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Nickel in the energy transition: why is it called the devil’s metal?
Issues and Foresight
News 29 March 2021

Nickel in the energy transition: why is it called the devil’s metal?

Omnipresent in our modern societies, nickel is essential to numerous industrial sectors and widely used in construction. This metal is not currently considered to be a critical metal. However, the rapid development of batteries for electric vehicles has accelerated demand in recent years, forcing the nickel industry to adapt accordingly.

Lithium in the energy transition: more than a resource issue?
Issues and Foresight
News 10 February 2021

Lithium in the energy transition: more than a resource issue?

In recent years, the demand for lithium has grown at a steady rate of approximately 20% per year. This trend looks set to continue in the future as electrical mobility becomes increasingly popular as part of the ecological transition. However, it is not so much the geological risk that is worrying for this metal as the high concentration of reserves, production and the market, as well as China's hold on the entire value chain.

Issues and Foresight

Metals in the energy transition

Copper, cobalt, lithium... we are set to be increasingly reliant on metals due to the large-scale roll-out of renewable energies and new forms of mobility. According to economist Emmanuel Hache, who heads the ANR GENERATE project, this reliance could lead to shifts in the balances of power and even growing
Climate, environment and circular economy
Innovation and Industry

Climate, environment and circular economy

New R&I themes, stimulated by the energy transition and circular economy markets, are beginning to emerge. The multidisciplinarity of IFPEN’s researchers is used in projects covering fields as diverse as CO2 capture/storage and plastics recycling, addressing the problems of industry. CO2 capture, utilization and storage Plastics recycling Environmental monitoring Life
Critical metals and rare earths
Innovation and Industry

Our strengths

Critical metals and rare earths Our strengths Expertise in the field of the synthesis, characterization and implementation of adsorbents The French Chemistry Society’s Industrial Chemistry Division awarded its 2016 prize to Malika Boualleg, an IFPEN researcher, in recognition of her work dedicated to the development of a selective lithium adsorbent
Critical metals and rare earths
Innovation and Industry

Our networks

Critical metals and rare earths Our networks ANR GENERATE PROJECT While energy transition policies are theoretically and gradually reducing reliance on fossil energy production, they are creating new dependencies on other resources. These include critical metals. «The geopolitical component of new energy policies and investments in renewable energies has not
Critical metals and rare earths
Innovation and Industry

Our solutions

Critical metals and rare earths Our solutions In 2025, the lithium-ion battery market will account for more than half of the global demand for lithium, compared to almost one third today; and the total global market itself will have almost doubled in size. Lithium production Lithium is a material in
Critical metals and rare earths
Innovation and Industry

Critical metals and rare earths

Critical metals and rare earths OVERVIEW AND CHALLENGES Technological innovations developed to support the energy transition make use of critical or strategic metals: these refined minerals and metals are used for: electric vehicles: cobalt, lanthanum, lithium, fuel cells: platinum, palladium, rhodium, wind energy technologies: neodymium, dysprosium, terbium, the aviation sector