The global race for critical minerals is on. Here’s why they’re the lifeblood of the new tech era [Video]

What does your smartphone have in common with a solar panel, or an EV battery, or a piece of military equipment? They’re all made using critical minerals — an essential ingredient in powering the modern technology that we use every day.

“They’re absolutely the central thing for what I call the electro-digital age,” said Vince Beiser, author of Power Metal: The Race for the Resources That Will Shape the Future, in an interview with CBC’s The Current. 

“This era that we’re moving into that’s going to be defined by renewably generated electricity and digital technology. Can’t make that stuff without critical metals.”

Some trade experts call critical minerals the “bedrocks” of a new era in technological advancement — not unlike how the invention of the steam engine during the first industrial revolution dramatically changed the world, powering boats, trains and factory machines.

The idea is that these elements are considered important for the transition to green energy and digital technology, or that they serve some …