What if we leased metals instead of selling them?
A model where companies lease critical minerals instead of selling them
The energy transition will need roughly 6.5 billion tonnes of materials, and mining alone cannot close the gap. Metals-as-a-Service (MaaS) treats the metal already in buildings, vehicles, and infrastructure as an "urban mine." A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) owns the metal, leases it to users, and recovers it at end-of-life. The model converts metal procurement from upfront CAPEX into recurring OPEX, and MaaS contracts can be securitized like bonds.
The metal owner leases the metal instead of selling it, so they have an incentive to recover it at end-of-life and put it back into use.