Eurasian Resources Group in line to help China achieve carbon goals

Eurasian Resources Group will continuously provide high-quality materials and key metals for China's growing electronic vehicle market, to help the country achieve its economic goals and realize the ambitions of its dual-circulation strategy, said Benedikt Sobotka, CEO of the group.

The Luxembourg-based ERG, in which the Kazakh government holds a 40 percent stake, is a leading diversified natural resources producer with integrated mining, processing, energy, logistics and marketing operations. It operates in almost 20 countries with more than 80,000 employees and contractors.

China, as a highly important strategic market and key sales destination for ERG, plays a significant role in the global energy market as both a major consumer and producer of various energy sources.

Its rapid economic growth and urbanization have led to increasing energy demands in such fields as industry, transportation and residential use, and have a significant effect on energy markets by influencing prices and demand for relevant resources.

Since China has set goals to peak its carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, it has made substantial investments in renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar and hydroelectric power, and become the world's largest producer in the sector.

"China's efforts to reduce its reliance on coal and increase the share of renewable energy sources will have implications for the global energy market and the transition to a low-carbon economy," Sobotka said.

Nowadays, mining companies like ERG attach greater importance to low-carbon development, which serves as a common consensus at the global level.

The group is increasing investment in clean energy and uses more electricity featuring green and environmentally friendly technology.

For example, it plans to invest $1.8 billion in doubling its production of copper and cobalt in Africa over the next five years. The initiative serves as an approach adopted by ERG to help bring down global carbon emissions, as these materials are key to net-zero transition.

Role model

The mining industry is playing an increasingly important role in green energy transition worldwide, as it extracts critical metals and minerals required for renewable energy technologies.

For instance, copper is a vital component in electric wiring and renewable energy infrastructure, such as wind turbines and solar panels.

Also, minerals like lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare earth elements are essential for the production of batteries used in electric vehicles and energy storage systems.

These two sectors have replaced consumer electronics to become the largest consumer of lithium, and are set to take over from stainless steel as the largest end user of nickel by 2040, according to ERG.

The adoption of EVs is now considered an effective means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat air pollution in transportation.

According to the latest edition of the World Energy Outlook published by the International Energy Agency, the number of electric cars on the road worldwide will see a significant increase by 2030, reaching nearly 10 times the current level.

Sobotka, also a co-chairman of the Global Battery Alliance who is currently attending the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said he hopes to promote the intercommunication and mutual recognition of global rules of the battery industry chain during the event.

He also looks forward to taking part in discussions at the forum on environmental issues, renewable energy, sustainable development goals and corporate social responsibility, Sobotka said in an interview ahead of the event.

Co-founded by ERG with other partners in 2017, the Global Battery Alliance serves as a public-private collaboration platform and aims to establish a sustainable battery value chain by 2030.

It is the largest multistakeholder consortium in energy storage space and now has more than 140 members. These include companies, international and nongovernmental organizations, as well as governmental and academic agencies.

The alliance has also launched a pilot "battery passport" program. The program provides the reporting framework for recycling, regeneration and other technological solutions; brings greater transparency across the battery value chain; and gives investors and other stakeholders confidence in the responsible and sustainable production of EV batteries.

Green move

Amid the current global economy, which is facing new challenges and entering a critical period of transformation, mining companies have committed to promote industrial upgrading and green energy transformation.

Recent efforts made by ERG to fulfill this commitment include the building of a wind power plant in Kazakhstan's northern city of Aktobe, with a total investment of nearly $230 million. It is expected to become operational this year.

When completed, the plant will have a capacity of up to 155 megawatts and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by around 520,000 metric tons annually.

It will be the group's first proprietary wind farm project and form part of its decarbonization program. By 2030, ERG plans to reduce its air emissions by 56 percent, water emissions by 30 percent and water consumption by 33 percent.

"We hope that the construction of this wind farm serves as an example for other large enterprises in Kazakhstan and takes the country closer to the ambitious goal of becoming a carbon-neutral state," Sobotka said.