From the Dependence of Fossil Raw Materials to that of Rare Matalli

The energy crises that have been taking place since the outbreak of the war between Ukraine and Russia have highlighted for Europeans how fragile we are and exposed to blackmail on materials such as coal, oil and gas.

If the European Union is working to solve the energy dependence on Russia, we must not forget that other crises are looming on raw materials concerning rare metals.

These are used in the production of renewable energy, in digital production, in the electrification of sustainable mobility, in the development of nuclear energy, therefore in every sector of our future.

As with energy, the stakes are environmental, economic and geopolitical, given our dependence on a limited number of producing countries, such as China, with which we struggle to have relaxed political relations, with the risk of not being able to count on the supplies of these products.

For many years it has been highlighted that the exploitation of natural resources would create supply problems, but it is from the explosion of the economy based on digitalisation, in which rare metals are absolutely necessary, that we have realized how difficult it is to obtain them and to how they are in the hands of a few producing countries.

In 2011 the European Commission published for the first time a list of fourteen critical raw materials for the European economy. Since then this list has continued to grow, so much so that in 2020 there were around thirty materials.

In such a difficult and dangerous situation, an efficiency of systems based on the circular economy for the recovery and reuse of electronic components of products that have become waste will cover a phase essential of European independence to rare metals.

Too little is being done in terms of WEEE recycling and many precious metals end up in landfills or burned, which Europe can no longer afford if it does not want to end up, as with fossil fuels, in a state of economic-political blackmail.

It will also be important to focus on the value of the products, their components and the materials that constitute them, to give the objects maximum durability over time, through intelligent design , reuse and / or shared use of products, repair, reconditioning, recovery of spare parts.

It has become urgent to invest heavily in research and development of alternative materials, but also to reduce the demand for raw materials. We need an investment plan to develop the circular economy at European level that is up to this challenge which is essential for the future of all of us. To govern is to foresee.

Automatic translation. We apologize for any inaccuracies. Original article in Italian