The war on critical materials in the electric car industry poses significant challenges for Europe as it transitions to sustainable mobility. This was stated by Jean-Dominique Cenard, president of Renault.
With the ban on the sale of gasoline and diesel cars starting in 2035, Chinese competition in the electric vehicle market has become a concern for the European Union (EU).
This is stated by Jean-Dominique Senard, president of Renault, who has warned about the vulnerabilities of the EU in the fully electric market and highlights the practices of subsidy and control of raw materials by China.
"For the last 25 years, China has been putting its hands in the world's mines and in the processing of critical raw materials needed to make electric vehicles," said the French leader at the Rencontreséconomiquesd'Aix-en-Provence.
As a result, China has become the world's leading producer of batteries and has a dominant position in refining key materials such as lithium, cobalt and graphite. These resources are essential for the production of high-performance batteries used in electric vehicles.
Europe depends on third parties
The dependence on third countries for the supply of critical raw materials poses significant risks for the European Union.
Despite efforts to strengthen domestic supply and establish strategic partnerships with resource-rich neighboring countries, the EU is expected to remain dependent on foreign suppliers for many years to come.
This poses a major strategic challenge for the EU as it seeks to ensure a fair and effective green transition to electric mobility. "We have almost nothing in Europe," explains Senard. "While we are starting to rebuild a European mining sector, this will take at least 10 years."
In addition to the dependence on raw materials, Senard highlights the inequalities in tariff policies between the EU and China.
Chinese electric vehicles enjoy much lower customs duties when exported to the EU than those imposed on European vehicles exported to China. This lack of reciprocity in trade creates unequal competition and puts European manufacturers at a disadvantage.
"Reciprocity does not exist, and that must be urgently corrected," argues Cenard. The president of Renault assures that Chinese electric vehicles "benefit from customs duties two and a half times lower than those imposed on us by China when we want to export a vehicle there."
The European Union reacts
The European Commission has recognized the importance of addressing dependency on critical raw materials and has introduced the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) to set clear targets on the production, refining and recycling of these resources.
However, building a European mining industry will take time and require significant investment.
China's recent decision to impose export controls on gallium and germanium, two critical raw materials needed for the manufacture of semiconductors and electronic components, further highlights the importance of addressing the critical materials war.
If these controls were applied to the materials necessary for the production of electric vehicles, the European industry would face serious interruptions in the supply chains.
“Access to the raw materials necessary for a fair and effective green transition will be the most important strategic challenge in the coming years. The war of the future will be the war for critical materials”, reiterates Jean-Dominique Senard.
Despite the challenges, Europe is committed to the mass production of electric vehicles. With the goal of producing 13.24 million electric vehicles by 2030, the EU seeks to become the world's leading producer.
However, to achieve this, it will be necessary to address vulnerabilities in the supply of raw materials and establish fair competition in international trade.
What are critical materials
Critical materials, also known as critical raw materials, are those natural resources that are essential for the manufacture of high-tech products and that present a high risk of shortage or interruption in their supply.
These materials play a crucial role in various industrial sectors, such as electronics, renewable energy, automotive, aerospace, and information and communication technologies.
The criticality of these materials is based on several factors, including their strategic importance, the geographic concentration of their deposits, their limited availability, the lack of viable substitutes, the geopolitical and environmental risks associated with their extraction and processing, and the growing demand. due to technological evolution and the transition towards a low-carbon economy.
Some examples of critical materials are:
- Rare earth metals: These include elements such as cerium, neodymium, dysprosium, and europium, which are essential for the manufacture of permanent magnets, catalysts, LCD displays, electric vehicle batteries, and wind turbines.
- Lithium: is a key component of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles and portable electronic devices.
- Cobalt: used in lithium-ion batteries and in the production of high-strength metal alloys used in the aerospace industry.
- Graphite: It is an essential material in lithium-ion battery electrodes and in high-temperature applications such as refractory linings.
- Palladium: It is a metal used in the automotive industry for catalytic converters, as well as in electronics and jewelry.
These are just a few examples, but there are other critical materials such as copper, nickel, silicon, aluminum, germanium, and gallium that play important roles in the manufacture of high-tech products.
The safe and sustainable availability of these materials is crucial to guarantee development and technological innovation in different sectors.
Therefore, the efficient management of critical materials, including recycling, diversifying supply sources and reducing dependency on specific countries, has become a priority for many governments and companies globally.
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