Manila Becomes Ground Zero for Asia’s Clean Energy Future-And Critical Minerals Take Center Stage

Highlights

• ADB, UNIDO, GIZ, and the UK Government will host a Deep Dive Workshop on June 9 focused on responsible mineral supply chains for clean energy.
• Investment requirements across critical minerals-to-manufacturing value chains could exceed $270 billion by 2030, driving urgent calls for blended finance solutions.
• The workshop highlights that strategic advantage lies not in mining alone but in downstream refining, processing, magnet production, and recycling ecosystems.
• ACEF 2026 signals that critical minerals, industrial policy, energy security, and economic competitiveness are increasingly viewed as one integrated strategic system.

Solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and electric vehicles dominate headlines about the energy transition. Yet a growing realization is spreading among policymakers and investors alike: none of those technologies exist without secure supplies of critical minerals. That reality will be front and center at the Asia Clean Energy Forum (ACEF) 2026 (opens in a new tab), held June 8–11 at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) (opens in a new tab) Headquarters in Manila under the theme "Beyond Transition: Building Secure, Resilient, Inclusive, and Intelligent Energy Systems."

For Rare Earth Exchanges® (REEx), one event stands above the rest. On June 9, ADB, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), GIZ, and the UK Government will convene a Deep Dive Workshop titled "Aligning Support for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains for a Secure and Resilient Clean Energy Future."

The session addresses one of the defining industrial challenges of the coming decade: how to build diversified, resilient, and environmentally responsible critical mineral supply chains capable of supporting rapid energy-system expansion across Asia-Pacific.

Asian Development Bank, Manila

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According to workshop organizers, investment requirements across critical minerals-to-manufacturing (CMM) value chains could exceed $270 billion by 2030. Discussion will focus on how technical assistance, project preparation, blended finance, concessional capital, demonstration projects, and public-private partnerships can help close that gap while accelerating investments in refining, processing, recycling, and secondary extraction.

Speakers & Agenda

Featured speakers include Hideaki Iwasaki of ADB, Angela Minyi Hou of the World Economic Forum, Peter Warren and Ghada Ahmed of UNIDO, alongside representatives from the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, GIZ, Southern Alliance Mining, Malaysia's MIGHT, and ADB's investment teams.

The broader ACEF agenda spans four major tracks covering energy security, climate resilience, inclusion, and intelligent energy systems. Sessions will explore offshore wind development, solar financing, grid modernization, digitalization, energy connectivity, and emerging technologies shaping the region's energy future.

A Race to Build Industrial Supply Chains

For REEx readers, the significance extends far beyond conference halls. The workshop reflects a growing recognition among development banks, governments, and industry leaders that mining alone does not create strategic advantage. The highest-value opportunities—and the greatest vulnerabilities—often lie downstream in separation, refining, advanced materials, magnet production, battery manufacturing, recycling, and industrial innovation.

Perhaps the most important question facing participants is whether multilateral financing mechanisms can move with sufficient speed and scale. Building a mine is difficult. Building a complete mineral-to-manufacturing ecosystem is exponentially harder.

ACEF 2026 may not answer that question, but it offers an important window into how policymakers and investors are increasingly viewing critical minerals, industrial policy, energy security, and economic competitiveness as components of the same strategic system.

REEx Takeaway

For years, Rare Earth Exchanges has argued that the future of critical minerals will be determined not by who controls deposits, but by who controls value-added processing, manufacturing capability, technical expertise, and industrial ecosystems. ACEF 2026 suggests that view is increasingly becoming mainstream.

Source: Asia Clean Energy Forum 2026, Asian Development Bank (ADB).

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