New Techniques for Assessing Critical Raw Material Aspects in Energy and Other Technologies

Transitioning to more sustainable energy technologies
is a vital
step in the move toward reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.
However, several physical constraints could hinder the implementation
of these technologies, and many of the raw materials required to produce
new infrastructure are scarce, nonrenewable, and nonsubstitutable.
Various factors relating to material extraction and processing activities
may also affect the security and sociopolitical aspects of future
supply lines. Here, we introduce methods for quantifying three key
indicators relating to raw material supplies for specific production
processes: (1) overall supply risk, (2) environmental impacts from
sourcing raw materials, and (3) environmental justice threats at sourcing
locations. The use of the proposed methods is demonstrated via an
exploratory case study examining projected electricity production
scenarios within the European Union. Results suggest that renewable
sources of electricityparticularly wind, solar, and geothermal
technologiesare more likely to exacerbate supply risks and
environmental issues than other technologies. Furthermore, projected
expansions of wind and solar technologies mean that all three indicators
appear likely to rise significantly systemwide by 2050. Ultimately,
the methods represent a much-needed first attempt at providing practitioners
with simple and robust approaches for integrating factors relating
specifically to raw material supply into energy modeling and other
applications.