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IEA chief urges diversification of critical mineral supply chains for energy security

Published: 27 Aug. 2025, 19:42

Deputy Minister for Energy Policy Lee Ho-hyeon, left, and Fatih Birol, center, executive director of the International Energy Agency, hold a joint press conference at the 2025 World Climate Industry Expo in Busan on Aug. 27. [YONHAP]

The global community should work to diversify critical mineral supply chains to bolster energy security amid the growing importance of energy in various sectors, including manufacturing and defense, the chief of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Wednesday, noting global dependence on China may be too heavy.

"Today, China's share in the refining of all critical minerals is over 70 percent ... and China also has very strong presence in terms of mining," IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said at a news conference during the World Climate Industry Expo in Busan.

"The No. 1 golden rule of energy security is diversification ... but when it comes to critical minerals, we see the opposite," he said.

Birol said reliance on a single country is dangerous because political issues or natural disasters could affect the entire supply chain of critical minerals essential for a broad range of strategic sectors, such as artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, cars, medicine and defense.

"Energy security is, today, national security in many countries," he stressed.

The IEA chief also called for global efforts to tackle climate change, noting that extreme weather conditions are observed more frequently and intensely in current times.

On the soaring demand for electricity fueled by the growth of AI, Birol said the world needs to invest more in power grids and storage systems to gain a competitive edge in the global race for AI and the energy transition.

"We are entering the 'age of electricity,' which will reshape the energy landscape in the coming decades," he added.

"From electric vehicles and AI data centers to air conditioning and manufacturing, electricity use has already grown at twice the pace of overall energy demand over the last decade, and from today to 2035, we expect it to grow six times as fast," he explained.

"However, investment in grids and storage is struggling to keep pace with the rise in power demand and renewables deployment."

Korea is "well-positioned" to play a key role in the clean energy market, which is expected to nearly triple to $2 trillion by 2035 from the current value of $700 billion, the IEA chief said, citing Seoul's leadership in global battery supply chains and its "strong" track record in technological innovation.

The Korean government has recently unveiled an "energy expressway" initiative, which envisions building high-voltage direct current infrastructure across the nation along with a plan to build a next-generation power grid that lowers the inefficiency of long-distance power transmissions and makes use of cutting-edge AI.

Welcoming such efforts, Birol said, "the availability of reliable and low-emissions power supply and stronger and more flexible grid systems are increasingly becoming a major source of industrial competitiveness and a key requirement for leadership in the global AI race."

Yonhap