Azernews.Az

Ulviyya Poladova

Read more

Global investment in critical minerals fell by 9% last year compared with the previous year.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global demand for critical minerals used in clean energy technologies is expected to rise from 12.3 million tons in 2024 to around 43 million tons by 2050. Future projections indicate that this growth will be concentrated more heavily in processing than in mining.

Currently, three countries account for 85% of global lithium processing capacity and 91% of battery-grade graphite processing capacity. Excluding rare earth elements, the average share held by the largest processing country for each mineral increased from 70% in 2023 to 72% in 2025.

The average share of the top refined supplier stood reaching 70% in 2025, up from 68% in 2020. This is the result of several years of concentrated supply growth in recent years, driven by the top producers - Indonesia for nickel and China for most other key energy minerals - which together accounted for over three‑quarters of total supply growth between 2023 and 2025. In several markets, including manganese, nickel and graphite, almost all supply growth originated from the leading supplier. Rare earth refining was a notable exception, with new projects in the United States and production increases in Malaysia leading to a modest decline in supply concentration between 2023 and 2025, highlighting the role of targeted policy and investment support in enabling diversification.

Experts note that while the energy transition is reducing dependence on fossil fuel imports, the concentration of clean energy technology production, critical mineral processing, and supply chains is creating new risks for energy security.

Photo: Getty Images