Critical materials
Where critical raw materials come from, where supply concentrates, and what trade data and material flow analysis show about the risks. Pairs with the 18-material data series.
Related: Materials data series · mfa-engine
Lithium has two chokepoints, and they sit in different countries
Chile ships 79% of the world's traded lithium carbonate. China ships 74% of the hydroxide. Which chokepoint you face depends on your battery chemistry.
Two governments, one shipment, two different numbers
Across 976 critical mineral trade flows, importer and exporter accounts differ by a median of 23 percent. Chile and China differ by 2.3x on lithium.
Denmark's wind turbines will not be a rare earth mine
Denmark's wind fleet holds 124 tonnes of neodymium, and half of it sits in turbines I first assumed contained none. A material flow model.