Will the resource potential of critical raw materials used in electric cars in Turkey be sufficient for the domestic automobile factory? - A review

Considering the security problem experienced in the world in the supply of critical raw materials within the scope of energy transformation, it would be extremely strategic for countries to operate electric car (EV) factories from their domestic resources. A factory was opened in Bursa on 29/10/2022 for the production of TOGG, an electrically powered domestic automobile in Turkey, established by Turkey's Automobile Initiative Group (TOGG). It is curious whether this electric car factory can meet the raw materials it needs in the presence of raw material supply risks worldwide. At this point, it can be considered that the supply from domestic sources gives a raw material supply assurance compared to the foreign supply. In this study, the supply risks of the minerals used in producing electric cars in Turkey were determined, and suggestions were presented to policymakers in this regard. Many metals and minerals are used in EV production. In this study, only lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, graphite, and REEs, declared critical in the EU critical raw materials list, have been analyzed in Turkey, considering their potential in the world. In the analysis, without examining the market of the mentioned minerals, the safety of the raw material supply of the TOGG electric car production factory, which is the only one in Turkey with the potential to supply the world, is discussed from domestic sources in Turkey. Considering the TOGG factory operating life and the capacity of the li-battery factory, an evaluation was made on how many EVs the current apparent reserve potential of the raw materials in question would be enough to produce in total.