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Capriola M5s on the Bridge, Greco treats Storari (which he unloads on Davigo), Veltroni’s work for the Quirinale

3 years ago babelfish

Capriola M5s on the Bridge, Greco treats Storari (which he unloads on Davigo), Veltroni's work for the Quirinale

Not only Amara, Greco, Storari, Davigo, Veltroni and Draghi. Facts, names, numbers, curiosities and controversies. Bits of press review in the tweets of Michele Arnese, director of Start

THE CAPRIOLA OF THE 5 STARS ON THE BRIDGE

THE HILLS OF VELTRONI MIRE

GREEK HISTORICAL STRAPAZZA

HISTORY DOWNLOAD ON DAVIGO

GOODBYE QUARANTENE

EUROPE, USA AND PATENTS

DRAGONS ON PATENTS AND VACCINES

WHAT IS AMERICA DO?

NUMBERS AND SPONSORS OF THE GIRO D'ITALIA

THE DOMINUS IN RAW MATERIALS

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EXCERPT FROM AN ARTICLE FROM CORRIERE DELLA SERA ON LITHIUM, COBALT AND MORE:

If scarcity and control of resources were the typical factors of the old economic world of oil and gas, it cannot be said that things will be very different in the new one of clean energy. Let's take the production of "critical minerals", as the International Energy Agency calls them, namely copper, nickel, lithium, cobalt and rare earths, which are used to build and operate a wide range of renewable technologies such as solar photovoltaic, wind or batteries. For lithium, cobalt and rare earths, the three countries that are the world's largest producers – Australia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and China – control more than three quarters of the market. The Democratic Republic of the Congo produces more than 70% of the cobalt, China more than 60% of the rare earths. Beijing also leads the way in the processing and refining of minerals, with shares ranging from 35% in the case of nickel to 50-70% for lithium and cobalt, up to 90% of rare earths.

So far it has been a problem well known by manufacturers of smartphones or electronic instruments in general. But the new question now is that the energy sector is emerging as the largest customer in the critical minerals market. Building a photovoltaic system, a wind farm and an electric vehicle requires far more minerals than their fossil counterparts, writes the IEA. An electric car needs six times more minerals than a traditional car, an onshore wind farm nine times more than a gas-powered power plant. Since 2010, the average amount of minerals required for each single power generation unit has increased by 50%. A phenomenon attributable to the massive development of renewables: lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite are crucial for the performance of batteries; rare earths are for permanent magnets, in turn vital for wind turbines and electric motors; copper and aluminum are indispensable for the massive development of the electricity transmission networks that it will serve.

In short, a serious problem, especially in perspective. In the scenario that is closest to the objectives of the Paris Agreement, the share of demand for minerals to be reserved for clean energy technologies in the next twenty years rises to 40% for copper and rare earths, to 60-70% for nickel and cobalt and to more than 90% for lithium. Electric cars and batteries have already surpassed consumer electronics in the use of lithium and will overtake the steel industry in that of nickel by 2040. All in a context of high growth in demand: up to six times the current one in 2040, if the goal of full decarbonisation were to be achieved.

This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/capriola-m5s-sul-ponte-greco-strapazza-storari-che-scarica-su-davigo-il-lavorio-di-veltroni-per-il-quirinale/ on Sun, 09 May 2021 09:20:26 +0000.