The future competition of green energy is a match for opponents, and the United States is worried about China's leading status quo

NI11/28 published an article by Jakob Puckett analyzing the U.S.-China competition for a green energy future, pointing out that the U.S. is losing out to China in the green energy race, which is bad news for the United States.

Over the past 20 years, China has quietly established a global dominance in the raw materials needed for green energy, and they even sometimes use these raw materials for their political ends. By retaining some key materials, China could threaten some of the U.S. energy, transportation, and economic needs. The United States is engaged in a chess game with China to secure the materials needed for the world's fastest-growing energy source. To avoid relying on one adversary on these technologies, the right actions must be taken.

Cobalt, lithium and a set of geologically dispersed materials, called "rare earth elements," are the raw materials necessary to make wind turbines, solar panels, and the energy storage batteries needed for electric vehicles and grid energy storage. Although both China and the United States have reserves of rare earth elements, of course, China has much more reserves, but both countries must seek cobalt and lithium resources abroad, and, at this point, China is also winning.

While the share of green energy in the overall energy supply is still small, it is the fastest growing energy source in the world, with the aim of shifting the investment model from traditional to green. Moreover, the Biden administration plans to invest quickly and "irreversibly" lead the United States to a green energy dependence. If that's the case, then changes must be made so that our energy is not irreversibly dependent on China.

And the U.S. must make changes as soon as possible, as Chinese companies, with the support of the government, are engaged in a major battle for control of these most critical materials. By acquiring foreign mines, securing voting rights for natural resource companies, and buying long-term contracts abroad, China is trading capital for influence. For example, two-thirds of the world's cobalt production (the cobalt needed for batteries) comes from Congo, but Chinese companies control half of it. If cobalt processing is taken into account, more than 80% of the cobalt chemicals needed for batteries flow through China.

China is also pursuing lithium. Almost all of the world's lithium, which is essential for batteries and electric vehicles, is in three countries: Chile, Argentina and Australia. However, government-backed Chinese companies now control or affect 59 percent of global lithium production, including controlling three-quarters of Australia's lithium reserves. We must pay attention to how many Chinese private enterprises use government-backed investment to infiltrate the market economy.

Within China, there are about one-third of the world's reserves of rare earth elements, as well as many digital technologies common in modern life. Since 2000, China has produced as many as 80% of the world's supply of rare earth elements.

In a show of its tight grip, China temporarily cut off rare earth exports to Japan in 2010 due to political disputes and repeatedly imposed export quotas, shaking the confidence of governments and manufacturers. Wielding the muscles of the trade war, China even proposed last year the idea of cutting off rare earth exports to the United States and then saving face internationally. Leading these materials is China's plan since 1990. They are not afraid to use them as political weapons.

After Joe Biden takes office, This dominance of China may become a problem for the United States. Biden has a big plan to achieve a carbon-free electricity sector within fifteen years, which will require a significant increase in green energy. But now, the United States is 100 percent importing more than 20 key minerals needed for green energy technologies, and rare earth minerals are almost equally dependent on imports. In fact, the only rare earth mines in the United States are shipped to China for processing. The U.S. trade dispute with China has not been a secret in the past few years, and the Biden administration seems poised to continue that trend.

Even so, our green energy still needs China. Of course, we can reduce this dependence. In fact, there are things we can do to prevent China from maintaining a stranglehold on our energy. The United States could start by increasing the mining of domestically essential minerals, especially rare earth minerals. And we have a lot of them. Less than a third of U.S. land has sufficient mining and exploration area, but increasing exploration area could also encourage more domestic mining. Canada and Australia, two environmentally friendly U.S. allies who are active in heavy metal mining, have given evidence that for every $1 the government invests in mapping, it attracts $5 in private investment.

So why haven't we done it yet? Shortening the time it takes to mine in the U.S. would also help. It currently takes five times as long to open mines here as Canada and Australia, which are also environmentally conscious and responsible miners. The good news is that the Biden administration's energy plan has shown interest in cutting red tape in other areas of the energy industry. They should consider cutting some red tape here as well.

In addition, only 1% of these minerals are recycled. Better recycling of these minerals allows them to re-enter the market at competitive prices. Because of the harsh geographical facts in which these resources are located, the United States also needs an international approach. Trade agreements with friendly countries to enhance the flow and investment of key green energy mineral resources is essential. Partnerships with natural resource countries that are also targeted by China should also be sought. President-elect Biden's self-proclaimed skills for international partnerships should be harnessed.

The United States hopes to significantly increase its use of green energy in the coming years. These technologies rely on specific minerals and metals, the mining and processing of which is largely controlled by China. To avoid relying on adversaries for critical resources, the United States must begin to take the right action at home and abroad. The chess game with China's natural resources has begun. After all, energy is vital to every aspect of modern life, so the stakes are quite large, to say the least.