Abstract
The announced electrification of transport will require a veritable Copernican revolution, with the need to produce large quantities of high-performance batteries capable of storing large quantities of energy, and electric motors capable of converting this energy into mechanical power, in a relatively short space of time. In both cases, the industry will need large quantities of specific metals to provide materials with adjusted usage properties : we're talking about rare earths (especially heavy ones) to provide powerful permanent magnets, lithium, nickel and cobalt to produce batteries with sufficient power density, not to mention the many minor metals that are indispensable for fine-tuning usage properties. The electrification of transport will therefore simultaneously require us to reinvest in extractive activities, on the one hand, by developing a high-performance recycling industry (but this will not be enough to meet the need), and, on the other, by developing our own resources via the relocation of mining activities in our own countries to meet our needs without depending entirely on third countries. This presentation will set out the scientific, industrial and strategic issues at stake, and the solutions that our country can implement to ensure the energy transition to low-carbon mobility, while preserving our economic sovereignty.
