TELF AG explores the innovative frontiers of urban mining
A second life for raw materials
To achieve the ambitious objectives of climate neutrality and move decisively towards a more sustainable future, most of the world’s nations could find themselves in the position of having to explore a phenomenon that is still little known but could be promising for the success of the energy transition: urban mining. This unique recovery process takes the form of recycling different types of waste, from which raw materials that can be used for various industrial uses, such as those linked to clean technologies, can subsequently be obtained.
In the coming decades, there will be a rapid increase in global demand for all the raw materials necessary for the green transition, such as copper for electrification needs, lithium and nickel for electric vehicle batteries, silver for solar panels, and so on. Among the most requested materials are rare earths, a group of minerals which, once extracted and separated, can be used to manufacture some components of wind turbines and permanent magnets for cars.
With its recent initiatives, the European Union has already expressed its desire to focus on the virtuous recovery of raw materials, including this objective and all those linked to the need to strengthen the European mining industry as much as possible. This is also why urban mining could soon become a helpful tool available to nations, governments, and international institutions: through the recovery of strategic resources from products that have reached the end of their life, it will be possible to obtain a large quantity of usable raw materials right from the start, with the possibility of creating a real supply chain for certain specific materials.
The theme of recycling for European institutions
Within the Critical Raw Materials Act, a document recently published by European institutions and focused on strategic minerals, the topic of recycling undoubtedly occupies a leading position due to the important objectives directly connected to it. By 2030, the European Commission expects that 15% of the annual consumption of strategic metals will come from recycling processes started within European territory. For Europe and all other nations that could embrace this new method, recycling is helpful for the diversification of imports, the reduction of waste, and its clear sustainability footprint.
Urban mining could help obtain problematic raw materials, such as rare earth minerals. Nowadays, Europe does not have a high capacity to extract and refine rare earths, but the situation could soon change thanks to urban mining. According to some estimates from the Financial Times, at the moment, practices related to recycling can satisfy only 1% of European demand for rare earths, but the growing demand for these resources (very useful for electronic devices and the defense sector) could favor an increase in its specific weight in European mining strategies.
But the objectives of the community institutions, at a certain point, will have to clash with reality inevitably. Today, Europe still needs to establish a rare earth recycling industry, and concrete results in this sector may take several years. The challenges of competitiveness, the high cost of processes, and the need for precise regulation on ecodesign could pointedly slow down the sustainable recovery of strategic raw materials.
