The Strategic dependencies and capacities document published by the commission a week ago identified 30 raw materials which are sourced by the EU – and global rivals – from a limited number of countries.
In terms of more processed materials needed for fuel cells, the EU is currently capable of producing only around 15-20% of them and is critically reliant on non-EU nations for four components: CFCs; certain polymers; carbon and cloth paper; and nanomaterials and carbon nanotubes.
As part of pv magazine’s global UP sustainability initiative, we focused on raw material sourcing in the energy storage industry.
The document also noted the global semiconductor chip shortage which is starting to be highlighted as a problem by some solar manufacturers.
Europe, at present, is incapable of manufacturing chips smaller than 22nm and the commission said the stipulation at least 20% of its post-Covid Recovery and Resilience Fund be spent on projects for the digital transition could go a long way to addressing the problem.
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