UK’s magnet refinery given financial boost as strategy for supply of critical minerals published
Summary
This comes as the Government publishes the UK’s first ever Critical Minerals Strategy to bolster the resilience of supply chains and seize on the economic opportunities of growing industries, such as electric vehicle manufacturing and offshore wind. Speaking at the official opening of Pensana’s £145m Saltend site today, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng confirmed that the facility will be developed to process the critical minerals used in magnets, a key component for manufacturing electric vehicles (EVs). Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “With rising geopolitical threats, Britain needs to move quickly to secure the rare earth minerals necessary to supply our future industries. To boost our domestic resilience, today’s Critical Minerals Strategy lays out our plan to bring high value manufacturing back to the UK to protect our country’s future access to supplies. This will play a vital role in transforming the UK’s EV and Offshore wind industries, as well as creating high value local jobs in the Humber region.” Production of critical minerals is expected to rise sharply – some as much as 500% by 2050.