Energy Security Matters | Bringing Public and Private Capital Together on Mineral Security through MINVEST
In this issue: MINVEST convenes at UNGA and MSP Finance Network is launched; Commerce Cracks Down on Chinese Cars, $3 billion in MESC Grants Charges Domestic Battery Sector, and more.
Reach us at?[email protected]?with questions or comments with questions or comments about this newsletter.
Yesterday, national governments participating in the Mineral Security Partnership (MSP), private investors representing over $30 trillion in assets under management, and critical mineral industry leaders gathered during the U.N. General Assembly in New York for the inaugural convening of the MINVEST network.
The global MSP consists of 14 member nations and the European Union, collectively committing to build diverse, secure, sustainable critical mineral supply chains. MINVEST, a project of the U.S. State Department and SAFE, leads on private sector engagement and supports the investment pillar of the MSP.
Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, in opening remarks, announced the creation of the MSP Finance Network, advancing a commitment by all MSP member nations’ development finance institutions (DFIs) and export credit agencies (ECAs) to collaborate on investments in global mineral supplies.
Engagement of ECAs and DFIs creates a more favorable investment environment for critical minerals projects that meet the MSP objectives. “MSP partner governments have already committed billions to this effort, but we need trillions to achieve these goals,” said Abigail Hunter, Executive Director of SAFE’s Center for Critical Minerals Strategy. “MINVEST was created to activate the private sector’s resources and expertise, driving a collaborative path forward to secure the minerals that will define our future.”
Read More:
Biden Administration Proposes National Ban on Connected Vehicle Components??
The Biden administration’s long-awaited proposed rule on connected vehicle security came out yesterday, and made front page headlines due to the sweeping potential impact on a range of companies and industries. The Coalition for Reimagined Mobility’s Executive Director Avery Ash weighed in on the long-awaited proposed rulemaking in the New York Times?explaining that the move is necessary for national security interests.?
“Foreign adversaries are cornering and leveraging key supply chains to geopolitical and economic ends,” he told the New York Times.
Ash also spoke to?TechCrunch, explaining that the move is “likely to have an impact on companies operating today.” From TechCrunch:
“The U.S. Department of Commerce’s proposed rulemaking would not only prohibit the sale or import of connected vehicles from China, but it would also ban the software and hardware that powers those systems in U.S. connected cars.
Read ReMo's full statement.
SAFE Applauds Important Investment in Domestic Battery-Making Capacity
On Friday, the DOE announced $3 billion in IRA funding for more than two dozen companies to boost domestic production of advanced batteries and components.
Abigail Hunter, Executive Director of SAFE’s Center for Critical Minerals Strategy applauded the “much-needed investment” in upstream battery manufacturing that “will define our future competitiveness and energy security.”
Beijing’s dominance of critical minerals and battery manufacturing supply chains have posed significant economic and national security risks to the U.S. and our allies—investing in friend-shoring and on-shoring in these vital industries will be essential.
Recently, SAFE hosted a webinar looking at how the U.S. can use strategic investments to access America's abandoned and legacy mines, which could significantly reduce our dependence on foreign adversaries for these building blocks of modern society, bolstering our economic competitiveness, adding billions of dollars to our economy annually, creating numerous regional jobs, and revitalize communities affected by mine closures.
On top of the important economic and national security concerns, there are also profound human rights issues. A recent report from the U.S. Department of Labor underscored the extent critical minerals supply chains are intertwined with child and forced labor.
This is a direct result of our over-dependence on countries like China for these materials:
“That means we are importing embedded material—which is almost always going through China for further transformation—AND that we have less leverage over how the material is extracted, including if it is extracted with forced, child, or forced child labor,” Hunter said. But the U.S. has real leverage to change this: “The clean energy transition, which is driving US demand for these materials to new horizons, presents the opportunity for us to engage directly and encourage a shift away [from] these practices as a demand source and investor."
Read SAFE's full statement.
