Critical raw materials (CRMs) are economically and strategically important for the European economy but have a high risk associated with their supply. In many instances, CRM primary extraction is limited to a few locations outside of Europe. To improve the security of CRM supply in the EU and achieve a transition toward a decarbonised world, secondary raw materials (SRMs) need to play an increasing role and help to diversify the sources of CRMs.
FutuRaM, a Horizon Europe funded project, is establishing a methodology, reporting structure, and guidance to improve the raw materials knowledge base up to 2050. It will integrate SRM and CRM data to model the current stocks and flows, and further develop, demonstrate and align SRM recovery projects with the United Nations Framework Classification (UNFC) for Resources to enable the commercial exploitation of SRMs and CRMs by manufacturers, recyclers, and investors. FutuRaM will focus on six waste streams: batteries; electrical and electronic equipment; vehicles; mining; slags and ashes; and construction and demolition.
FutuRaM at Raw Materials Week in Brussels
Raw Materials Week is the largest policy event on raw materials, and has been organised by the European Commission since 2016. It attracts over 1,000 participants from industry, government, civil society, research and academia.
Partners from the FutuRaM project will present at several sessions including a satellite clustering event:
10 December, 09:40-10:45, Hotel Le Plaza Brussels, Theatre Room
UNFC: The classification tool to support the EU Critical Raw Materials Act - High-Level Session| Pascal Leroy (WEEE Forum), Soraya Heuss-Assbichler (LMU München)
10 December, 11:15-12:30, Hotel Le Plaza Brussels, Versailles Room
UNFC: The classification tool to support the EU Critical Raw Materials Act - Technical Session | Daniel Monfort (BRGM)
10 December, 14:00-17:30, Hotel Marivaux,
Auditorium Hitchcock
Satellite clustering event - Supporting the Critical Raw Materials Act: Research Projects in the European Union | GSEU - Geological Service for Europe, FutuRaM Project, CRM-geothermal, SUPREEMO Horizon Europe, REESOURCE, REPTiS
12 December, 14:00-15:30, Hotel Le Plaza Brussels, Theatre Room
Towards Greater Circularity in Critical Raw Materials | Kees Baldé (UNITAR)
We are looking forward to meeting you in person! In case of questions regarding any of our upcoming sessions at the Raw Materials Week, please contact us at info@futuram.eu.
FutuRaM Consortium Meeting
The project held its latest consortium meeting of 2024 in Brussels, focussing on critical updates, collaborative efforts, and strategic discussions as the project enters a results-driven phase.
The First FutuRaM Academy in Germany
Both our youngest and (most) experienced researchers gathered in beautiful Tutzing, Germany to participate in the first (ever) FutuRaM Academy.
The three day event started by mapping where they started at the beginning of the project and what is ahead of them. Young researchers, master students and PhD candidates presented their work to have it evaluated by their peers and improve their presentation skill. Strengthening connections and discussing their plans, participants finished their day with a challenging “Fussball” match.
Kicking off the second day, José Mogollón from Leiden University gave a short yet motivational lecture on how to structure an academic research papers and which skills need sharpening to adequately convey a message. During the so called poster session, FutuRaM researchers drew connections between their individual work covering different work packages and waste streams. This much needed discussion served as one of the highlights of the FutuRaM Academy as coordinating numerous researches, work packages and people remotely across Europe can be quite challenging.
Claudia Speiser, Senior Consultant at ARTTIC gave an inspiring speech on women in science before participants moved into an afternoon long ideation session, discussing “hot topics” related to FutuRaM such as scenarios and material recovery. After such a packed day, Setenay Saglam and Kirsten Remmen from Empa organised a not so traditional pub quiz on critical raw materials to end on a high note. Did you know that France is the largest global Hafnium producer?
Building on almost two days wort of discussions, our researchers came up with a number of great proposals and left with a new found motivation to continue their individual tasks. Needless to say, our FutuRaM Academy participants are looking forward to meet each other in person at the same place the next year!
ProSUM Results Available on the FutuRaM Website
The ProSUM project, upon which much of FutuRaM is built, delivered the first Urban Mine Knowledge Data Platform, a centralised database of all available data and information on composition, arisings, stocks, flows and treatment of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), end-of-life vehicles (ELVs), batteries and mining wastes.
Until the development of the Urban Mine Knowledge Data Platform, the data on critical raw materials was produced by a variety of institutions including government agencies, universities, NGOs and industry and lay scattered in different databases, formats and reports which were difficult to compare or aggregate. ProSUM changed all this.
The availability of primary and secondary raw materials data, easily accessible in one platform, provided the foundation for improving Europe’s position on raw material supply. ProSUM provided data for improving the management of these wastes and enhancing the resource efficiency of collection, treatment and recycling.
The project started in January 2015 and concluded in December 2017. It was funded by the European Union and the Swiss Government.
FutuRaM will deliver its own a secondary raw materials knowledge database by 2026, which will deliver a wider range of data than its predecessor in ProSUM.
Is the EU Regulation About “Recycling Efficiency” Efficient? Claude Chanson of RECHARGE gives his verdict
Batteries, and particularly lithium batteries for electric vehicles (EV) are complex products, containing critical raw materials in mechanical and chemical components, as well as electronics and plastics. So, depending on which materials we aim to recover, multiple processes may need to be applied.
The EU Batteries regulation recognised the importance of critical raw materials such a cobalt or lithium and proposed specific targets to promote the recovery of materials: one of these criteria is called “recycling efficiency” (RE) and is defined as the ratio of the weight of recycled materials (output fraction) versus the weight of waste battery (input fraction). It is calculated simply as Recycling Efficiency (%) = Output fraction/input fraction.
Of course, the more materials that are recovered, the higher this ratio is: the regulation sets a minimum of 65% for all lithium-ion batteries.
Economic benefit is the usual industry driver for investment in recycling processes, but the EU regulation’s additional target for RE is aiming at a different objective: to maximise materials recovery, particularly of critical raw materials.
It is a topic of interest for the FutuRaM project to understand where and how the economic feasibility can be combined with sustainability expectations in the case of batteries, but also for setting potential targets for the RE of any complex product.
Tap Into Our Knowledge Base
Learn more from our experts sharing their knowledge on a regular basis on our website:
- Resource Dissipation and its Relevance to CRMs (Jair Santillan Saldivar, Audrey Philippe, and Daniel Monfort, BRGM)
- More on Critical Raw Materials (Antje Wittenberg, BGR)
- UNFC – What is the UN Framework Classification for Resources?
- Dreaming of a Perfect Circular Economy (Claude Chanson from RECHARGE)
- Unlocking Tomorrow’s Industries by Leveraging WEEE Deposits (Alice Bizouard from ecosystem)
- Mining Waste, Slags, Ashes, and Red Mud Deposits in the West Balkan Area (Robert Šajn and Jasminka Alijagić from the Geological Survey of Slovenia)
- De-risking for the Green and Digital Transitions in the European Union (Rafael Santos, SPI)
- Understanding Our Impacts on Society and Nature with Life Cycle Assessment (Stewart C. McDowall, Leiden University)
Join the FutuRaM Stakeholder Network
A crucial part of the FutuRaM project will be the input of stakeholders from all parts of the value chain. The project needs to be in touch with interested individuals and organisations to get their input on the many facets of the work it is undertaking. If you are involved in work on any of the focus waste streams, have an interest in CRMs and SRMs, would like to share your thoughts and experiences on the application of the UNFC for Resources methodology, or work in relevant areas of data, statistics, or investment, then we would be grateful for your input. It may be that you only want to keep in touch.
