Critical Minerals for Electricity Infrastructure

Detailed Explanation With Case Laws

1. Introduction

Critical minerals for electricity infrastructure are minerals that are essential for building, operating, maintaining and expanding modern electricity systems, but whose supply may face significant economic, geopolitical or technical risks.

Electricity infrastructure includes:

generation plants;

transmission lines;

substations;

transformers;

distribution networks;

batteries;

electricity-storage systems;

smart-grid equipment; and

control and communication systems.

Critical minerals are therefore important for both traditional electricity networks and the clean-energy transition.

2. Important Minerals Used in Electricity Infrastructure

Different parts of the electricity system require different minerals.

Copper

Copper is one of the most important materials for electricity networks because of its excellent electrical conductivity.

It is used in:

transmission and distribution cables;

transformers;

generators;

motors;

substations; and

electrical equipment.

Expansion of electricity grids can therefore increase demand for copper.

Aluminium

Aluminium is widely used in overhead transmission lines because it is relatively light and has good electrical conductivity.

Lithium

Lithium is particularly important for battery energy storage systems.

Large batteries can support:

renewable-energy integration;

frequency management;

peak-demand management; and

grid balancing.

Nickel and Cobalt

These minerals can be used in certain battery chemistries, although the exact mineral requirements depend on the battery technology.

Graphite

Graphite is an important material for many lithium-ion battery anodes.

Rare Earth Elements

Elements such as neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium can be used in permanent magnets for certain wind turbines and electric motors.

3. Why These Minerals Are "Critical"

A mineral is not necessarily critical simply because it is used in electricity infrastructure.

Criticality usually involves two broad questions:

How important is the mineral?

and

How vulnerable is its supply?

The EU, UK, US and other jurisdictions use different methodologies for determining criticality.

The EU Critical Raw Materials Act 2024, for example, establishes lists of critical and strategic raw materials and uses criteria concerning economic importance and supply risk.

4. Electricity Grid Expansion

The growth of renewable electricity requires major expansion of electricity networks.

New:

transmission lines;

substations;

transformers;

distribution cables;

interconnectors; and

storage facilities

require substantial quantities of materials.

This creates a relationship between:

Critical minerals → electricity infrastructure → energy transition.

If mineral supply is insufficient, the construction of new electricity infrastructure may become more expensive or slower.

5. Critical Minerals and Renewable Generation

Critical minerals are also relevant to electricity generation.

Wind Power

Some wind turbines use permanent magnets containing rare earth elements.

Solar Power

Solar photovoltaic systems require several minerals and metals in their manufacturing supply chains.

Hydropower

Hydropower infrastructure uses significant quantities of metals and electrical equipment, although its critical-mineral profile differs from batteries and wind turbines.

Battery Storage

Battery systems require materials such as lithium, graphite, nickel and, depending on chemistry, cobalt or manganese.

Thus, critical minerals affect both generation and grid flexibility.

6. Supply-Chain Concentration

One major legal concern is geographical concentration.

A mineral may be mined in one group of countries but processed in another.

This creates multiple supply risks:

Mining risk → processing risk → transportation risk → manufacturing risk.

For electricity infrastructure, processing concentration can be particularly important because having mineral deposits does not necessarily mean having the capacity to produce usable industrial materials.

Therefore, governments increasingly focus on:

domestic processing;

recycling;

alternative suppliers;

strategic reserves;

international partnerships; and

substitution.

7. EU Critical Raw Materials Act

The EU Critical Raw Materials Act is particularly relevant to electricity infrastructure.

The regulation seeks to strengthen European capacity for:

extraction;

processing;

recycling; and

diversification of supply.

It establishes 2030 benchmarks for increasing European capacity and reducing excessive dependence on individual external suppliers.

The Act also establishes Strategic Projects designed to strengthen critical-raw-material supply chains.

This represents a shift from treating minerals purely as commodities towards treating some materials as strategic infrastructure inputs.

8. UK Critical Minerals Strategy

The UK's Critical Minerals Strategy similarly recognises the importance of critical minerals to the UK's net-zero transition, economic security and national security.

The UK strategy focuses on three broad areas:

Accelerate domestic capability

Collaborate internationally

Enhance international markets

It also emphasises recycling, innovation, substitution and supply-chain resilience.

This is relevant to electricity infrastructure because future grid expansion will require reliable access to minerals and manufactured components.

9. Case Law: China — Rare Earths

The leading international case is China — Measures Related to the Exportation of Rare Earths, Tungsten and Molybdenum, WTO disputes DS431, DS432 and DS433.

The dispute concerned Chinese measures including:

export duties;

export quotas;

export licensing; and

trading-right restrictions.

The United States, EU and Japan challenged the measures.

