Integración regional, minerales críticos y cadenas de valor de electromovilidad en Sudamérica
Irarrázaval, F., & Obaya, M. (2026). Integración regional, minerales críticos y cadenas de valor de electromovilidad en Sudamérica (América Latina, China y una Transición Energética Justa: Serie de Documentos de Trabajo). Universidad del Pacífico Centro de Estudios sobre China y Asia-Pacífico, Boston University Global Development Policy Center. https://cechap.up.edu.pe/wp-content/uploads/10.-Irrarazaval-y-Obaya.pdf
The energy transition has opened a window of opportunity for peripheral economies, particularly due to the creation of new value chains and the strategic importance of critical minerals. In South America, resources such as copper, lithium, nickel, graphite, and (to a lesser extent) rare earth elements, provide comparative advantages within the framework of global decarbonization. In this context, the need to develop coordinated productive development policies in the region is often raised in order to maximize the benefits associated with the global trend toward decarbonization.
Although there has been progress in national policies to capture greater value from critical minerals, regional cooperation efforts remain marginal. Despite the existence of multiple bilateral treaties on mining of various kinds, weak coordination persists regarding productive development policies, the possibility of generating common certifications, and the exchange of best socio-environmental practices. Although some initiatives are underway, the necessary capacity to foster regional integration in critical minerals, capable of boosting production across the various segments of the value chain, has not yet been established.
Nevertheless, changes in electric vehicle technologies and their incipient penetration into the regional market are creating potentially attractive conditions for the region. Specifically, changes in battery chemistry, especially the expansion of LFP cathodes, reinforce the region’s strategic potential by requiring minerals that are abundant in South America. Experiences such as those of BYD and Eramet suggest that public incentives, coupled with the consolidation of markets like Brazil’s, could favor the development of electromobility value chain segments in the region. However, market criteria are far from considering the region a competitive player in higher value-added segments.
Therefore, an appropriate regulatory framework and strategies that promote public-private collaboration in strategic segments are essential. The future of critical minerals in South America will depend both on the ability of countries to articulate national and regional industrial policies and on their ability to position themselves in the face of a global geopolitics marked by competition between powers.
