How to Secure Critical Minerals for the Energy Transition?

The adoption of renewable energy technologies hinges on the availability of many critical minerals. To meet the large demand for critical minerals, it is vital to scale up mineral supply chains that are resilient and sustainable. In this talk, Karan will introduce the STEER program at Stanford which is guiding policy and innovation for the energy transition by conducting systems analysis that incorporates materials availability, technology learning, and energy markets. The talk will focus on models that evaluate how supply and demand for critical minerals will evolve, and quantify the life-cycle impacts from the production. He will cover case studies on battery minerals, showing how electric vehicle costs and deployment are impacted by: i) restricting environmentally-damaging nickel production pathways, and ii) trade disruptions due to geopolitical tensions. Discussion will focus on necessary policy mechanisms to support sustainable domestic production for critical minerals.

Speaker: Karan Bhuwalka, Stanford University

Attend in person or online (see weblink)