In the current geopolitical situation, Uniti, which represents the interests of medium-sized oil companies, warns that electromobility will further increase China’s dependency on raw materials. In addition to supply risks, there is also a risk of value creation migrating from Germany to China.
According to Uniti, China mines and processes around 87 percent of the world’s rare earth deposits and up to 65 percent of metals such as cobalt, copper, lithium and nickel. They are required in large quantities for the expansion of electromobility. The demand for these metals for the construction of electric cars is enormous, especially because of the batteries. Depending on the battery size, electric vehicles contain up to 70 kilograms of cobalt, 13.5 kilograms of lithium and 80 kilograms of copper. Further amounts of copper would also be used in the construction of the charging infrastructure. More than half of all raw materials needed for electric motors came from China, Uniti warns. 45 percent of the rare earths that Germany imports also come from there.
The negative economic effects of excessive dependence on raw materials from a few countries are currently evident in the case of natural gas, where the necessary detachment from Russia results in high costs and supply uncertainties for business and consumers and warns against repeating similar mistakes: “In the case of electromobility, the German automotive industry is one of the most important pillars of the domestic economy in a dangerous, one-sided dependence on China for raw materials”, Uniti General Manager Elmar Kühn notes with concern. The country also dominates battery production with three quarters of the capacities. (awm)