Shortages of raw materials could hit industrial production

摘要

Concerns are growing over the security of supply of the essential raw materials used in the production of items from electric car batteries to permanent magnets and flat-screen televisions.rnResearch from the European Commission lists raw materials that are critical to manufacturing industry, but which face what it calls a "high supply risk". These include antimony,rnused in micro-capacitors, cobalt, which is employed in lithium-ion batteries, and germanium, which is used in fibre-optic cabling. According to the European Commission, the supplies of platinum group metals are also "under threat".