Table Of ContentThe Material Basis of
Energy Transitions
The Material Basis of
Energy Transitions
Edited by
Alena Bleicher
Alexandra Pehlken
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Contributors
Manuel Baumann
Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS)/Karlsruhe
Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
Alena Bleicher
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research—UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
Wei-Qiang Chen
Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, China
Gudrun Franken
Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, Hannover, Germany
Paul Robert Gilbert
International Development, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
James R.J. Goddin
Granta Design, Rustat House, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Karoline Kickler
Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, Hannover, Germany
Björn Koch
COAST—Centre for Environment and Sustainability, Carl von Ossietzky
University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
JiaShuo Li
Institute of Blue and Green Development, Shandong University, Weihai, China
Nan Li
Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, China
Benjamin C. McLellan
Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Alexandra Pehlken
OFFIS—Institute for Information Technology, Oldenburg, Germany
Fernando Penaherrera
Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
Jens Peters
Helmholtz Institute Ulm for Electrochemical Energy Storage (HIU), Ulm,
Germany
Roopali Phadke
Department of Environmental Studies, Macalester College, St Paul, MN,
United States
xi
xii Contributors
Louisa Prause
Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences,
Agricultural and Food Policy Group, Humbolt University of Berlin, Berlin,
Germany
Marco Sonnberger
ZIRIUS—Research Center for Interdisciplinary Risk and Innovation Studies,
University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
Laura Turley
International Institute for Sustainable Development & University of Geneva,
Geneva, Switzerland
Peng Wang
Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, China
Marcel Weil
Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS)/Karlsruhe
Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe; Helmholtz Institute Ulm for Electrochemical
Energy Storage (HIU), Ulm, Germany
Volker Zepf
Independent consultant for Geography and Resource Strategies, Augsburg,
Germany
CHAPTER
1
The material basis of energy
transitions—An introduction
Alena Bleichera and Alexandra Pehlkenb
aHelmholtz Centre for Environmental Research—UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
bOFFIS—Institute for Information Technology, Oldenburg, Germany
This book investigates the interdependencies of renewable energy systems and their
material basis during the various life-cycle phases of the energy technologies in-
volved, with a focus on scarce and critical raw materials. Specific raw materials
such as neodymium, lithium, and cobalt are required to produce renewable energy
systems, most notably energy technologies such as wind turbines, photovoltaic cells,
and batteries. Raw materials are extracted from geological repositories or become
available in the market through recycling in the end-of-life phase of objects and
technologies. Thus, renewable energy systems depend on either mining operations or
recycling efforts, with the systems themselves becoming “urban mines” when energy
infrastructures are decommissioned.
The idea for this book emerged during a conference where we, the editors of this
book, Alexandra Pehlken and Alena Bleicher, met as leaders of research groups funded
by the FONA research program (Research for Sustainable Development), which was
initiated by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Although we
have different disciplinary backgrounds—engineering and social science—we share
an interest in the provision of raw materials for advanced technological applications.
The research group Cascade Use, led by Alexandra Pehlken, conducted research from
an engineering perspective on issues such as the cascading use of materials, using
case studies in the automotive and renewable energy sectors. The cascading use of raw
materials was assessed across more than one life cycle, e.g., a lithium ion battery in-
tended for use in cars that is reused for the stationary storage of energy within the grid.
At its end-of-life phase, the battery will be recycled and its raw materials will enter
the raw material market. The research group GORmin, led by Alena Bleicher, aimed
to explain how the development of new technologies for exploiting, extracting, and
processing resources from geological or anthropogenic repositories is shaped by soci-
etal factors, such as the practices and daily decision-making routines in environmental
administration and research projects, as well as conflict dynamics, and regional min-
ing histories and narratives. The concept of socio-technical systems underlies this
research. This concept views technical and social systems as interrelated—it proposes
that technology shapes society and vice versa.
