The analysis of essential materials for the global clean-energy transition is incomplete without Kazakhstan

The clean energy transition, especially to battery-powered cars, is radically increasing the demand for minerals to enable the new technologies, raising concerns in global manufacturing centers about securing critical metals.

Although Kazakhstan was one of the Soviet Union's primary sources of metals and industrial minerals, it has been somewhat overlooked in contemporary global critical materials analyses.

However, Kazakhstan will become a hotspot for mineral extraction and a leading global supplier of many critical materials for emergent technologies.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), reaching the two °C goal of the Paris Agreement will require "a quadrupling of mineral requirements for clean energy technologies by 2040."

The World Bank has noted that as the number of EVs reaches 140 million in 2030, this will lead to a 1,000% increase in total demand for aluminum, cobalt, iron, lead, lithium, manganese, and nickel.

Fortunately for the world, Kazakhstan can help supply these critical metals, as the Center of Energy Research reported recently at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs.

A U.S. Geological Survey in Kazakhstan has identified at least 16 critical minerals, including bismuth, gallium, vanadium, tungsten, tin, tantalum, niobium, magnesium, lithium, indium, graphite, and cobalt. Almost 100 of the elements in the periodic table can be found under the grounds of our country.

This study is a bit dry but also includes a keen insight: "Central Asia's relative proximity to European, East Asian, South Asian, and Middle Eastern markets could be an advantage."

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