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Technology metals face a looming structural short supply and will consistently outperform other commodities over the coming years.

INCREASING DEMAND

The world is in the first phase of exponential demand growth for electric vehicles, energy storage systems, AI, and robotics. These new technologies are very metal intensive, and demand is projected to multiply many times across TechMet’s metals over the next decade.

LIMITED SUPPLY

Supply will struggle to keep up with this demand growth. On average it takes about 16 years to bring a new mine into production from first discovery. This is compounded by the fact that the resource industry has underinvested in future production over the last decade.

China dominates critical metals production and processing. Under conditions of scarcity, it will prioritise its own domestic manufacturing with access to raw materials. China has recently shown its ability and willingness to weaponize this dominance. Recent actions include cutting off the supply of battery materials to America’s largest drone manufacturer, banning exports of several critical minerals, and indicating future export restrictions for certain battery and lithium processing technologies.

Critical minerals

Lithium

Lithium’s lightness and high electrochemical potential makes it indispensable to the batteries that are revolutionising the modern world. While the chemistry of lithium-ion batteries varies by use case, lithium is the key ingredient.

Nickel

Traditionally used to make stainless steel, huge new demand growth is being driven by its ability to give higher energy density in lithium-ion batteries, ensuring exceptional performance and greater range in electric vehicles. Higher nickel content relative to cobalt also offers a cost advantage to OEMs.

Cobalt

Cobalt is an essential ingredient in high-performance lithium-ion batteries, providing greater stability. Some low-range lithium-ion batteries are made without cobalt, but for consumer devices and long-range EVs, the inclusion of cobalt results in safer batteries.

Vanadium

Traditionally an essential strengthening agent for high-performance steel, a key area of demand growth is in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs), an important alternative to lithium-ion batteries for energy storage systems. VRFBs have longer storage duration and lifespan, making them ideal for commercial scale operations alongside intermittent renewable energy sources.

Tin

Often the forgotten metal of the energy transition, tin is used as the solder in circuit boards. It is therefore the “glue” that underpins electronic technologies: the more the world automates and electrifies, the more tin we will need.

Rare Earths

Rare Earths comprise 17 elements critical for a wide range of high-tech applications. Most important are neodymium and praseodymium (known as NdPr), which are used to make high-powered permanent magnets for electric motors in EVs and energy-capturing systems (e.g. wind turbines).

Tungsten

With the highest melting point of any metal and exceptional hardness, tungsten is indispensable in high-temperature industrial processes and crucial for electronic and defence technologies.