Sustainable minerals and metals for a low-carbon future

Sovacool, Benjamin K.; Ali, Saleem H.; Bazilian, Morgan; Radley, Ben; Nemery, Benoît; Okatz, Julia; Mulvaney, Dustin

doi:10.1126/science.aaz6003

Cited by 432 publications

(153 citation statements)

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“…Driven in part by the growth of renewable energy technologies and the expansion of information and communication technologies, the demand for critical materials is rising (Graedel and Cao, 2010;Knoeri et al, 2013;Deetman et al, 2018). It is estimated that between 2015 and 2060, demand for materials will increase by 87,000% for electric vehicles, 1,000% for wind power, and 3,000% for photovoltaics (PV) (Sovacool et al, 2020). Minerals and metals are essential to the low-carbon transition, but researchers and policy-makers warn that increased use of such materials should not aggravate social and ecological problems (Sovacool et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is estimated that between 2015 and 2060, demand for materials will increase by 87,000% for electric vehicles, 1,000% for wind power, and 3,000% for photovoltaics (PV) (Sovacool et al, 2020). Minerals and metals are essential to the low-carbon transition, but researchers and policy-makers warn that increased use of such materials should not aggravate social and ecological problems (Sovacool et al, 2020). In the information and communication technologies sector and others, growing demand is also seen as a primary cause of material scarcity (PWC, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is because the modus operandi of most industries and society are based on a linear view of the economy, following patterns of production and consumption where resources are extracted to manufacture products which are then discarded at the end of their useful life-the so-called "take-make-waste" linear economic model (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2020). The linear model is a cause of and exacerbates material scarcity (Lieder and Rashid, 2016;Sovacool et al, 2020). By contrast, a circular economy (CE) is viewed as an economic model capable of solving challenges of increasing demand and materials scarcity by departing from a linear view of the economy and encouraging the reduction and re-use of products and materials, therefore decoupling economic growth from resource depletion (Stahel, 2016;Linder et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Do We Need a New Sustainability Assessment Method for the Circular Economy? A Critical Literature Review

Walzberg¹,

Lonca²,

Hanes³

et al. 2021

Front. Sustain.

112

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The goal of the circular economy (CE) is to transition from today's take-make-waste linear pattern of production and consumption to a circular system in which the societal value of products, materials, and resources is maximized over time. Yet circularity in and of itself does not ensure social, economic, and environmental performance (i.e., sustainability). Sustainability of CE strategies needs to be measured against their linear counterparts to identify and avoid strategies that increase circularity yet lead to unintended externalities. The state of the practice in quantitatively comparing sustainability impacts of circular to linear systems is one of experimentation with various extant methods developed in other fields and now applied here. While the proliferation of circularity metrics has received considerable attention, to-date, there is no critical review of the methods and combinations of methods that underlie those metrics and that specifically quantify sustainability impacts of circular strategies. Our critical review herein analyzes identified methods according to six criteria: temporal resolution, scope, data requirements, data granularity, capacity for measuring material efficiency potentials, and sustainability completeness. Results suggest that the industrial ecology and complex systems science fields could prove complementary when assessing the sustainability of the transition to a CE. Both fields include quantitative methods differing primarily with regard to their inclusion of temporal aspects and material efficiency potentials. Moreover, operations research methods such as multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) may alleviate the common contradictions which often exist between circularity metrics. This review concludes by suggesting guidelines for selecting quantitative methods most appropriate to a particular research question and making the argument that while there are a variety of existing methods, additional research is needed to combine existing methods and develop a more holistic approach for assessing sustainability impacts of CE strategies.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Do We Need a New Sustainability Assessment Method for the Circular Economy? A Critical Literature Review

Walzberg¹,

Lonca²,

Hanes³

et al. 2021

Front. Sustain.