The Material Basis of Energy Transitions. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-819534-5.00001-5 1
© 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
2 CHAPTER 1 The material basis of energy transitions
During our research, we realized that studies related to the so-called “critical raw
materials” are often legitimized by references to renewable energy technologies (see,
e.g., Sovacool et al., 2020). However, a closer look revealed that the interrelation
between these two fields is often ignored, and has not been systematically or com-
prehensively considered in scientific research. Within the last decade, research has
been carried out by scientists with diverse scientific backgrounds (e.g., geology, en-
gineering, industrial ecology, geography, sociology, anthropology) on issues related
to either renewable energy systems and technologies or mining and the process-
ing of (specific) minerals. Many books and scientific papers have shed light on the
methods, challenges, and impacts of energy transitions on societies (e.g., Chen, Xue,
Cai, Thomas, & Stückrad, 2019; Cheung, Davies, & Bassen, 2019; Dietzenbacher,
Kulionis, & Capurro, 2020; Viebahn et al., 2015). A broad range of issues related to
renewable energy systems have been discussed: secure and stable energy provision
(e.g., Sinsel, Riemke, & Hoffmann, 2020), political strategies to support renewables
(e.g., market incentives, regulations) (e.g., Overland, 2019; Verbong & Loorbach,
2012), the impact of energy transformation on social justice (e.g., Simcock,
Thomson, Petrova, & Bouzarovski, 2017), the energy-food nexus in the context of
bioenergy (e.g., Levidow, 2013; Wu et al., 2018), perceptions of and conflicts related
to renewable energy technologies (e.g., Benighaus & Bleicher, 2019; Rule, 2014;
Truelove, 2012), and the challenges of managing (smart) grids (e.g., Hossain et al.,
2016; Smale, van Vliet, & Spaargaren, 2017).
The issue of nonenergetic raw material provision is almost exclusively debated in
the fields of raw materials—resource policy, industry, and science. Recently, work-
ing papers and journal articles have discussed the issue of secure supply chains for
specific raw materials that are used to produce advanced technology (e.g., Blagoeva,
Aves Dias, Marmier, & Pavel, 2016; Langkau & Tercero Espinoza, 2018; Løvik,
Hagelüken, & Wäger, 2018), as well as problems related to mining such as conflicts
over resources (e.g., Kojola, 2018; Martinez-Alier, 2009), environmental, health and
security issues in small-scale artisanal mining (e.g., Jacka, 2018; Smith, 2019), and
the potential and limits of management instruments in mining (e.g., Owen & Kemp,
2013; Phadke, 2018).
In order to address the challenges related to the energy transition and its material
basis, a broader perspective must be taken. First, it is necessary to consider the in-
terdependencies of renewable energy systems, their future development, technology
paths, resource extraction, and resource provision. Second, these relationships have
to be explored from different disciplinary angles in order to identify potentially prob-
lematic aspects. Thus, questions of global justice, responsible mining and consump-
tion, and the effects of price volatility need to be considered together with energy
and climate policies, scenarios for future development, technological questions about
innovative technologies in different fields of energy use and provision (electricity,
heat, traffic), alternative resources (e.g., recycling potentials), as well as investment
strategies developed by industry and policymakers to address the challenges.
This book aims to provide a comprehensive interdisciplinary overview of issues
related to decentralized renewable energy systems and their mineral basis, and to
CHAPTER 1 The material basis of energy transitions 3
gather together previously unrelated perspectives from natural sciences, engineer-
ing, and social sciences. By doing so, the book serves those who are interested in a
raw material demand perspective on the energy transition and renewable energy. Our
readers will likely be scientists from diverse disciplines and professionals in different
fields of work, such as business and industry, finance, and public policy. The book
is suitable for people with no prior knowledge of these issues, such as undergradu-
ate and graduate students, as well as experts in related fields, who will find valuable
reflections and inspiration for future research.
In this book, we have assembled contributions from authors who have already
researched the relationship between renewable energy technologies, energy systems,
and the material basis, or who have research experience in one of these areas and
were willing to take on a dual perspective for this book. The authors discuss a range
of issues. We have briefly summarized them here to give readers some guidance
about the structure and content of the book.
Several authors aim to more precisely characterize the scale of the problem and
the dynamics of the issue by describing the type and amount of minerals needed for
energy systems. By taking a historical perspective, Peng Wang and his colleagues
(Chapter 3) show how the global energy system’s demand for and consumption of
materials has increased and diversified within the last few decades. Wang et al., Zepf
(Chapter 4), and Goddin (Chapter 13) explain that one reason for this diversification
is that the materials in question provide specific technological services. For instance,
elements such as gallium, germanium, and indium are used in thin film photovolta-
ics, as they have a high absorption coefficient and are extremely effective at ab-
sorbing sunlight. Rare-earth elements such as neodymium and rhenium are used in
permanent magnets, as they have a high curie temperature (the temperature at which
magnetization is lost), and are resistant to corrosion.
