On March 16, the European Union (EU) presented its Critical Materials Act. Aware that the reopening of mines in Europe will not be enough to succeed in its decarbonized transition, and shaken by its weaning of Russian gas, the EU provides in its text for various partnerships aimed at “reducing the EU’s current dependence on a single or a few countries”.
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DRC-China contract of the century: the underside of an “economic colonization” agreement
In 2035, sales of thermal vehicles will no longer be authorized on the continent, in favor of electric vehicles. Which represent a gigantic demand for metals. On the American side, President Joe Biden has also reserved vehicles electric a prominent place in its Inflation Reduction Act. Despite still lukewarm relations, the State Department signed a battery partnership agreement with the DRC in December 2022, the world’s largest cobalt producer, and Zambia, the continent’s largest copper producer. .
the world’s lithium needs are expected to increase 57 times by To 2050