Europe relies on Raw Materials and Recycling to power its Green and Digital future

Circularity and recycling of raw materials from low carbon technologies is an integral part of the transition to a climate-neutral economy. Increasing product life-time, and the use of secondary raw materials, through a robust and integrated EU market and retention of value of high-grade materials, will help to cover a growing share of the EU's raw materials demand. https://www.eudebates.tv/debates/eu-policies/business-eu-policies/europe-secures-the-supply-of-eu-raw-materials/ #eudebates #Space Mining #rawmaterials #industry #EUGreenDeal

The EU is at the forefront of the circular economy and has already increased its use of secondary raw materials. For example, more than 50% of some metals such as iron, zinc, or platinum are recycled and they cover more than 25% of the EU consumption. For others, however, especially those needed in renewable energy technologies or high tech applications such as rare earths, gallium, or indium, secondary production represents only a marginal contribution. This is a huge loss of potential value to the EU economy and a source of avoidable strain on the environment and climate.

Therefore, the Action Plan proposes to launch additional research on waste processing, advanced materials and substitution of critical raw materials. It also announces that the Commission will map the potential supply of secondary critical raw materials from EU stocks and wastes by 2022 – a precondition for future policy development and concrete recovery and recycling projects.

The European Union is keen to boost its green and digital ambitions, making them central to its coronavirus recovery plans. But there's one big problem: raw materials.

Those rare-earth elements needed for the magnets in electric vehicles and wind turbines? Some 98% of the EU's supply comes from China. South Africa provides 84% of the platinum group metals needed for fuel cells and automotive catalysts. And Europe's supplies of lithium—critical for battery production and therefore for electric vehicles and renewable-energy storage—come mostly from Chile.

So, on Thursday, the European Commission set out a plan for diversifying its supplies, while also hopefully improving conditions in the mining of these raw materials.

"A secure and sustainable supply of raw materials is a prerequisite for a resilient economy," said EC Vice President Maroš Šefčovič in a statement. "For e-car batteries and energy storage alone, Europe will for instance need up to 18 times more lithium by 2030 and up to 60 times more by 2050."

"We cannot afford to rely entirely on third countries—for some rare earths even on just one country," added Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton. "By diversifying the supply from third countries and developing the EU's own capacity for extraction, processing, recycling, refining, and separation of rare earths, we can become more resilient and sustainable."

A new European Raw Materials Alliance, which will take in industry as well as national governments, civil society, and investors, will first focus on rare earths and other materials needed for magnets, then over time other materials as well.

European mining
Much of the strategy involves striking new deals with Canada and countries in the Balkans to diversify supply. But in some cases, the plan is to start mining in the European Union itself, for battery-related raw materials such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, and manganese.

Many of these resources lie in what are currently coal-mining regions, which is handy in two respects. First, the mining-waste dumps and landfills in these areas are full of materials that are ripe for retrieval, which provides an extra incentive to clean up the environment there. Second, coal mining is winding down as an activity, and new mines in these regions would give them a much-needed economic boost.

"Many of the mining and engineering skills are transferable to the exploitation of metals and minerals, often in the same regions," the Commission said in the strategy document published Thursday.

The Commission also pointed out that the EU's satellite-based earth observation program, Copernicus, could be used to help identify new mining sites and to monitor their environmental performance.

There is also the hope that more of the needed materials can be harvested through recycling. A quarter of the EU's iron, zinc, and platinum consumption already comes from recycled materials, and the EU's executive body plans to launch research on how the same principles might be applied to rare earths and other materials.

The Commission has also updated its list of critical raw materials, which is something it does every three years anyway. The list, which is used as a resource in trade negotiations, now runs to 30 materials that for the first time include lithium, titanium, strontium, and bauxite.

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