Assessing critical metal needs for a low carbon energy system in 2050

This paper estimates the amounts of critical metals required for the deployment of the 2050 Low Carbon Roadmap for Portugal and assesses how including concerns with their availability within the TIMES_PT energy system model affects the profile of low-carbon electricity technologies for 2050. We conclude that long-term availability of dysprosium, neodymium, tellurium and indium might be a cause of concern for deploying wind and PV plants in the long-term. We estimate that if limited supply of critical metals is considered in the model there will be less 4.65 GW of PV, less 2.89 GW of wind and more 4.54 GW of wave power.