Green industrial policy in the age of rare metals (GRIP-ARM)

The ERC-funded study 'Green Industrial Policy in the Age of Rare Metals: A Transregional Comparison of Growth Strategies in Rare Earth Mining (GRIP-ARM)' examines the globalized supply and demand for rare earths –from mining, processing, manufacturing, use and recycling– to have a closer scrutiny of mining both as a strategy for industrialization and as an integral part of contemporary efforts towards a sustainable supply of raw materials. Using a trans-regional comparison of China, Brazil and Kazakhstan, the GRIP-ARM project will span across five years, starting in 2021. The study has three primary objectives: 1. to empirically document how mineral states design industrial policies that have the potential to link extraction and manufacturing sectors of the economy; while exploring why similar policies yield varying outcomes. 2. Identify the political factors that successfully built linkages between sectors of the economy, spur technological innovation, and maximize benefits from extractive industries. 3. Analyse new initiatives of rare earth importers in the EU and Japan. The project will provide insights on how importing countries and their manufacturing firms have promoted ways to address long-term supply vulnerability and sustainability of resource use.