The Material Basis of Energy Transitions

Cover
The
Material Basis of
Energy Transitions
Copyright
Contributors
The material basis of energy transitions—An introduction
	References
The repatriation challenge: Critical minerals mining in the United States
	Introduction
	The US context
	Reviewing the literature on extraction and society
	Methods
	Stories from the mining fields
		Alaska
		Wyoming
		Texas
		Critical elements and social license
	An emerging social science research agenda
	References
Metal-energy nexus in the global energy transition calls for cooperative actions
	Introduction
	Global energy system shifts from carbon driven to metal driven
		Energy transition: Becoming more metal driven?
		Energy-critical elements: Nexus energy and critical metals
	The sustainable material cycle in the global energy transition
	Global challenges call for cooperative action
		Challenges: Pressing constraints beyond physical scarcity
		Looking ahead: Joint efforts by stakeholders throughout the metal cycle and trade network
		Acknowledgments
	References
The dependency of renewable energy technologies on critical resources
	Introduction to the “critical,” “resources,” and “renewables”
		Renewable energy technologies
		The “criticality” aspect
		Material and nonmaterial resources
	Renewable energies and their material resources demand
		Biomass
		Water
			Run-of-river and reservoir type hydroelectric power plants
			Tidal power plant
		Solar
			Photovoltaics
			Solar thermal
			Concentrated solar power
		Wind energy
		Geothermal energy
	Conclusion: Materials demand for renewable energies
	References
Stationary battery systems: Future challenges regarding resources, recycling, and sustainability
	Background
	Future demand for stationary energy storage
	Potential lithium-based electrochemical energy storage options
	Calculation of the potential resource demand for batteries
		Approach, assumptions, and scenarios
			Scenario for LCO
			Scenario for NMC 111
			Scenario for NMC 622
			Scenario for NMC 811
			Scenario for NCA
			Scenario for LFP
		Discussion of the scenarios
	Recycling and sustainability aspects of LIBs and PLBs
		Recycling of LIBs
		PLBs and potential recycling challenges
	Conclusions
	Acknowledgment
	References
Making critical materials valuable: Decarbonization, investment, and “political risk”
	Introduction
		Resource-making” and critical raw materials
	Valuation, critical raw materials, and “political risk”
	Strategic” minerals, royalties, and stabilization provisions in DRC
	HySA and South Africa’s platinum futures
	Conclusion: Provincializing criticality assessments
	References
Environmental impacts of mineral sourcing and their impacts on criticality
	Introduction
	Environmental impacts—Scope and data
		The lifecycle perspective
		Local environmental impact perspective
		Energy and environmental impacts
	Changing environmental impacts and mitigation
		Mines
		Processing, extraction, smelting, and refining
		Demand side
		Waste and recycling
	Conclusions
	References
Limits of life cycle assessment in the context of the energy transition and its material basis
	Introduction
	Life cycle assessment (LCA) and resource consumption indicators
		The role of indicator selection in LCA
		Resource accounting methods (RAM)
		Midpoint methods
		Endpoint methods
		What is the right indicator or method?
	Indicators and their relationship to the material demands of emerging renewable energy technologies
	Discussion on the use of indicators for evaluating resource saving potentials
	Conclusion
	References
Critical resources, sustainability, and future generations
	Introduction
	Critical resources, conflict resources, and sustainability
	Critical resources, conflict resources, and future generations
		Parfit’s paradox and future generations
		The needs of future generations
		How many future generations do we need to consider?
		Taking precautions for future generations
	Conclusions
	References
Conflicts related to resources: The case of cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo
	Introduction
	Analyzing mining conflicts from a political-ecological perspective
	Cobalt: From the DRC to the electric car
		Conflicts around cobalt mining: The upstream end in the DRC
		Conflicts around cobalt mining: The downstream end in the Global North
		Conflicts around cobalt mining: Connections and contradictions
	Conclusion: Conflicts linked to raw materials required for energy transitions
	References
Voluntary sustainability initiatives: An approach to make mining more responsible?
	Introduction
	The landscape of voluntary sustainability initiatives
		Overview of initiatives
		Content of sustainability requirements
		Assurance systems
	Achievements and limitations
		Reach of voluntary initiatives
		Harmonization of standard requirements
		Transparency of mining and mineral supply chains
		Sustainability reporting and performance
		Limited capacity to deal with deviant and illegal behavior
		The cost of certification and voluntary initiatives
	Conclusion
	Acknowledgments
	References
The role of a circular economy for energy transition
	Introduction
	Resource supply and competition
	Reducing supply risks using circular economy
	Product design and materials recovery
	Conclusions
	References
Substitution of critical materials, a strategy to deal with the material needs of the energy transition?
	Material substitution for renewable energy technologies
		Substance for substance substitution
		Service for product substitution
		Process for process substitution
		New technology for substance
	Creating substitutes: By engineering simulation
	Barriers to substitution
	Conclusions
	References
Renewable energy technologies and their implications for critical materials from a sociology of consumption perspective: Th ...
	Introduction
	Consumption and society-nature relations
	The “why” of consumption: Sociocultural and sociopsychological functions of goods and services
	The case of electric vehicles and photovoltaic systems
	Discussion and conclusion
	References
Renewable energy and critical minerals: A field worthy of interdisciplinary research
	References
Author Index
	A
	B
	C
	D
	E
	F
	G
	H
	I
	J
	K
	L
	M
	N
	O
	P
	Q
	R
	S
	T
	V
	W
	X
	Y
	Z
Subject Index
	A
	B
	C
	D
	E
	F
	G
	H
	I
	K
	L
	M
	N
	O
	P
	R
	S
	T
	U
	V
	W
Back Cover