There is agreement in the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) community that current resource assessment methodologies have limitations when it comes to informing materials selection. Currently, the European Union’s Product/Organisational Environmental Footprint method (PEF/OEF) contains an interim solution, while calling for further method development to provide a long-term solution. As a result, the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) has been working with the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and other leading Life Cycle Impact Assessment experts to develop a new method for assessing resource use in LCA.

Euromines is publishing its Position on the New Industrial Strategy for Europe. One key element of implementing Europe’s Green Deal successfully must be increasing the resilience of value chains and bringing back value chains to Europe.

Our critical dependence on electronics means we are equally dependent on the mineral raw materials needed to make them. Technology requires a large variety of minerals and metals, many of which are rare or difficult to acquire. The essential nature of securing the mineral raw materials that support the electronics value chain combined with the challenges of sourcing some of these materials makes it critical that we make this value chain a priority moving forward. 

A new report from World Bank reveals significant predictions for the European mineral raw materials industry. The report projects considerable increases in the production of minerals needed for clean energy technologies. Projected increases for minerals such as graphite, lithium and cobalt are as high as 500% by 2050. It also explains the massive needs of a wide range of minerals and metals for implementing renewable energy strategies, including an explanation about why even dramatically increased recycling and reuse rates will not sufficiently meet demand.