Wang et al. (Chapter 3), Zepf (Chapter 4), and Weil et al. (Chapter 5) all start
by specifying the materials required for energy technologies. These include genera-
tion technologies such as wind and solar systems, as well as storage technologies
such as batteries. Using different approaches (e.g., material flow analyses, scenario
analyses), these authors then determine the amount of materials needed for an energy
system based on renewable energy. Peng Wang et al. present a mineral-energy nexus
framework to assess material demand, and the flow and stocks along the material
cycle. They categorize energy technologies into wind- or motor-related technology,
photovoltaic-related technology, battery technology, and vehicle-related technology,
and use these categories as entry points for their discussion of the challenges posed
by the system of international trade, and environmental issues related to the provi-
sion of relevant materials. Based on the state of the art of renewable energy tech-
nologies and expectations regarding their future development, Volker Zepf provides
an overview of the amount of resources needed for the production of energy from
biomass, hydro, solar, wind, and geothermal resources. He concludes that some wind
and solar technologies will require high amounts of “critical materials.” In addition,
Marcel Weil and his colleagues discuss the resources required for stationary battery
systems. They consider the material and environmental consequences of a scenario
4 CHAPTER 1 The material basis of energy transitions
in which the global transition to an electricity system based on 100% renewable en-
ergy is achieved by 2050. The authors of these chapters point out the importance of
differentiating between the notions of “resources” and “reserves” when estimating
the availability of a given mineral. A resource is a concentration of minerals that has
likely prospects of economic recovery in the future. Reserves are concentrations of
minerals that can be recovered and processed today in a technically and economi-
cally feasible way, and which are legally accessible, meaning that someone has legal
permission to extract the minerals (BGS, British Geological Survey, 2019).
A central concept regarding the material basis of renewable energy systems is
“criticality” or “critical materials.” While the abovementioned authors rely on no-
tions of criticality used by bodies such as the European Union, others critically dis-
cuss the concept and its current use, and highlight its shortcomings. From a science
and technology studies perspective, Paul Gilbert (Chapter 6) reveals assumptions,
resource imaginaries, and measures that are embedded in the concept of criticality,
and which are built upon future energy scenarios. Based on his findings, he provides
a fundamental critique of these entanglements. Gilbert shows that instruments such
as political risk assessments are based on the needs of wealthy resource-importing
countries, and that these instruments risk reproducing colonial relationships, as well
as neglecting local and national aspects that are relevant in mining countries. Indeed,
Wang et al. (Chapter 3), Phadke (Chapter 2), and Gilbert (Chapter 6) all demon-
strate the influence that national political decisions (e.g., resource or energy policies)
have on geopolitical power constellations and whether or not minerals are viewed as
“critical.”
Other authors criticize the limited scope and economic focus of criticality defi-
nitions and assessments: Wang et al. (Chapter 3), McLellan (Chapter 7), and Koch
(Chapter 9). These authors argue that environmental impacts along the product chain
must also be taken into consideration during criticality assessments. Björn Koch re-
veals that such assessments currently neglect both ecological and social aspects. In
his chapter, he takes a closer look at the concepts of “critical resources” and “conflict
resources,” and relates them to notions of sustainability and sustainable develop-
ment. Based on these notions, he identifies the moral obligations intertwined with the
handling and consumption of resources. Koch also clarifies the differences between
“critical materials” and “conflict minerals”: the former relies exclusively on eco-
nomic considerations, while the latter is derived from human rights and international
law, and focuses on moral obligations toward all human beings.
Several authors show that life-cycle assessment (LCA) approaches could poten-
tially be used to assess, evaluate, describe, and quantify the criticality of resources in
order to provide knowledge for (political) decision-making. McLellan (Chapter 7),
Penaherrera and Pehlken (Chapter 8), and Weil et al. (Chapter 5) discuss the lim-
its and shortcomings of LCA approaches currently in use, and suggest possible
improvements. From an environmental impact assessment perspective, Benjamin
McLellan emphasizes the relevance of local environmental aspects, most notably the
impacts of mining on water usage, land usage, and pollution. He criticizes the fact
that these aspects are not considered in criticality assessments, even though there
