Preface

Many governments, including the UK government, are moving towards a clean energy future based on a low-carbon economy in which fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal) for energy production will be phased out to mitigate the effect of global warming due to the increase of greenhouse gases (e.g., carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere. The record temperature of 40.3 °C in the UK on the 19 July 2022, as well as exceptionally high temperatures in France, Spain and neighbouring countries, have acted as a wake-up call for governments and populations to the existential threat of global warming, often referred to nowadays as the climate crisis. The term ‘climate change’ was devised by Frank Luntz as a replacement for global warming and used by the George W. Bush administration in the USA.

In a low-carbon economy, electricity is generated by renewable technologies, such as photovoltaic (solar) cells, onshore and offshore wind turbines and nuclear power based on small modular reactors (SMR). Green hydrogen will also be produced by the electrolysis of water using electricity generated from solar cells or from wind turbines. Petrol and diesel vehicles will eventually be phased out and replaced by electric vehicles.

Materials play a crucial role in the lives of people in developed economies. This is illustrated by:

• textiles from plastics (polymers) such as polyester, nylon and acrylic fibres derived from fossil fuels

• nickel-based superalloys for gas turbine blades in aircraft

• nickel–titanium alloys for implantable coronary stents

• gadolinium-based contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans

• yttrium–aluminium–garnet (YAG) lasers for use in eye surgery

• polymer composites for wind turbine blades

• alloys of neodymium, iron and boron for compact, powerful magnets for automotive applications, e.g., as starter motors in electric vehicles

• optical fibres for fast broadband

• silicon chips containing billions of transistors that underpin the digital age of the 21st century, the internet and social media.

There is frequent reference to the climate crisis on an almost daily basis in the media, but very little reference to the materials that can help to alleviate the crisis. Some of these materials, often certain metallic elements, are important for a country’s national security as well as its economic development and are known as critical materials. The importance of these critical materials has increased because of the climate crisis and also following the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The phrase critical materials, sometimes referred to as critical minerals is probably unknown among the general public and many scientific specialists. It is hoped that readers will, after reading this book, be much more familiar with this term.

There are many excellent books on chemistry, materials science and sustainability issues relevant to energy supply, e.g., the books by J. Emsley (Nature’s Building Blocks, Oxford University Press, 2011), R. J. D. Tilley, (Understanding Solids: The Science of Materials, Wiley, 2013) and D. J. C. MacKay (Sustainable Energy − Without the Hot Air, UIT Cambridge Limited, 2009). The excellent books by J. M. Klinger (Rare Earth Frontiers, Cornell University Press, 2017) and M. Black (The Global Interior, Harvard University Press, 2018) refer extensively to materials such as lanthanides (rare earths) and lithium, and concentrate on how mining them has affected economic power in countries. However, little is written about how the materials are processed into components or other technologies that can be used to combat global warming. However, these books do not make the link between critical materials and their role during the climate crisis as the 2020s progress.

In this book, the connection between critical materials and the development of a low-carbon economy and what role they have in alleviating the climate crisis is highlighted.

Chemical formulae and some chemical equations are included throughout the text. However, these can be ignored as the text is of sufficient clarity to follow without studying the formulae and equations. This book gives an informative account of the important role critical materials will have on the lives of people as the 21st century progresses.

Nowadays, there are many sources of information, e.g., the internet and social media. In addition, the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence algorithms has made it easier to collate information. However, understanding the role critical materials have in achieving a low-carbon economy is not just about the properties of materials. It is necessary to understand the working conditions in which the materials are extracted from the ground, often in faraway places from affluent societies, the effect of extraction on the environment and on the health of people who are involved in the mining. In addition, supply chains and the ability to refine raw materials are extremely important, as will be explained throughout this book. The study of critical materials is, at a basic level, one of economic power and geopolitical considerations and not about the materials themselves as there is not a shortage of materials; some materials are found in countries that have autocratic leaders. The phrase extractive capitalism is referred to in Chapter 1 and will be discussed later in more detail.

The primary readership will be the general public. In addition, the book will appeal to secondary school students preparing to take GCSE and A Level examinations (or equivalent), as well as to undergraduates and postgraduates in all disciplines.

David Segal

Abingdon, UK