On 2 April 2023, UK Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan who is a Minister of State for Indo-Pacific, travelled to Perth in Australia to sign a joint UK-Australia pledge to secure the supply of critical minerals that will be used in the technologies that will enable the transition to net-zero, and support the UK's Critical Minerals Strategy.
Modern technology used in computing, production and storage of energy involves minerals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, graphite, gold and silver. Australia is currently the world's largest producer of lithium, which is used in batteries powering small devices as well as vehicles. The Greenbushes Mine, around 130 miles south of Perth, produces 40% of Australia's lithium alone.
To be able to expand the new technologies which aim to replace fossil fuels and improve energy efficiency, large quantities of such materials will be needed to drive this change. It is expected that the global demand for electronics and battery technology will grow four-fold by 2040.
The Minister will meet the Australian Federal Government Minister for Resources to sign a joint pledge to boost the global supply of critical minerals. The minister said: "Critical minerals will be a driving force in the world’s journey to net zero, and the UK and Australia are digging deep to futureproof supplies of the materials that power our phones, our cars, and uncountable other aspects of modern life.
"Australia's unmatched production capacity, combined with the UK's mineral trading and finance expertise, will boost global supplies, help protect supply chains from future shocks, and support thousands of skilled, high-paying jobs."
