The race of the twenty-first century will not only be for technology. It will be for the materials that make it possible.

None of these technologies exist without critical raw materials.

Research recently released by NOVA FCT researchers warns precisely of this problem: Europe remains highly dependent on imported raw materials to produce many of the advanced materials that support the digital economy and the energy transition. Most importantly, the researchers argue that the solution is not only to explore new resources, but also to develop alternative materials that reduce this dependence and strengthen European technological autonomy. This is a reflection that deserves much more attention than it usually receives.

In recent months, I have written several times about the major investments that are coming to Portugal. Data centers, artificial intelligence, green hydrogen, submarine cables, advanced industry and space technologies are now part of the country´s new economic narrative. But there is a question that we rarely ask.

Where do the materials that make all this possible come from? Without rare earths, lithium, graphite, cobalt, or other strategic materials, there are no batteries, wind turbines, semiconductors, satellites, or artificial intelligence servers. And while Europe remains dependent on supply chains concentrated in a few countries, it will also remain vulnerable to geopolitical tensions, trade constraints, or supply disruptions.

Perhaps this is why the next big economic race is not just for artificial intelligence.

It will also be due to the ability to guarantee access to the materials that feed this intelligence.

Portugal may have a relevant opportunity here. Not only for its mineral resources, but above all for its scientific capacity, universities, research centers and the possibility of participating in the development of new materials and new technological solutions. Innovation will no longer be only in the final product. It will also be in the way we replace critical raw materials, recycle materials and reduce strategic dependencies.

This is a silent but profound change.

For many years, competitiveness was measured by the cost of energy or labor. Today it is also beginning to be measured by the ability to guarantee access to strategic resources and transform scientific knowledge into economic advantage.

Perhaps this is one of those news stories that does not occupy the front pages because it does not talk about crises or records.

But it may be one of the most important in the coming years.

Because the race of the 21st century will not be won only by those who develop the best technology.

It will be won by whoever can guarantee the materials that make it possible.