Report warns of supply risks for raw materials for solar panels
Published: Thursday, Jun 27th 2024, 09:20
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Switzerland must secure a reliable supply of raw materials for renewable energies. According to a report, the increasing demand for materials for solar systems and batteries could lead to supply bottlenecks that would also affect Switzerland.
"This topic hasn't really been on the agenda yet. But we need to tackle it," Urs Neu told the Keystone-SDA news agency. He is head of the Energy Commission of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences (SCNAT), which drew up the report published on Thursday.
The risk of supply bottlenecks for so-called critical raw materials, which include lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare earths, is primarily geopolitical in nature. "There are actually enough of these raw materials," explained Urs Neu. There are also corresponding deposits in Europe, for example in Norway.
Only dismantled in a few countries
However, these are only mined in a few countries. In industrialized countries, the operation or opening of mines with their often serious impact on the environment is not widely accepted. China has a virtual monopoly on many raw materials, such as rare earths. Any trade and economic sanctions, such as those imposed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, could disrupt supplies, said Neu.
Although Switzerland imports little of the raw materials themselves, it does import finished components that contain them. This means that Switzerland is heavily dependent on imports for the construction of power plants using renewable energies, the researchers stated in the report.
Supply risks different than before
However, according to the report, the supply risks for future renewable energy systems differ from those of current fossil energy systems.
In the case of fossil systems, the main issue is the fuel, which must be constantly supplied for the operation of a plant, whereas critical materials are only required for the construction of plants and these can also be operated without further material supplies.
According to the report, a halt in the supply of photovoltaic modules for a year would affect the replacement or new construction of a few percent of the total volume of systems, which have a service life of around 25 years, and would not jeopardize electricity production from existing stocks.
Agreements and smaller cars
The options for action proposed in the report to reduce the risks range from technical innovations and the expansion of recycling to international agreements.
The researchers advocate agreements and support programs along the supply chain, in coordination with the EU and other partners.
In addition, the recycling of end-of-life products could improve the future availability of critical materials. However, in a world with rapidly growing demand and in view of the lifespan of cars of ten to 20 years and wind and solar systems of 20 to 30 years, recycling could only make a minor contribution to supply in the short to medium term.
Last but not least, according to the report, supply risks can also be reduced by lowering the demand for materials for energy technologies such as electric cars. One example cited by the experts is a reduction in vehicle size and weight.
©Keystone/SDA
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