Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the critical minerals the UK will require to (a) power every house via wind turbines by 2030, (b) ensure all cars sold in the UK are electric by 2035 and (c) develop industrial rare earth magnets in the UK.

The UK’s world-leading offshore wind industry provides a critical source of renewable energy for our growing economy. As set out in my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan for a Green Industrial revolution we will quadruple our offshore wind capacity by 2030 to further decarbonise our electricity to power our homes and businesses, and create high-quality green jobs by investing in our ports and coastal regions. Critical minerals will be important in developing offshore wind and coordinated work is taking place across Whitehall departments to ensure there continues to be a secure, long-term supply chain.

The Advanced Propulsion Centre has published analysis identifying opportunities for UK suppliers from the electrification of passenger vehicles over the coming 5 years (https://www.apcuk.co.uk/app/uploads/2020/06/APC-Passenger-car-electrification-report-online-v1.pdf, June 2020).

Our priority is to ensure that the UK continues to enjoy the benefits from our transition to ultra low and zero emission vehicles by continuing to build an agile, innovative and cost-competitive supply chain. With that in mind, we remain committed to securing UK battery manufacturing. As part of the Prime Minister’s 10-point plan, we have already announced £500 million to support the electrification of vehicles and their supply chains, and other strategically important technologies, through the Automotive Transformation Fund over the next four years. We continue to work with investors through the Automotive Transformation Fund, and to progress plans for manufacturing the batteries that we will need for the next generation of electric vehicles here in the UK.

The Government’s Driving the Electric Revolution Challenge is investing £80 million in electrification technologies including power electronics, electric machines and drives (PEMD), providing support for innovation and targeted investment to support development. This includes projects relating to the recovery and recycling of rare earth elements, and activities to facilitate the development of rare earth magnet supply chains in the UK.

BEIS is also supporting innovation in this area, and for example is providing innovation support to Greenspur, a company based in Hertfordshire, to trial a new type of magnet – which does not use rare earth minerals - at the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult.