James Boafo

The global energy transition depends heavily on technologies that require substantial mineral inputs. Renewable energy systems—including electricity grids, solar photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles (EVs), and geothermal infrastructure— rely on a range of metals such as lithium, nickel, copper, cobalt, and rare earth elements (Boafo et al., 2024; International Energy Agency, 2023). These technologies are significantly more resource-intensive than their fossil fuel-based counterparts. For example, producing one EV car requires six times more mineral inputs than a conventional gasoline-powered car. At the same time, an onshore wind plant demands nine times the mineral resources of a gas-fired power plant (International Energy Agency, 2021a)...