Low-carbon Technologies Value Chains
Low-carbon technologies and the transformation of industries pose key challenges in terms of innovation, competitiveness and value chain management. Industrial policies are now central.
Related Subjects
Fragmented Europe: Dealing with China as a technology and innovation power
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Three and a half years before the scheduled entry into force of the European regulation ReFuelEU Aviation (RFEUA), which requires aviation fuel suppliers at Union airports to offer a sustainable synthetic alternative (e-SAF), no sizeable commercial production unit (greater than 10,000 tons per year) is active within Europe yet, nor has it even passed the Final Investment Decision (FID). Is a major step in the European Union (EU) plans for decarbonizing air transport at risk of not happening, or at least being postponed for several years? Is Europe losing its bet to create a market for e-SAF? Under what conditions can this bet still be won? Could sovereignty and energy security preoccupations unlock necessary public support and help to overcome economic, financial, logistical or administrative obstacles?
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According to geopolitics expert Marc-Antoine Eyl-Mazzega, the competition for control over minerals, logistics and the flow of raw materials is benefiting the US and China. Europe lags behind in this geoeconomic race, with a tangible impact on how major powers are reshaping their defense capabilities.
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As Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) economies are confronted with mounting threats to critical raw materials (CRM) supplies, resolute interventionist policies are needed to build resilient value chains.
Financial Tools for Boosting Resilience of CRM Value Chains and Strategic Stockpiling
Critical Raw Material (CRM) value chains are more vulnerable than ever and entire vital industries in Europe are now at risk if supplies are not secured through strategic and urgent actions, given mounting geopolitical confrontation, resource nationalism, growing demand and limited supply increase.
Placing the EU on a Warfare Footing: Energy and Raw Materials Priorities for 2026
The year 2025 has confirmed that one must prepare for much worse in the field of geopolitics and geoeconomics as the intensity and frequency of shocks increase and as the European Union (EU) has no more stable flanks now that crises with the United States (US) become so frequent and reveal a systemic rift. In the world, barriers to trade multiply and dependencies are weaponized.
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At the heart of economic security, technological resilience is a backbone of the European Union’s (EU) competitiveness. The EU’s energy and digital transitions depend on critical raw materials (CRM).
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The 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30), opening in Belém, Brazil, on November 10th 2025, convenes at a perilous moment.
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In the competitiveness and energy transition battles, the European Union (EU) must master a determinant factor: skills.
“Although mining is a long-term business, very few companies do prospective studies”
As global demand for critical minerals accelerates, Central Africa finds itself once again at the heart of an extractive race—this time driven by the energy transition. Thierry Vircoulon, Associate Research Fellow at Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa Center, and Coordinator of its Observatory of Central and Southern Africa, shares a sharp and sobering perspective. Speaking ahead of the ESSEC Institute for Geopolitics & Business webinar “Securing Critical Minerals” (2 July), he explores the paradoxes of resource governance, the rise of China, and why “clean energy” still runs on dirty politics. A must-read for those navigating the fault lines of global supply chains.
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Critical Raw Materials, Economic Statecraft and Europe's Dependence on China
As China tightens export controls on critical minerals, it is important to put Beijing's policies in perspective and analyse how Europe can respond.
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With the demand for critical raw materials set to, at a minimum, double by 2030 in the context of the current energy transition policies, the concentration of critical raw materials (CRM) supplies and, even more, of refining capacities in a handful of countries has become one of the paramount issues in international, bilateral and national discussions. China’s dominant position and successive export controls on critical raw materials (lately, germanium, gallium, rare earths processing technology, graphite, antimony) point to a trend of weaponizing critical dependencies.
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The deployment at scale of electric mobility in France and in Europe withholds significant industrial, societal, geopolitical, and financial challenges, against the backdrop of strategic dependencies along the value chain of the electric vehicle (EV).
EU-Mercosur: An Unsolvable Trilemma Between Competition Rules, Normative Ambitions and Supply Chain Diversification
The EU-Mercosur trade deal was believed to be heading toward the finish. The election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as the president of Brazil, as successor to the right-wing populist Jair Bolsonaro, and the Spanish presidency of the European Union (EU), raised hopes for its conclusion. But the reservations expressed by several EU member states and some Latin American countries have dashed hopes.
France, Germany play safe during China Premier Li's European trip
HAMBURG, Germany -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang avoided public clashes on a high-profile visit to Germany and France this week, in what analysts see as a sign of the European nations' reluctance to alienate Beijing.