112

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The production of renewable energy as well as the development of new equipment for e‐mobility on the way to a CO 2 neutral economy, thereby complying with the goals of the Paris climate accord, requires technologies that are based on critical raw materials (CRMs) (Ali et al, 2017; Sovacool et al, 2020). However, the latter's supply situation can become constrained and disrupted (de Koning et al, 2018; Nassar, Graedel, & Harper, 2015), their production is typically ecologically and socially problematic (Ali et al, 2017; Tkaczyk, Bartl, Amato, Lapkovskis, & Petranikova, 2018) and substitutes usually deliver inferior performance or are not available at all (Graedel, Harper, Nassar, & Reck, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Revised German Raw Materials Strategy in the Light of Global Political and Market Developments

Schmid

2021

Review of Policy Research

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Raw material markets have proven to be challenging in recent years. The so-called critical raw materials (CRMs), which are required for green technology, have particularly high environmental and supply risks. The revised German raw materials strategy attempts to address challenges of production and supply of CRMs and other mineral-based raw materials. This contribution analyzes the motivation, measures, goals, and challenges of the German raw materials strategy in the light of global economic and political developments, applying the qualitative method GABEK®. Results show that the revised strategy is more ambitious and reaches farther than the initial strategy of 2010. Challenges that remain include the lack of willingness of the German industry to engage in mine production and the more pro-active political approaches demonstrated elsewhere. As all major economic powerhouses outside of Europe pursue a hands-on approach, it remains questionable if the revised German raw materials strategy will fundamentally be able to sustainably secure raw material supply for the German industry.

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“…"The World Health Organization estimates that 422 million people now live with type 2 diabetes -up from 108 million in 1980.") A significant portion of these emissions is caused by the transportation sector [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. It has been reported that 10% of weight reduction in vehicle improves about 6-8% in the fuel efficiency [8,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cyclic Deformation Behavior of A Heat-Treated Die-Cast Al-Mg-Si-Based Aluminum Alloy

Mohammed

Gupta

et al. 2020

Materials

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The purpose of this investigation was to study the low-cycle fatigue (LCF) behavior of a newly developed high-pressure die-cast (HPDC) Al-5.5Mg-2.5Si-0.6Mn-0.2Fe (AlMgSiMnFe) alloy. The effect of heat-treatment in comparison with its as-cast counterpart was also identified. The layered (α-Al + Mg2Si) eutectic structure plus a small amount of Al8(Fe,Mn)2Si phase in the as-cast condition became an in-situ Mg2Si particulate-reinforced aluminum composite with spherical Mg2Si particles uniformly distributed in the α-Al matrix after heat treatment. Due to the spheroidization of intermetallic phases including both Mg2Si and Al8(Fe,Mn)2Si, the ductility and hardening capacity increased while the yield stress (YS) and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) decreased. Portevin–Le Chatelier effect (or serrated flow) was observed in both tensile stress–strain curves and initial hysteresis loops during cyclic deformation because of dynamic strain aging caused by strong dislocation–precipitate interactions. The alloy exhibited cyclic hardening in both as-cast and heat-treated conditions when the applied total strain amplitude was above 0.4%, below which cyclic stabilization was sustained. The heat-treated alloy displayed a larger plastic strain amplitude and a lower stress amplitude at a given total strain amplitude, demonstrating a superior fatigue resistance in the LCF regime. A simple equation based on the stress amplitude of the first and mid-life cycles ((Δσ/2)first, (Δσ/2)mid) was proposed to characterize the degree of cyclic hardening/softening (D): D=±(Δσ/2)mid − (Δσ/2)first(Δσ/2)first, where the positive sign “+” represents cyclic hardening and the negative sign “−“ reflects cyclic softening.

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Sustainable minerals and metals for a low-carbon future

Abstract: Policy coordination is needed for global supply chains

Cited by 432 publications

References 8 publications

Do We Need a New Sustainability Assessment Method for the Circular Economy? A Critical Literature Review

Do We Need a New Sustainability Assessment Method for the Circular Economy? A Critical Literature Review

The Revised German Raw Materials Strategy in the Light of Global Political and Market Developments

Cyclic Deformation Behavior of A Heat-Treated Die-Cast Al-Mg-Si-Based Aluminum Alloy

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