{"id":99325,"date":"2026-05-18T14:38:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T12:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/?p=99325"},"modified":"2026-05-18T16:13:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T14:13:40","slug":"niob","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/niob\/","title":{"rendered":"Niobium - Raw materials policy at odds with climate policy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The profile \"Niobium \u2013 metal between energy transition, high-tech and upgrading\"<\/strong> illustrates in an exemplary way how raw material policy decisions can undermine the goals of climate and biodiversity protection. Niobium is often advertised as a key material of the green transformation, but has played a central role so far, especially in the armaments and heavy industry. More than 80 percent of the world\u2019s funding comes from Brazil and is linked to massive environmental degradation, water pollution and human rights violations, including in environmentally sensitive regions.<\/p>\n

The profile shows why an expansion of dismantling is not necessary in terms of climate policy. Instead, consumption reduction, the prioritization of socially necessary applications and binding human rights and environmental due diligence obligations are needed. Only in this way can raw materials policy support the goals of climate, biodiversity and human rights protection, instead of undermining them.<\/p>\n

What is niobium?<\/h2>\n

Niobium, also called niobium, is a critical raw material used primarily in high-strength steels, superalloys and superconducting applications. It increases the heat and corrosion resistance of steel and can improve its strength. This saves weight and material in certain applications.<\/p>\n

Niobium is used in pipeline, vehicle and bridge construction, offshore installations, magnetic, electrical and nuclear engineering, aerospace and medical applications, among others. At the same time, niobium is an important raw material for military technologies such as jet and helicopter turbines, rocket propulsion, submarines and hypersonic weapons.<\/p>\n

Niobium between energy transition, high-tech and upgrading<\/h2>\n

Niobium is represented by parts of industry as a metal of green transformation. In particular, the market leader CBMM promotes niobium in connection with battery technologies. Together with companies such as Volkswagen, Traton and Toshiba, it is being researched whether niobium can extend the life of batteries, shorten charging times and reduce the use of nickel and cobalt.<\/p>\n

So far, however, niobium is not a widely used raw material in battery production. Its greater importance is currently in the steel, heavy and armaments industries. Niobium is thus a central problem of raw materials policy: Raw materials are often justified by climate protection and the energy transition, but their actual use often also serves emission-intensive industries or military upgrades.<\/p>\n

Global dependence on Brazil<\/h2>\n

Global niobium production is highly concentrated. More than 80 percent of global funding comes from Brazil. Global mine production was around 83,000 tonnes in 2023, of which around 75,000 tonnes were in Brazil alone. The known global reserves are also highly concentrated: More than 74 percent are in Brazil, followed by Canada, China and Russia.<\/p>\n

This concentration creates one-sided dependencies. Germany and the European Union import niobium in a global market that is strongly influenced by a few producing countries and companies. However, a raw material policy that reacts to this mainly with new mining projects exacerbates social and ecological conflicts, instead of sustainably reducing dependencies.<\/p>\n

Environmental Destruction and Human Rights Risks in Niobium Depletion<\/h2>\n

The degradation of niobium is associated with significant risks. These include environmental degradation, interventions in sensitive ecosystems, land conflicts and human rights violations. This is particularly evident in Arax\u00e1, Brazil, in the state of Minas Gerais, where the world's largest niobium mine is located.<\/p>\n

There was a major environmental disaster in 1982. Groundwater and drinking water were contaminated with heavy metals and toxic substances. The consequences continue to weigh on the region to this day. The local population suffers from the effects of water contamination and air pollution. The profile also refers to increased rates of illness and cancer as well as to long-standing legal disputes over responsibility and compensation.<\/p>\n

Niobium Depletion in the Amazon Endangers Biodiversity and Indigenous Rights<\/h2>\n

The debate about possible niobium deposits in ecologically sensitive regions such as the Amazon is particularly problematic. There, raw material interests overlap with protected areas and indigenous territories.<\/p>\n

The profile makes it clear: Calls for such areas to be opened up to mining can help put political pressure on indigenous communities' intellectual property rights and existing environmental regulations. A climate-friendly raw materials policy must not ignore such risks. It must protect biodiversity, indigenous rights and the principle of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC).<\/p>\n

Why More Niobium Depletion Is Not Necessary for Climate Policy<\/h2>\n

Expanding global niobium production is not automatically a contribution to the energy transition. On the contrary: The profile shows that current demand can be met by existing mines. New mining projects are therefore not necessary in terms of climate policy.<\/p>\n