Fragmented Europe: Dealing with China as a technology and innovation power
How is Europe navigating China’s ascension as a technological power? The latest report by the European Think-tank Network on China (ETNC) provides a nuanced account of a converging, yet still fragmented approach across 22 countries.
How to Make European e-SAF Production under RefuelEU Aviation Fly?
Three and a half years before the scheduled entry into force of the European regulation ReFuelEU Aviation (RFEUA), which requires aviation fuel suppliers at Union airports to offer a sustainable synthetic alternative (e-SAF), no sizeable commercial production unit (greater than 10,000 tons per year) is active within Europe yet, nor has it even passed the Final Investment Decision (FID). Is a major step in the European Union (EU) plans for decarbonizing air transport at risk of not happening, or at least being postponed for several years? Is Europe losing its bet to create a market for e-SAF? Under what conditions can this bet still be won? Could sovereignty and energy security preoccupations unlock necessary public support and help to overcome economic, financial, logistical or administrative obstacles?
The European Biomethane Sector at a Critical Juncture: Stronger Policy Alignment Will Matter
The European biomethane sector is at a critical juncture.
The US’s Critical Mineral Offensive Strategy: How Can Europe Step Up?
As Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) economies are confronted with mounting threats to critical raw materials (CRM) supplies, resolute interventionist policies are needed to build resilient value chains.
Financial Tools for Boosting Resilience of CRM Value Chains and Strategic Stockpiling
Critical Raw Material (CRM) value chains are more vulnerable than ever and entire vital industries in Europe are now at risk if supplies are not secured through strategic and urgent actions, given mounting geopolitical confrontation, resource nationalism, growing demand and limited supply increase.
Placing the EU on a Warfare Footing: Energy and Raw Materials Priorities for 2026
The year 2025 has confirmed that one must prepare for much worse in the field of geopolitics and geoeconomics as the intensity and frequency of shocks increase and as the European Union (EU) has no more stable flanks now that crises with the United States (US) become so frequent and reveal a systemic rift. In the world, barriers to trade multiply and dependencies are weaponized.
Securing critical raw material (CRM) value chains – a prerequisite for Europe’s technological resilience
At the heart of economic security, technological resilience is a backbone of the European Union’s (EU) competitiveness. The EU’s energy and digital transitions depend on critical raw materials (CRM).
COP30: An Inflection Point for Climate Action and Governance
The 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30), opening in Belém, Brazil, on November 10th 2025, convenes at a perilous moment.
The Strategic Dimension of Skills in the Clean Industrial Deal
In the competitiveness and energy transition battles, the European Union (EU) must master a determinant factor: skills.
Re-evaluating Copper Supply: The Crucial Role of Technology
Some authors argue that the energy transition is doomed to fail due to metal scarcity and the rising energy costs of extraction.
Geoeconomics: 'All dependencies, minerals, currencies and semiconductors, are now being weaponized'
According to geopolitics expert Marc-Antoine Eyl-Mazzega, the competition for control over minerals, logistics and the flow of raw materials is benefiting the US and China. Europe lags behind in this geoeconomic race, with a tangible impact on how major powers are reshaping their defense capabilities.
“Although mining is a long-term business, very few companies do prospective studies”
As global demand for critical minerals accelerates, Central Africa finds itself once again at the heart of an extractive race—this time driven by the energy transition. Thierry Vircoulon, Associate Research Fellow at Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa Center, and Coordinator of its Observatory of Central and Southern Africa, shares a sharp and sobering perspective. Speaking ahead of the ESSEC Institute for Geopolitics & Business webinar “Securing Critical Minerals” (2 July), he explores the paradoxes of resource governance, the rise of China, and why “clean energy” still runs on dirty politics. A must-read for those navigating the fault lines of global supply chains.
France, Germany play safe during China Premier Li's European trip
HAMBURG, Germany -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang avoided public clashes on a high-profile visit to Germany and France this week, in what analysts see as a sign of the European nations' reluctance to alienate Beijing.
Geopolitics of Climate Change - World Policy Conference 2024 (Plenary Session)
Plenary session 6: Geopolitics of Climate Change. Friday, December 13, 2024 - 17th edition of the World Policy Conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Ifri, a foundation recognized as being of public utility, relies largely on private donors – companies and individuals – to guarantee its sustainability and intellectual independence. Through their funding, donors help maintain the Institute's position among the world's leading think tanks. By benefiting from an internationally recognized network and expertise, donors refine their understanding of geopolitical risk and its consequences on global politics and the economy. In 2026, Ifri partners with over 90 French and international companies and organizations.
