Energy Shift
Visualizing China’s Dominance in Clean Energy Metals
Visualizing China’s Dominance in Clean Energy Metals
Renewable sources of energy are expected to replace fossil fuels over the coming decades, and this large-scale transition will have a downstream effect on the demand of raw materials. More green energy means more wind turbines, solar panels, and batteries needed, and more clean energy metals necessary to build these technologies.
Today’s graphic, based on data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), illustrates where the extraction and processing of key metals for the green revolution take place.
It shows that despite being the world’s biggest carbon polluter, China is also the largest producer of most of the world’s critical minerals for the green revolution.
Where Clean Energy Metals are Produced
China produces 60% of all rare earth elements used as components in high technology devices, including smartphones and computers.
The country also has a 13% share of the lithium production market, which is still dominated by Australia (52%) and Chile (22%). The highly reactive element is key to producing rechargeable batteries for mobile phones, laptops, and electric vehicles.
| China's Share | Extraction | Processing |
|---|---|---|
| Copper | 8% | 40% |
| Nickel | 5% | 35% |
| Cobalt | 1.5% | 65% |
| Rare Earths | 60% | 87% |
| Lithium | 13% | 58% |
But even more than extraction, China is the dominant economy when it comes to processing operations. The country’s share of refining is around 35% for nickel, 58% for lithium, 65% for cobalt, and 87% for rare earth elements.
Despite being the largest economy in the world, the U.S. does not appear among the largest producers of any of the metals listed. To shorten the gap, the Biden administration recently launched an executive order to review the American strategy for critical and strategic materials.
It’s also worth noting that Russia also does not appear among the top producers when it comes to clean energy metals, despite being one of the world’s leading producers of minerals like copper, iron, and palladium.
Low Regulation in the Clean Metal Supply Chain
While China leads all countries in terms of cobalt processing, the metal itself is primarily extracted in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Still, Chinese interests own 15 of the 17 industrial cobalt operations in the DRC, according to a data analysis by The New York Times and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
Unfortunately, the DRC’s cobalt production has been criticized due to reports of corruption and lack of regulation.
Part of the Congolese cobalt comes from artisanal mines with low regulation. Of the 255,000 Congolese artisanal miners, an estimated 40,000 are children, some as young as six years old.
The Rise of Clean Energy Metals
The necessary shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy opens up interesting questions about how geopolitics, and these supply chains, will be affected.
In the race to secure raw materials needed for the green revolution, new world powers could emerge as demand for clean energy metals grows.
For now, China has the lead.
Energy Shift
Where the U.S. Gets Its Enriched Uranium
Russia controls nearly half of global uranium enrichment capacity.
Where the U.S. Gets Its Enriched Uranium
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
Nuclear power accounts for 19% of electricity generation in the U.S.
This graphic illustrates the top sources of enriched uranium for U.S. civilian nuclear power reactors in 2023, based on data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The calculation is based in Separative Work Unit (SWU), a unit that defines the effort required in the uranium enrichment process.
U.S. Suppliers of Enriched Uranium
Uranium production in the United States peaked in 1980, while purchases of uranium by U.S. nuclear power plant operators from domestic suppliers peaked in 1981. Since 1992, the majority of uranium purchased by U.S. nuclear power plant operators has been imported.
Currently, the U.S. relies on foreign sources for 71.7% of its enriched uranium, despite possessing domestic resources.
Russia supplies 27.2% of enrichment services, making it the largest single foreign provider for U.S. civilian nuclear power reactors. After Russia, 12% of enriched uranium comes from France, 8% from the Netherlands, and 7% from the United Kingdom.
| Country | Thousand separative work units (SWU) | Share (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 United States | 4,313 | 28% |
| 🇷🇺 Russia | 4,141 | 27% |
| 🇫🇷 France | 1,839 | 12% |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 1,217 | 8% |
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 1,021 | 7% |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 855 | 6% |
| 🌐 Other | 1,853 | 12% |
| Foreign total | 10,926 | 72% |
| Total | 15,240 | 100% |
Russia Temporarily Limits Exports
In November 2024, Russia temporarily restricted enriched uranium exports to the U.S., raising concerns about potential supply risks for utilities operating American reactors. These restrictions were in response to Washington’s recent ban on imports of Russian uranium, which was signed into law earlier this year.
In addition to the U.S., Russia is a major exporter of enriched uranium to countries including China, South Korea, and France.
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If you enjoyed this topic, check out this graphic showing oil and gas leases on public lands under Obama, Trump, and Biden.
Energy Shift
Oil & Gas Leases on Public Lands Under Obama, Trump, and Biden
President-elect Donald Trump wants a massive boost in U.S. oil production to reduce energy costs.
Oil & Gas Leases on Public Lands Under Obama, Trump, and Biden
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
President-elect Donald Trump wants a massive boost in U.S. oil production to reduce energy costs. The data shows that over the last decade, the Republican’s previous administration has been by far the most favorable for the oil and gas industry.
This graphic shows the number of acres leased on public lands to oil and gas companies during the fiscal years 2013–2023. The data is sourced from the Bureau of Land Management as of October 2023.
Drill, Baby, Drill
The amount of public land leased to the oil and gas sector has varied significantly by administration.
In Trump’s first year in office, there was a 93% increase in leases compared to the final year of the Obama administration.
| Year | Acres Leased | Administration |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 1,172,808 | Obama |
| 2014 | 1,197,852 | Obama |
| 2015 | 810,068 | Obama |
| 2016 | 577,317 | Obama |
| 2017 | 1,114,218 | Trump |
| 2018 | 1,253,369 | Trump |
| 2019 | 2,245,906 | Trump |
| 2020 | 1,871,962 | Trump |
| 2021 | 249,132 | Biden |
| 2022 | 74,758 | Biden |
| 2023 | 91,712 | Biden |
Then, following a series of executive actions aimed at reducing GHG emissions from federal lands, leases dropped sharply during the Biden administration. In 2021, the Democrat temporarily paused new oil and gas leases on federal lands.
Since Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, Biden has moved to further limit oil drilling.
The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently finalized the restrictions on an oil and gas lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, the largest wildlife refuge in the country. In its decision, the BLM limited the lease sales to 400,000 acres, which is one-quarter of the refuge’s coastal plain section.
Environmental groups have opposed oil development in the refuge for decades, while Trump has said his new administration would pursue oil drilling in the area.
Learn More on the Voronoi App
If you enjoyed this topic, check out this graphic showing how much Americans spend on gas in each state.
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