Instead of further expanding mining, policymakers should reduce the consumption of primary raw materials. It is crucial to use niobium specifically where it is socially necessary and can actually contribute to material savings or the substitution of particularly problematic raw materials.<\/p>\n

Strengthening the circular economy and recycling<\/h2>\n

Niobium is often only used as an alloy component in low concentrations. This makes functional recycling technically complex, energy-intensive and expensive. Nevertheless, the circular economy is central to using niobium more responsibly in the long term.<\/p>\n

This requires digital product passports, better labelling systems and targeted sorting of niobium-containing steels and products. This prevents valuable materials from losing quality in the recycling process and from being used only inferiorly. The aim must be to keep niobium in circulation for as long as possible and to avoid unnecessary primary degradation.<\/p>\n

What a Responsible Niobium Policy Must Do<\/h2>\n

A coherent policy on raw materials and climate must not treat niobium as a metal of the future. The decisive factor is what niobium is used for, under what conditions it is degraded and whether its use actually contributes to a social-ecological transformation.<\/p>\n

PowerShift therefore demands:<\/p>\n

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  1. Prioritise human rights and environmental protection:<\/strong> In niobium mining and processing, human rights and environmental standards must be a top priority. Indigenous rights and FPICs must be secured in a binding manner.<\/li>\n
  2. Strengthen binding due diligence obligations:<\/strong> Social-ecological due diligence must apply along the entire niobium value chain \u2013 including risk analysis, liability regimes and barrier-free complaint mechanisms.<\/li>\n
  3. Ensuring transparency and circularity:<\/strong> Digital product passports and supply chain transparency are necessary to ensure that niobium-containing products can be used in the long term and kept in circulation without loss of quality.<\/li>\n
  4. No further expansion of global niobium production:<\/strong> As long as current demand can be met by existing mines, global niobium mining must not be further expanded.<\/li>\n
  5. Use niobium in a targeted manner:<\/strong> The use of niobium must be prioritised in socially important areas and applications with high potential for savings or substitution.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Raw materials policy must support climate policy \u2013 not undermine it<\/h2>\n

    Niobium exemplifies why raw materials policy must not be separated from climate, environmental and human rights policy. A policy that establishes new raw material projects with energy transition and security of supply, but ignores environmental destruction, human rights violations and military use, is not sustainable.<\/p>\n

    A just turnaround in raw materials means: Less consumption, better circular economy, mandatory due diligence and clear policy priorities. Raw materials such as niobium can no longer be considered as supposedly neutral building blocks of transformation. The decisive factor is whether their commitment is democratic, socially just and ecologically responsible.<\/p>\n

    Find out more<\/h2>\n

    More on the risks of raw materials policy<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n

    World economy compass<\/strong> \u2013 the PowerShift podcast.<\/a><\/p>\n

    Press & Background<\/h2>\n

    For interviews, audio and data please contact:
    \n    Adrian Bornmann<\/strong><\/a>
    \nSpeaker for press and public relations
    \n
    \nAuthors
    \n<\/strong>Jules Strahlmann<\/p>\n

    Constantin Bittner<\/a><\/strong>
    \nPolicy Officer for Raw Materials<\/p>\n

    This publication is funded by ENGAGEMENT GLOBAL on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.<\/p>\n

    \"Logo<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Der Steckbrief \u201eNiob \u2013 Metall zwischen Energiewende, Hightech und Aufr\u00fcstung\u201c verdeutlicht exemplarisch, wie rohstoffpolitische Entscheidungen die Ziele von Klima- und Biodiversit\u00e4tsschutz unterlaufen k\u00f6nnen. Niob wird h\u00e4ufig als Schl\u00fcsselmaterial der gr\u00fcnen Transformation beworben, spielt bislang jedoch vor allem in der R\u00fcstungs- und Schwerindustrie eine zentrale Rolle. \u00dcber 80 Prozent der weltweiten F\u00f6rderung stammen aus Brasilien und…","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":97854,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[377],"tags":[304,3,237],"post_series":[],"thema":[18],"coauthors":[458],"class_list":["post-99325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-steckbrief","tag-metalle","tag-rohstoffpolitik","tag-rohstoffsteckbrief","thema-rohstoffpolitik","entry","has-media"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99325"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99342,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99325\/revisions\/99342"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99325"},{"taxonomy":"post_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_series?post=99325"},{"taxonomy":"thema","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/thema?post=99325"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=99325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}