Electric Vehicle Industry and Critical Mineral Trade Network Security
摘要
As a key driving force for sustainable energy transformation, the rapid development pace of the electric vehicle industry has stimulated global attention to the stable supply of its key raw materials. This chapter has deeply analysed the development of the global electric vehicle (EV) industry, critical minerals—such as graphite, lithium and titanium—and the strategic position of countries that play a key role in international trade. By applying the trade network security index constructed in Chapter 4 , this chapter comprehensively evaluates the stability of the supply of these raw materials and identifies countries that have great influence on global trade stability. The study reported here shows that among the critical minerals required by the EV industry, lithium faces the highest trade risk. China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Iran are among the countries that influence the stability of the graphite trade. The United States and China attach great importance to rare earth elements, while Germany and Finland attach more importance to cobalt, nickel, lithium, copper and graphite.