in order not to miss the race, the circular economy will be needed more – WWN

In Germany, at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology — wrote Edoardo Vigna in the Climate and Environment newsletter (subscribe, free, here) — researchers claim to have found a method for recycle lithium batteries without wasting energy or using toxic chemicals. A very important step from the point of view of the circular economy, given that lithium batteries are central to electric mobility and because the extraction of this alkaline metal – in addition to being highly polluting and energy consuming – puts many countries, starting with Italy, at the mercy of the countries owning the mines, both from an economic point of view and from that of dependence and security. Al Kit have found a way to recover up to 70 percent of the lithium from spent batteries without having to use polluting or corrosive chemicals or high temperatures, but combining mechanical processes with chemical reactions. Now of course it’s a matter of seeing how to bring this discovery into production processes. It will take some time. What we lack, unfortunately. And that forces us to accelerate on the other ways and fields available to reduce the increase in temperature until science provides us with the answers that can save the planet.

He also deals with the need to accompany the green transition with the circular economy, in relation to the problem of rare earths, in a speech on lavoce.info, Marco Compagnoni, economist expert in environmental problems related to the technological and energy transition. His starting point should by now be known to most: The fight against climate change and the creation of economic value increasingly depend on technologies based on the exploitation of non-fossil natural resources. Some examples: silicon and palladium are used in the production of microchips, used in any digital instrumentation; rare earths are used for the permanent magnets that enable the operation of wind turbines, but also for the electronics and aerospace sectors; cobalt and lithium are used in the production of batteries, which are in turn essential for the diffusion of electric mobility, but also of portable electronic devices. The International Energy Agency (IEA) esteem a 4- to 6-fold growth in the use of mineral resources, depending on the climate policy scenario, compared to current consumption, only for clean energy technologies.

Non-fossil natural resources have in common with fossil ones that they are not found everywhere. Indeed, they are sometimes even more concentrated in only a few countries. Which sets new geopolitical problems, as it was discovered in 2010-2011 after the restrictions on the export of rare earths imposed by China, practically a global monopolist for the supply of these metals. Prices temporarily rose by 2,000-10,000 percent – ​​recalls Compagnoni -. It was precisely that episode that drew the European Union’s attention to the question of its dependence on the import of mineral resources, with the drafting of a list of Critical Raw Materials (CRM)considered essential production factors for economic sectors of the utmost importance, but exposed to high supply risks, due to the strong concentration of mining and refining activities.

A way to make rare earths (and related) less rare increase mining activity, including in Europe. In January, for example, the news arrived of the discovery of a deposit of rare earths in Sweden (here the article by Michela Rovelli for Login). But, first, mining brings environmental challenges due to the production of toxic waste. Second, perhaps we shouldn’t shrug at the fact that, as Compagnoni points out, extractive activities often generate negative social consequences for local populations, especially in developing countries: scarce economic repercussions, impacts on health, inadequate working conditions. The recent ones protests by Peruvian miners (led moreover by a Marxist party against the Chinese mining giant Mmg, ed), for example, testify to it (here an article by Roberto Saviano for 7 on the war in the Congo for cobalt and coltan). Third, of course, you can’t mine resources where there are none.

A way not to cancel but to mitigate the problems, precisely, the circular economy. The one that could have as its watchword the advertising slogan that says: From what is reborn what. And it should aim to recover materials at the end of their life cycle on an industrial scale. the European Union itself, in the Circular Economy Action Plan (2020) to underline the strategic importance of recycling waste containing Crm, such as electronic waste and batteries. Unfortunately, on this front, things are not going as they should. The recovery of Crm – writes Compagnoni – remains meager in terms of replacing the demand for virgin raw materials. Why? On the one hand, the recovery of specific materials is complicated by the design of electronic equipment, not aligned with recycling or product life extension objectives, and by their complexity in terms of material composition, in turn due to their increasing functionality. On the other, collection rates for strategic waste remain relatively low. Finally, there is the stage of development of Crm recovery technologies, which in many cases has not reached industrialization (also valid, as we have seen, for the discovery of the German Kit reported by Vigna).

All this, however, should push us not to give up, but to accelerate. The circular economy is the only way to effectively increase the autonomy of the European Union, also in view of the desired energy transition in developing countries. But not always – Compagnoni warns – the “zero kilometer” is the solution for sustainability. Support for the development of (at least) intra-European strategic waste recycling networks could lead to the achievement of economies of scale and encourage the development of more advanced specific technologies for the recovery of CRM, with a view to specializing countries on basis of comparative advantages.

What must be done stop making developing countries look like dumping grounds for developed ones. Trade regulations, such as the Basel Convention (1992) and the EU Waste Shipment Regulation (2006), have attempted to reduce the large, more or less legal, direct flows of waste from developed countries to poorer ones. With the revision of the Waste Shipment Regulation, currently under discussion, the hope of both the EU and the recycling industry – concludes Compagnoni – is that the trade in waste can be facilitated, making recycling more competitive, discouraging illegal flows and ensuring environmental standards in Europe and in export countries.

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