Permitting Reform Offers a Real Chance at Change, If We Can Pass It
Executive Director of SAFE’s Center for Grid Security published an op-ed last week calling for lawmakers to pass the bipartisan permitting reform package?from Sens. Joe Manchin (I- W.Va.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.).
SAFE has voiced our strong support for the Energy Permitting Reform Act (EPRA), which we consider an important step to address long-standing obstacles to unlocking America's potential as an energy superpower for the 21st century.
In her op-ed, Russo notes that lawmakers must seize this moment and embrace the practical compromise embodied in this bill if we hope to meet our economic, national security, and environmental goals.
“Present opposition to EPRA focuses on concerns that the bill erodes essential protections and oversight, giving too much away to gas, oil and mining interests. These concerns not only ignore the holistic progress created by the bill’s provisions in their entirety, but also the environmental, economic and human cost of inaction,” she writes.
“Most importantly, there is not a better deal waiting around the corner,” she writes.
Read Russo's full op-ed.
And tomorrow, September 25, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. EDT, Russo will speak on a panel as part of the Conservative Energy Network’s “Empowering Tomorrow” webinar series. She will join a conversation about how our current energy infrastructure impacts national security.
Register for the free event.
SAFE Speaks at World Economic Forum First Movers Coalition Aluminum Meeting
SAFE Center for Strategic Industrial Materials Executive Director Joe Quinn moderated a panel during the First Movers Coalition's Stakeholder Dialogue at the World Economic Forum in Geneva. The meeting convened key stakeholders across the value chain—producers, consumers, end-users, think tanks, associations—to discuss how to secure the supply of this strategic material through public policy, financing mechanisms, and clear demand signals.
Quinn’s remarks focused on the national and economic security issues of ensuring a secure supply chain for the United States and its allies, especially in the face of growing domestic demand.
“My fellow panelists here have painted a simple picture—demand for aluminum is expected to only increase. However, the supply of aluminum is facing headwinds, from declining primary production to starkly low levels of recycling secondary production. Therefore, an expanding group of stakeholders are needed to ensure secure supply chains of this strategic industrial material,” Quinn said.
The group explored key enablers for decarbonizing the aluminum sector and how industry leaders are pushing the frontiers of low carbon aluminum production. Participants explored opportunities and challenges in rapidly scaling new technologies, using the backdrop of the IAI's work on Aluminium GHG Pathways to 2050 as a framework for discussion.
While there is no single solution to the challenge of primary aluminum production, this kind of open dialogue about the shared challenges can surely support paving the way for effective collaboration and collective progress.
A necessary input into everything from passenger airplanes to kitchen appliances, aluminum is one of the foundational industrial materials of modern society. Demand continues to grow as the U.S. economy transitions to mass adoption of electric vehicles and other clean energy systems; however, domestic primary aluminum supply continues to decline due to a lack of available and affordable electricity to power production. Without federal support for domestic primary, the U.S. is at risk of a much larger reliance on the UAE, Russia, and China for critical infrastructures, military needs, and clean technologies.
ReMo’s Dr. Allanté Whitmore Talks Social and Environmental Benefits of AVs
In a recent presentation to PAVE's Public Sector City Committee, ReMo’s?Dr. Allanté Whitmore shared insights from her research on the intersection of electric, shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs) and urban pollution.
She shared findings from the case study report, “Environmental and Equity Implications of Electric, Shared Autonomous Vehicles in Urban Transportation: A Case Study of San Francisco,” which highlights how air and noise pollution profoundly affect urban residents.
Watch the case study release webinar here.
Dr. Whitmore’s work shows that even a modest rollout of SAVs over the next decade could significantly reduce pollution, particularly in areas where these impacts are most concentrated, underscoring the potential for technology to improve environmental conditions in urban settings.
Sign up to receive Energy Security Matters and other SAFE updates and alerts by email.
Head: Programme & Business Development
2 个月Great initiative for sustainable critical minerals value chains.