Recycling, alternatives vital to critical minerals sustainability

The report highlights:

• Recycling critical minerals from end-of-life products, such as everyday consumer electronics and electric vehicle batteries, is essential for reducing reliance on finite natural resources
• the need to find substitute, alternative technologies and materials that replace finite resources
• the value of a circular economy approach to ensure ongoing sustainability of supply
  

The University of Sydney's Net Zero Institute (NZI) has released a White Paper emphasising the need to recycle critical minerals and explore alternatives for essential materials in the transition to net zero emissions.  

Critical minerals like lithium, copper, and rare earth elements are crucial for renewable energy technologies such as electric vehicles and solar panels. However, the increasing demand for these resources is putting pressure on existing supply chains, making it vital to adopt sustainable practices like recycling and material substitution.

“The report points out that products such as EVs, wind turbines, and solar panels have a limited life, and in the absence of recycling, the primary demand will continue to grow, eventually exhausting the resources,” said Professor Deanna D'Alessandro, Director of the Net Zero Institute. 

“The answer to the challenge of critical materials may be to make them less critical by developing alternate technologies or services that do not require as much of the critical material, or that use a different material entirely.

“As underlined in the report it is important to understand that the goal isn’t just to reach net zero by 2050, but to maintain it every year after that.”

Current recycling technologies face challenges due to the complexity and cost of recovering materials from used products, but innovative approaches are being explored. These include advanced bioleaching methods and the development of recycling-friendly product designs to make the recovery of materials more efficient and cost-effective.

Finding substitute, alternative technologies for critical materials is also vital, such as sodium-ion batteries and perovskite solar cells which offer promising solutions that reduce dependence on materials like lithium and rare earth elements. For instance, sodium-ion batteries, while having lower energy density, can be derived from seawater and provide a safer, cheaper, and more sustainable alternative to lithium-ion batteries.

The NZI advocates for a circular economy approach, where recycling and material substitution are prioritised to ensure a sustainable supply of critical materials. This approach not only helps address environmental concerns but also supports energy security and the economic stability required for a successful transition to a net zero future. 

The University’s critical minerals and materials research pillar - a team of more than 40 experts across the University, spanning the sciences and engineering disciplines, business, the humanities, social sciences and arts - contributed to the study. 

The paper is being presented on 3 October at the Net Zero Institute’s biannual NetZero Frontiers 2024 conference which has the theme this year of International Partnerships and Perspectives.