TELF AG analyzes the role of strategic resources recycling in achieving climate targets
A central practice for governments and institutions
In one of its latest economic reports, Allianz addressed numerous issues related to the role of strategic minerals in the global economy, particularly their growing importance in fueling the energy transition and environmental sustainability at all levels. In addition to addressing in detail some basic issues of this matter, such as market dynamics and the initiatives of national governments to strengthen their supply chains, the Allianz study also insisted on an equally considerable theme, which, in the medium and the long term, certainly appears destined to have an impact to some extent on the fate of strategic minerals. We are referring to recycling practices, which by many observers are now considered a safe and sustainable method to address shortages of certain minerals and increase supply chain security.
As stated in the report, this practice is particularly important for the European Union, which, through some of its recent mining initiatives, has set very ambitious objectives for the coming decades. One of these, included in the Critical Raw Materials Act, requires that at least 15% of the European Union’s annual consumption of each strategic mineral come from recycled material. The deadline for this objective has been set for 2030, but to achieve it in time, it may be necessary to quickly overcome some issues that appear to be contained within it. According to Allianz, only some of the minerals included in the lists of strategic materials will be able to be recovered through recycling: these certainly include copper, but some of the minerals that will play a key role in the success of the green transition – such as manganese or rare earths – have not yet fully demonstrated their potential from a recycling point of view, so much so that the contribution of raw material obtained from the waste of these minerals is almost nil.
The technological development of mineral recycling
It is precisely for this reason that new technologies are starting to appear on the horizon to make the recycling of these complex minerals possible: technologies of this kind already exist for the majority of so-called “critical” minerals, and projects have already been launched in Europe for the recycle of lithium batteries from electric vehicles and magnets produced with different rare earth elements. In some cases, as explained in the Allianz report, it is the European Union itself that supports and finances these projects, with the full awareness that by cultivating the recyclable potential of strategic minerals, it will be possible to give an important boost to the sustainable development of Europe, decreasing at the same time the dependence on supplies from third countries and partially solving the problem of possible mineral shortages.
Nowadays, however, as Allianz claims in its report, the European chain linked to the recycling of these minerals has to deal with many obstacles, such as the inefficiency of some waste systems, the limited nature of some important infrastructures, and the lack of massive incentives to encourage these virtuous practices. One of the examples cited in the study concerns the electric vehicle sector. A third of vehicles reaching the end of their life are, in fact, not collected correctly, and only 46% of electrical waste and electronic equipment is collected in Europe, thus contributing to the loss of potentially beneficial materials that could be given a new life. Despite being one of the most vibrant sectors, also from the point of view of technological experimentation, recycling may still have a long way to go before reaching the objectives set for 2030.