The WTO Panel and Appellate Body found that the challenged measures were inconsistent with China's WTO obligations and that the relevant Article XX exceptions did not justify the measures.

Relevance to Electricity Infrastructure

Rare earth elements are important for some electricity technologies, particularly permanent-magnet applications.

The case demonstrates that a state cannot automatically justify export restrictions merely because a mineral is strategically or environmentally important.

Trade restrictions must satisfy applicable international legal requirements.

10. Case Law: VYSOČINA WIND a.s. v Česká republika

In VYSOČINA WIND a.s. v Česká republika, Case C-181/20, the Court of Justice of the European Union considered legal questions concerning waste photovoltaic panels under EU waste legislation.

The case concerned the allocation of costs for the collection, treatment, recovery and environmentally sound disposal of photovoltaic panels.

Relevance

Solar panels are part of electricity infrastructure and contain recoverable materials.

The case demonstrates that electricity infrastructure regulation must consider not only construction and operation, but also the end-of-life stage.

This supports a circular approach to critical minerals.

11. Recycling as a Supply Source

Recycling can reduce pressure on primary mineral supply.

For example:

Used battery → collection → processing → mineral recovery → new battery

Similarly:

Old electrical equipment → metal recovery → new grid equipment

This creates a secondary supply chain.

The EU Critical Raw Materials Act specifically promotes recycling and establishes a 2030 benchmark for EU recycling capacity for strategic raw materials.

12. Substitution and Technological Change

Criticality can change over time.

If a new technology uses less of a scarce mineral, supply risk may decrease.

For example, different battery chemistries require different combinations of:

lithium;

nickel;

cobalt;

manganese; and

iron.

Therefore, legal and policy frameworks should not assume that today's mineral requirements will remain unchanged.

Research into substitution and material efficiency is an important part of long-term electricity infrastructure planning.

13. National Security Dimension

Electricity infrastructure is itself critical infrastructure.

Therefore, dependence on external supplies of key materials can create national-security concerns.

A serious disruption in supplies of:

transformers;

electrical conductors;

battery materials;

permanent magnets; or

specialist electronic components

could delay infrastructure construction or repair.

Governments may therefore use:

foreign-investment screening;

procurement requirements;

strategic stockpiles;

domestic manufacturing incentives;

recycling obligations; and

supply-chain monitoring.

14. Environmental Dimension

Critical-mineral extraction can create environmental impacts.

Potential concerns include:

water use;

pollution;

habitat destruction;

mining waste;

biodiversity loss; and

greenhouse-gas emissions.

Therefore, increasing mineral supply cannot be separated from environmental law.

The legal objective is increasingly:

Secure supply + responsible extraction + efficient use + recycling.

15. Electricity Infrastructure and Strategic Planning

Energy regulators and governments should assess mineral requirements when preparing:

electricity-grid plans;

renewable-energy programmes;

battery-storage strategies;

transmission expansion plans;

industrial strategies; and

net-zero policies.

A grid plan that requires thousands of transformers or large amounts of cable should also consider whether the relevant materials and manufacturing capacity will be available.

This creates an important link between energy planning and mineral policy.

16. Main Legal Issues

Critical minerals for electricity infrastructure raise several legal questions:

1. Supply Security

How should governments protect essential mineral supplies?

2. Trade Regulation

When can export or import restrictions be imposed?

3. Foreign Investment

Should foreign ownership of critical-mineral assets be reviewed?

4. Environmental Law

How should mining impacts be regulated?

5. Recycling

Who should be responsible for recovering minerals from old equipment?

6. Competition

How should excessive concentration in mineral markets be addressed?

7. Public Procurement

Can governments require secure or diversified supply chains?

8. Energy Regulation

How should mineral availability influence grid-development planning?

17. Conclusion

Critical Minerals for Electricity Infrastructure are increasingly important to energy law because electricity systems depend upon reliable access to materials used in generation, transmission, distribution, storage and digital grid technologies.

Copper and aluminium are important for electricity networks; lithium, graphite, nickel and other materials support battery storage; and rare earth elements can be important for some wind-turbine and motor technologies.

The EU Critical Raw Materials Act and the UK Critical Minerals Strategy demonstrate the movement towards integrated policies combining domestic capability, international diversification, recycling, innovation and supply-chain resilience.

The WTO China — Rare Earths dispute is especially important because it demonstrates the legal limits on using export restrictions to manage strategic mineral resources. Meanwhile, VYSOČINA WIND shows how renewable-energy infrastructure also creates legal questions concerning end-of-life materials and recovery.

The central principle is that electricity infrastructure policy and critical-mineral policy can no longer be treated as completely separate areas of law. Secure electricity systems require secure, diversified and sustainable material supply chains, while mineral policy must account for the infrastructure and energy-transition needs that those minerals support.