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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Study of economic availability related to rare metals in the context of the energy transition

subject

description

A growing number of academic studies and international organizations reports have noticed an increasing dependency of new energy technologies on a specific class of natural resources often called minor metals. For several years, worries about economic availability of these metals in order to realize the energy transition have appeared. This thesis aims at underline the broader risks and constraints involved by general use of these metals in new energy technologies. A first part of this thesis is devoted to theories and indicators related to the depletion of non renewable resources. This part also shows that minor metals share many characteristics and that they can form a group of metal consistent. In a second part, this thesis addresses the issues linked to the absence of price elasticity for the supply of minor metals due to the byproduct constraint. Another chapter offers an analysis of causes and consequences connected to the absence of futures markets for almost all minor metals. Finally, a last chapter highlights the strong link existing between the energy sector and the metals sectors. This connection is increasing and can create a vicious circle between energies which are less and less concentrated and metals which consume more and more energy due to their depletion.