Category: Energy Security & Resilience

Why the proposed Brussels buyers club to procure critical minerals is a bad idea 5/16/2023

Why the proposed Brussels buyers club to procure critical minerals is a bad idea

Payne Institute Fellow Cullen Hendrix writes about how the concern about critical mineral supply chains and its own strategic vulnerabilities, the European Union is advancing a buyers club to procure minerals critical to the clean energy transition, such as bauxite, cobalt, lithium, and nickel.  The European Union is deeply dependent on imports of both raw and processed critical minerals and materials and thus highly exposed to global price volatility.  May 16, 2023.

Russia’s War in Ukraine: Green Policies in a New Energy Geopolitics 5/8/2023

Russia’s War in Ukraine: Green Policies in a New Energy Geopolitics

Payne Institute Fellow Andreas Goldthau and Director Morgan Bazilian write about how Russia’s brutal aggression has wreaked devastation in Ukraine for more than a year. It has also forced a fundamental rethink of geopolitics. Central to that new thinking is the role of energy security and how to manage the insecurities created by the lopsided dependencies exposed by the conflict.  May 8, 2023.

Avoiding old geopolitical paradigms for new energy challenges 5/4/2023

Avoiding old geopolitical paradigms for new energy challenges

Payne Institute Sustainable Finance Lab Program Manager Brad Handler writes about how the US needs critical minerals for the energy transition, but its strategy for securing supplies should not mirror its approach to fossil fuels.  Washington has clearly woken up to the need to secure critical raw minerals (CRM), but it risks overlaying old frameworks onto new challenges.  May 4, 2023.

Critical Minerals and China, With Morgan Bazilian 4/25/2023

Critical Minerals and China, With Morgan Bazilian

Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian is on this podcast discussing why critical minerals have emerged as a major issue in the U.S.-China geopolitical competition.  Topics include critical minerals, foreign policy, national security, and China.  April 25, 2023.

Militaries, Metals, and Mining 4/17/2023

Militaries, Metals, and Mining

Fabian Villalobos and Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian write about how the U.S. aerospace and defense industries still need access to critical minerals and they are also needed for the clean energy technologies that will help combat climate change.  Even stricter military requirements and cutting-edge manufacturing techniques, such as additive manufacturing, continue to push the field to its limits in the 21st century—and the demand for raw materials to satisfy these needs is growing in response.  April 17, 2023.

The Critical Minerals Club 4/14/2023

The Critical Minerals Club

Payne Institute Fellow Cullen Hendrix and Director Morgan Bazilian contributes to this article about how the United States and allies aim to sidestep reliance on China for the materials needed for clean tech and advanced defense gear.  U.S. lawmakers are scrambling to weaken China’s grip on the critical mineral supply chains that are key to the global energy transition, as escalating tensions stoke fears of strategic vulnerabilities and potential geopolitical disruptions.  April 14, 2023.  

How to foster US mineral trade with Africa 3/28/2023

How to foster US mineral trade with Africa

Payne Institute Sustainable Finance Lab Program Manager Brad Handler, Student Researcher Juliet Akamboe, and ESG Research Associate Baba Freeman write about how Vice President Kamala Harris will be in sub-Saharan Africa this week as part of the Biden administration’s effort to strengthen its diplomatic and economic relationships in the region.   The U.S. has the opportunity to leverage trade policy to our advantage, with the potential benefits including strengthening clean energy supply chains — especially in light of intense investment and diplomacy by China on the sub-continent.  March 28, 2023.  

America’s Military Depends on Minerals That China Controls 3/16/2023

America’s Military Depends on Minerals That China Controls

Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian, Emily H. Holland, and Fellow Joshua Busby write about how rethinking supply chains is vital for U.S. security.  The crucial role of supply chains and logistics in military operations. Simply stated, supply chains win wars and save lives. Materials need to be in the right place at the right time.  March 16, 2023.

Filling the hole Silicon Valley Bank left in the climate tech ecosystem 3/15/2023

Filling the hole Silicon Valley Bank left in the climate tech ecosystem

Payne Institute Sustainable Finance Lab Program Manager Brad Handler and Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian write about the Silicon Valley Bank playing a critical role in the climate tech industry, particularly for early-stage companies. The bank’s recent collapse will be felt even though its depositors will get their money back, as announced by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. March 15, 2023.

Carbon capture utilization and storage in review: Sociotechnical implications for a carbon reliant world 3/2/2023

Carbon capture utilization and storage in review: Sociotechnical implications for a carbon reliant world

Payne Institute Fellow Steve Griffiths, Director Morgan Bazilian, CCUS Program Manager Anna Littlefield, student researchers Hope McLaughlin, Maia Menefee, Austin Kinzer, Tobias Hull, along with Benjamin K.Sovacool, and Jinsoo Kim write about how the decarbonization of industry and industrial systems is a pressing challenge given the relative lack of low-carbon options available for “hard to decarbonize” sectors such as steelmaking, cement manufacturing, and chemical production. This review takes a systematic and sociotechnical perspective to examine how CCUS can support industrial decarbonization and relevant associated technical, economic, and social factors.  March 2, 2023.