Business Daily

The small country has big ambitions to become a tech and innovation hub. It has a reliable source of renewable energy, thanks to the Itaipu Dam - a huge hydroelectric dam on the Paraguay-Brazil border. We hear from government ministers and business leaders about how they believe they can make it happen - and the benefits it could bring, particularly to young people in Paraguay. Produced and presented by Jane Chambers (Image: The Itaipu Dam - a hydroelectric dam on the Paraguay-Brazi border. Credit: Getty Images)

A new type of solar cell has been developed and has made it to market. Perovskites have been called a 'magic material' that many believe will be the new, efficient way to convert the sun's energy to electricity. Now the material is being used on commercial roof panels for the first time, we look at the opportunities of the new tech, its flaws, and when it might be available to households. If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: businessdaily@bbc.co.uk Presented and produced by Rick Kelsey (Picture: Illustration of a modern perovskite high performance solar cell module for high efficient photon recycling. Credit: Getty Images)

In the final episode of our series, we've gather together a panel of experts who all have an interest in critical mineral mining. Demand for minerals like cobalt, lithium and copper is growing rapidly, as countries turn to green energy solutions. These minerals are used in EV batteries and wind turbines. So what does the future hold? How do countries approach China's dominance in both mining and processing, and what about the environmental and ethical concerns? Presenter: Sam Fenwick Producer: Lexy O'Connor (Photo: Off-shore wind turbines in Denmark, located on Middelgrunden a few kilometres outside Copenhagen. Credit: Getty Images)

Rising demand for critical minerals to fuel the green energy transition means an expansion of mining around the world. New mines are opening, existing mines are being scaled up. In the fourth programme in our series, we find out about the impact of mineral mining on the planet and for those people both working in the mines and living nearby. We head to the Democratic Republic of the Congo where there are claims that child labour is being used in so called ‘artisanal’ mines and there is little scrutiny of the supply chain. Presenter: Sam Fenwick Producer: Lexy O'Connor (Image: Artisanal miners carry sacks of ore at a mine near Kolwezi in 2022. Credit: Getty Images)

China’s headstart in market dominance is significant, and its grip on critical mineral supply chains remains tight. The question now is whether other governments can move fast enough — and smart enough — to build something more secure, more sustainable, and less dependent. We head to La Rochelle in western France for a rare look inside one of the world’s biggest rare earth processing plants, and find out what it reveals about Europe’s efforts to build a supply chain of its own. Presenter: Jonathan Josephs Producer: Matt Lines (Image: A rare earth processing plant in La Rochelle, France, owned by chemicals giant Solvay)