India has significant access to rare earth elements and can play a key role in the global supply chain if it strengthens its refining and processing capabilities, Adnan Amin, Chairman of the World Energy Council, has said.
Highlighting China’s progress in this area, Amin noted that over the past 25 years, the country has invested heavily in building an ecosystem centered on rare earth processing, establishing a dominant position in the global market.
Amin, who previously served as CEO of COP28, emphasized that rare earth minerals are not inherently scarce; rather, the challenge lies in developing the infrastructure and industrial capacity to refine and process these minerals.
“The critical minerals issue is very, very topical right now. And I think there are a few fundamentals we need to understand about this. The first point is that when we discuss rare earth minerals, they are really not that rare. They’re available in many places, including in India. The real issue is how do you develop the capacity to refine and process these rare earth minerals into usable elements for energy transition,” Amin said in an exclusive interaction with ANI.
He further explained that geopolitical tensions and recent trade disruptions have highlighted a monopoly-like environment in the rare earth minerals sector. Despite this, Amin believes India has the potential to become a significant part of the supply chain.
“India has the possibility, but again, it’s the same as scaling up renewables, which is developing the industrial capacity for processing and refining that is going to be at the crux of this,” he said.
Amin also observed that several countries are increasingly focusing on rare earths. Recently, the US announced an agreement with Japan for rare earth supply, signaling a trend toward diversifying global supply chains.
“…this (rare earths) is going to be an area where many are going to be looking at how to diversify the supply chains. And I think within that, India has an important role to play,” he added.
As global demand for copper, lithium, and rare earths surges, Amin’s comments underscore the importance of building industrial capabilities to ensure self-reliance. For India, he noted, the way forward involves not just resource extraction but developing a comprehensive ecosystem for refining, processing, and innovation.
Turning to the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the energy sector, Amin described AI as “revolutionary” for the industry, likening its transformative potential to the impact of mobile technology.
“I think the advent of AI is going to be revolutionary for the energy industry. And in my mind, it’s a little bit like—when we got mobile telephony. When we had a fixed landline infrastructure, it was very hard for people actually to get access to telephony. With the mobiles, it was revolutionary,” he said.
Amin highlighted that AI provides developing countries with opportunities to plan and optimize energy infrastructure efficiently, and countries like India, which have made significant strides in AI, are well-positioned to capitalize on this technology.
