last year, the Joint Research Commission (JRC) has now carried out an in-depth analysis of the use of raw materials — especially metals — in the six priority low-carbon energy technologies of the commission’s SET-Plan: nuclear, solar, wind, bio-energy, carbon capture and storage and electricity grids.

The study — Critical metals in strategic energy technologies — reveals that five metals commonly used in these technologies (neodymium, dysprosium, indium, tellurium and gallium) show a high risk of shortage.