You may remember the issue of EU Taxonomy (enabling financial flows into green technology) and mining.
One small step further. It looks to me as if this last field, mining, will now also be included in the EU Taxonomy under conditions. Only what is included in the EU Taxonomy and thus classified as green can be invested in a sustainable way. It is possible that the EIB is not only concerned with the permits for funding us, but also with the inclusion of mining in the EU Taxonomy. Once that happens, the really big money can flow. But of course green funds are just as attached to this issue. In Germany alone these public sustainability funds exceeded the threshold of 500B€ last year and the trend is rising.
Of course, not everything is as clean as it looks from outside with these public sustainable funds and they are getting into trouble because of it. But I am convinced that if mining is included Talga could become a darling of the fund managers in this sector and thus we are assured of many positions. Of course, that's if and only if the plaintiffs (neutrally) lose.
I'm already rubbing my hands.
Svemin was not very confident because in the group that decides the mining sector that can judge and has answers about what sustainable mining looks like is underrepresented (look at the bottom of this post).
"Sustainable Finance – EU Taxonomy
Summary
With the aim of redirecting capital flows towards sustainable investments, the European Commission is drafting a list of economic activities that are considered sustainable for investment purposes, the so-called EU Taxonomy.
Why it’s important
Criteria have already been developed for aluminium’s contribution to climate mitigation and adaptation.
The EU is now assessing mining and metals production, setting thresholds to qualify economic activities as sustainable, as well as minimum thresholds for not doing significant harm.
Through our participation in the Sustainable Finance Platform, we’re providing our expertise to ensure that those criteria are meaningfully defined supporting our sector’s climate and environmental transition.
Up to 290 billion EUR needed yearly in Europe to reach carbon neutrality by 2050
What we are seeking
For the EU Taxonomy to support metals and minerals value chains in their transition, it is key that the technical screening criteria developed across climate and environmental impact categories are:
- Ambitious while at the same time realistically reachable and implementable
- Developed based on life-cycle considerations
- Taking into account local specificities and factors outside an operation’s control
- Ensuring a level playing field and reflecting company performance on a global level.
Useful links
https://eurometaux.eu/eu-policy/resource-efficiency/sustainable-finance-eu-taxonomy/
@Talga @MP @MT
I am really surprised why Talga is
not member here (yet):
https://eurometaux.eu/about-eurometaux/members/
Aluminium is mentioned in the text because they belong to the members. If Talga were a member graphite would certainly be up there as well. But that is like the ECGA. We are not a member there either. I don't know what reasons Talga has or if any. The European Carbon and Graphite Association ECGA is of course a member. I think it is too late now and the EU is about to adopt it. Nevertheless, it could not have hurt to be more visible.
Even if the topic seems boring, do not underestimate its
importance. It's about shiploads of money for this sector, if.
But that is not all. It is the final step in making the Grean Deal a rounded affair from the financing side. I remind you of this:
Updated a few days ago by the
SGU: https://www.sgu.se/mineralnaring/kritiska-ravaror/
The link to Svemin and their presentation of the issue at the time.
2021:
We are very concerned about where the taxonomy process for the mining industry will end up
__________
__________
"The five battery-related materials analysed show a very strong reliance on imports along the value chain. In particular the material systems are all highly dependent on imports of primary and/or semi-processed materials. The EU self-sufficiency was analysed separately for each stage.
For the extraction stage, natural graphite had the lowest value of EU self-sufficiency in 2016 (less than 1% of the amount used in manufacturing was extracted in the EU), while nickel had the highest (37% of nickel in its primary forms was extracted in the EU). For the EU manufacturing stage, 75% of the products containing cobalt and lithium consumed in the use stage were produced in the EU, in 2016. On the other hand, the EU manufacturing of manganese, natural graphite and nickel products was self-sufficient to satisfy the EU consumption and supplying the external market.
5 Material system analysis of Natural Graphite"
https://rmis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/uploads/material_system_analyses_battery_21102020_online.pdf
__________
EU’s import reliance for critical materials for wind energy is 77%
April 25, 2023 reve
The EU has an import reliance of 77% on average for the extraction of critical materials needed for wind energy. In addition, 54% of critical materials processing is done outside the bloc.
As the world
shifts to renewables, governments have realised the need to focus on securing the supply of materials needed for a low-carbon energy transition. Many green technologies
depend on a range of critical minerals and materials. The European Commission’s
REPowerEU plan
would require 440GW of operational wind capacity by 2030 and an average installation rate of 30GW each year between now and then, according to trade association WindEurope. To do that, the industry needs critical materials like rare earths for magnets and coking coal to produce the iron and steel used in wind turbines.
Without secure supplies, the energy transition will be more difficult and costly. In the wake of
Covid-19,
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the
energy crisis, the fragility of many supply chains has become apparent. Prices of critical materials like
aluminium,
nickel and
rare earths have all soared compared with pre-pandemic levels,
pushing up the cost of a wind turbine by 38% over the past two years.
Currently, much of the production and processing of critical materials is in the hands of just a few countries. The EU sources 99% of its boron from
Turkey, while 100% of its ‘heavy’ rare earths and 85% of its ‘light’ rare earths are
processed in China.
https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/QcfxZ/4/
That the EU is too reliant on external suppliers is also the conclusion of a
Critical Raw Materials Assessment published in March, as a part of a new
EU Critical Raw Materials Act. To secure future supplies, the EU wants to be more self-reliant in the
mining, processing and
recycling of materials it identifies as critical or strategic. By 2030, the EU wants at least 10% of its extraction, 40% of its processing and 15% of its recycling, all as a percentage of annual consumption, to be domestic. In addition, not more than 65% of the annual consumption of any strategic raw material can come from a single country, at any processing stage.
EU import reliance on selected critical and strategic raw materials needed for wind power
...
Note: Heavy rare earths include dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium, holmium, lutetium, terbium, thulium, ytterbium and yttrium. Light rare earths include cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, praseodymium and samarium.
Source:
European Commission
For the critical raw materials needed for wind energy, the EU currently has a 77% import reliance for extraction. Processing is slightly more secure – on average, 54% of processing is done outside the EU. The reliance on external producers of critical materials will likely remain an issue, as mining in the EU faces hurdles such as environmental concerns. Seven years to reach 10% domestic extraction is not a lot of time since the average mining project takes 16.5 years to move from discovery to first production,
according to the International Energy Agency.
Sweden, for example, has Europe’s largest known deposit of rare earths, which could potentially fulfil a large part of the EU’s future demand for these minerals. However, the challenge remains to secure permits in time. The proposed
Nunasvaara South graphite mine has been trying to get permits for a decade, while a potential rare earth mining project in Norra Kärr has
seen strong, sustained local opposition.
Finland, which has big deposits of nickel and cobalt, recently overhauled its mining legislation to give greater control to locals over new permits and to protect the environment."
https://www.evwind.es/2023/04/25/eu...ritical-materials-for-wind-energy-is-77/91519