New Report Warns UK EV Industry Faces Critical Material Risks Beyond Batteries
A major new report from the Critical Minerals Challenge Centre, produced for the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) and funded by the UK Council for Automotive Academic Research (UKCAAR), has revealed that the UK’s electric vehicle (EV) industry faces significant supply chain risks hidden within vehicle components beyond batteries and traction motors.
The report, Material Risks: Beyond Batteries and Traction Motors for the UK Electric Vehicle Industry, suggests that the transition to electric and increasingly autonomous vehicles will drive demand for a much wider range of critical minerals and materials. These include gallium, germanium, silicon carbide, copper, aluminium, rare earth elements, polymers and specialist alloys.
The study finds that around 70% of an EV’s weight sits in components containing materials that have received relatively little attention in public debate and academic research, despite their importance to vehicle performance, manufacturing resilience and supply chain security. Electronics, power systems, chassis structures and body components were identified as areas with some of the highest material risks.
The study, which drew on extensive literature review, industry interviews, stakeholder engagement and a validation workshop involving organisations across the automotive value chain, identified several key categories of risk facing UK manufacturers:
- Geopolitical and trade disruptions caused by concentrated global supply chains.
- Operational and logistical issues, which can cause component bottlenecks.
- Increasing ESG, decarbonisation and regulatory pressures.
- Financial risks linked to material price volatility and rising demand.
- Material quality and consistency concerns.
The report also found that while vehicle manufacturers generally understand which materials are used in their products, upstream supply chain visibility remains limited, particularly for electronics, power systems and high-performance components.
Among its recommendations, the report calls for greater investment in UK material processing and recycling capacity, stronger supply chain mapping and data-sharing, support for material substitution and efficiency research, and improved coordination across industry and government to strengthen resilience. It also highlights opportunities to develop domestic supply chains for materials such as tin, tungsten and copper.
Professor Frances Wall and colleagues conclude that building a resilient EV supply chain will require attention not only to batteries and traction motors, but to the full range of materials embedded throughout future vehicles. By improving transparency, circularity and domestic capability, the UK can reduce vulnerability to supply shocks while supporting competitiveness, innovation and net-zero ambitions.
Key take-home messages
- Critical material risks extend far beyond EV batteries and traction motors.
- Around 70% of an EV’s weight sits in components that have received comparatively little scrutiny.
- Electronics, power systems, steel, aluminium and embedded critical minerals pose growing supply chain challenges.
- Greater transparency, recycling, local processing, data pooling and supply chain collaboration will be essential for long-term resilience.
- The UK has opportunities to strengthen domestic supply through mining, processing and circular economy initiatives.