Australia, US Team Up as Building Diversified Critical Minerals Supply Chains Becomes Essential

Australia has joined forces with the US to push forward to net-zero emissions by 2050, with the country being urged to diversify its critical minerals supply chains to reduce dependence on China.

“We know that tackling the critical minerals supply chain challenges will require the concerted effort of like-minded economies across the region,” Australian Resource Minister Madeleine King said at the Sydney Energy Forum. “It will require investment collaboration to diversify critical minerals markets. It will require partnerships that increase investment in resources projects to bring clean energy products to market faster.”

Co-hosted by the Australian government and the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Sydney Energy Forum gathered Indo-Pacific ministers and business leaders for a two day meeting to help secure clean energy supply chains in the region and support the global energy transformation.

“Our concern is that critical minerals could be subject, or vulnerable, to manipulation as we’ve seen in other areas, or weaponisation,” said US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. “And we want to — I think it’s healthy and from a national security perspective for both of our nations — to diversify our supply chains and make sure that these minerals are available to get to the ultimate goal of net-zero.”

According to the IEA, China accounts for 80 percent of the global supply chain for solar technology, and by 2025 that will grow to a 95 percent share. "We want to make sure that we are not as nations under the thumb of petro-dictators, under the thumb of those who don't share our values, under the thumb of those who would like to control strategic aspects of the supply chain," Granholm said at the conference.

At the event, the Australia-US Net Zero Technology Acceleration Partnership was signed, with the aim of accelerating the development and deployment of zero-emissions technology, and delivering on targets that are geared at reaching net zero by 2050.

“This partnership is a huge milestone in ramping up the US and Australia’s shared commitment to ambitious climate action and energy security,” Chris Bowen, Australia’s minister for climate change and energy, said. “It prioritises not just development but deployment of the critical technologies that will underpin economic opportunity in the energy transformation of our two countries.”

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Securities Disclosure: I, Priscila Barrera, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.