CRITICAL METALS
No metals, no transition.
We are moving from a carbon-based economy to a metal-based economy
The energy transition calls for extensive electrification and large-scale rollout of clean energy technologies, including batteries for Electric Vehicles & energy storage, electric motors, solar panels, wind turbines and smart grids.
This will lead to a paradigm shift in the demand for specific metals such as lithium, nickel, copper, rare earths, and graphite in particular, with an increased focus on traceability.
We are convinced of the importance of taking a holistic view of the energy transition supply chain and have launched in 2023 a dedicated strategy to invest in critical and strategic metals
Securing these critical metals represents a major sovereignty challenge for the French and European industries as well as an appealing long-term investment opportunity given the amount of capex required to bring additional production, refining and recycling capacities online over the coming decades
The French State is seeding our strategy with up to EUR 500 m commitment into the fund.
A market opportunity based on the following fundamentals:
Upcoming critical metal supercycle driven by energy transition needs
- Significant increase in demand forecasted in order to deploy the clean energy technologies that are required to meet the objectives set by the Paris Agreement but also strategic for many industries in meeting their decarbonization ambitions.
- 1 Electric Vehicle requires 6x to 7x times more metals than a conventional internal combustion engine vehicle *
- 1 MW of renewable energy requires 6x-14x more metals to produce than carbon-based energy *
- Billions of capex are needed over the next 3 decades with long lead time to develop projects
* source: Energy transitions commission “Material and Resource Requirements for the Energy Transition” – 2023
Building resilient & circular supply chains
- The current geopolitical environment has created significant uncertainties, with disruptions to well established supply chains
- Complex value chains with numerous processing steps will command differing supply-demand dynamics at various steps
- Opportunity to unlock additional primary production from mines, while building refining, processing and recycling capabilities in Europe
Sustainability and traceability imperatives
- Accessing sustainably produced metals plays a pivotal role in advancing the global energy transition agenda
- ESG at the core of our investment mandate
- Opportunity to invest in critical metals projects that contribute to developing more traceable value chains and enhance better environmental and social practices for the end-users
Supporting regulation
- Policy-makers call for diversification and/or re-onshoring of supply chains, with improved sustainability, traceability & circular criteria
- Initiatives to re-establish control and sovereignty over value chains.
- Demonstrated by the recent European and French regulations, e.g. CRM Act, Battery Regulation, Net Zero Industry Act, European Green Deal
Supporting the energy transition by securing access to Critical Metals
We intend to build a diversified portfolio of long-term investments at various points of the value chain: extraction, processing, refining as well as recycling
- Primary production assets: greenfield or brownfield extraction projects, globally, alongside reputable partners with operational capabilities and a focus on ESG & traceability considerations
- Processing, refining and recycling assets: with a focus on European projects to develop onshore capacity as well as circularity in the energy transition metals value chain
Our team brings strong technical, ESG, financial, investment, and industry backgrounds with a wide range of experiences providing a solid foundation to work alongside our selected partners.
We look to partner with leading counterparties to de-risk, develop, optimize our projects and contribute to securing access to critical metals for European industries.
