Any country’s dominance in critical minerals isn’t a matter of worry: Hardeep Singh Puri
Hardeep Singh Puri has said.
As the world transitions to renewable energy, the demand for critical minerals has risen, with debates raging around the control of supply chains. China has emerged as the dominant force with immense control over the global value chain, primarily due to the large processing capacity of minerals it has developed over the years.
“I wouldn't worry too much about these things. You're often told…it can't be done because country X has already bought the next 20 years, 30 years of stock. It doesn't work like that,” Puri said at an industry event in response to a query on his thinking over supply chain dominance by some countries.
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“When I was posted as ambassador to Brazil in 2006, I was told, you know, you are about 10 years late, the one particular country…has already bought off all the assets,” he said, without naming any country. “We today have $4 billion of investment there. I don't think that particular country has anything like that. So, these things are not correct.”
The US and European Union have launched major policy initiatives to diversify the global supply chain and loosen Chinese control over the critical mineral and renewable energy supply chains. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is the biggest ever capital incentive programme the US has launched to attract clean tech investments.
Puri said Indian companies should aim to take advantage of the boost the IRA will bring to the green hydrogen business. “If green hydrogen production gets a boost, either through the Inflation Reduction Act or some action by the Europeans, … I would expect that Indian companies will also participate and take
