For example, in Europe, they established the European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA) and strategised cooperative efforts in the rare earth supply chain for magnets and motor production. In China, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) established the China Rare Earth Group based on the consolidation of the main producers to strategise rare earth production and strengthen direct control from the central government in terms of price, operational excellence, and economic security. In addition, there are a few other partnership models of consortium established to spearhead the development of the material ecosystem such as Advanced Materials Industrial Consortium (AMIC), University of Wisconsin based in US, and International Association of Advanced Materials (AIA) based in Sweden. In this context, the formation of a partnership comprising our local key stakeholders via consortium will make a strong case to drive the ecosystem development, as currently most of the players are working in silos. Proceeding from the completion of the National Advanced Material Technology Roadmap (NAMTR) under the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI), MIGHT is taking the next step to establish the National Advanced Material Consortium (NAMC) to champion the four main game changers namely multi crystalline cellulose, nitinol, graphene, and rare earth. NAMC will serve as a platform hub for the advanced material stakeholders to implement strategies and action plans outlined in the (NAMTR). The main objective of NAMC is to develop the industry ecosystem and drive business opportunity in the advanced materials industry, while providing strategic advisory services to the Governance Structure of Advanced Materials. NAMC can play a role in developing the overall ecosystem of the rare earth industry and mainly focus on the downstream level for rare earth- based products such as super magnets and electric motors. By leveraging the NAMC platform, there is an opportunity for the local stakeholders including industry, SMEs, government agencies, and academia to cooperate in developing the ecosystem of the rare earth industry and strengthening the fragmented supply chain. Furthermore, there is a need to position this initiative with targeted ministries to reflect the overall grand plan which involves collaboration across several industries such as Electrical & Electronics (E&E), Machinery & Equipment (Engineering Supporting Industry), Energy, and Automotive. Besides, this also has been captured as one the strategic clusters i.e., downstream manufacturing of minerals in the New Industrial Master Plan under the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry.
OUR SECOND CHANCES
With recent developments that put the rare earth industry in the spotlight, the value of partnerships is being recognised. Stakeholders from Government, industries, and academia are working together to position the industry back to its deserving spot. Various papers, strategic documents, research, studies, workshops, seminars, and joint ventures have been held to promote and find ways to make Malaysia a key player in the rare earth industry. The Government ministries and agencies have agreed and highlighted rare earth elements as one of the important minerals and a game-changing material in many national strategic documents, such as in the National Mineral Industry Transformation Plan 2021-2030 by JMG, NAMTR by MOSTI, 10-10 Malaysian Science, Technology, Innovation and Economy (MySTIE) Framework by Academy Sciences of Malaysia (ASM), and Industry 4WRD by MITI, to name a few.
Malaysian Technology Strategic Outlook 2023/2024 Energy, Healthcare & Space Industry 64
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