Visualizing global trade flows of copper: An examination of copper contained in international trade flows in 2014

This Working Paper presents a brief but comprehensive graphical overview of copper contained in international trade, from copper concentrates through to finished products. Extensive data checks and a simple consolidation method were performed before visualizing the data on world maps. While data were collected and anlyzed for the period 1992-2014, the year 2014 is used here to follow the global journey of copper from mine to final users

Globale Verwendungsstrukturen der Magnetwerkstoffe Neodym und Dysprosium: Eine szenariobasierte Analyse der Auswirkung der Diffusion der Elektromobilität auf den Bedarf an Seltenen Erden

Neodym-Eisen-Bor-Magnete (NdFeB) haben als die derzeit stärksten Permanentmegnete in den vergangenen Jahren einen erheblichen Nachfrageschub erlebt, insbesondere für die Herstellung kompakter elektrischer Servomotoren mit hohem Wirkungsgrad und hoher Leistungsdichte, was vor allem für mobile Anwendungen in den Traktionsmotoren von Hybrid- und Elektrofahrzeugen oder für E-Bikes entscheidende Vorteile bietet. Aber auch im allgemeinen Maschinenbau (Förder- und Pumpsysteme, Werkzeuge, Klimaanlagen, Liftmotoren etc.), in den elektrischen Kleinmotoren konventioneller Pkw oder in den Generatoren großer Windkraftanlagen mit permanentmagnetischem Direktantrieb werden vermehrt NdFeB-Magnete verbaut. Dennoch besteht nach wie vor hohe Unsicherheit in den Verwendungsstrukturen von NdFeBMagneten bzw. den enthaltenen Seltenerd-Elementen Neodym und Dysprosium. Ein wirkungsvolles Instrument zur Erhöhung der Markttransparenz und des Verständnisses von komplexen anthropogenen Stoffkreisläufen ist die dynamische Stoffflussmodellierung. Im vorliegenden Arbeitspapier wird dieses Instrument zur eingehenden Analyse der Verwendungsstrukturen von NdFeB-Magneten und den enthaltenen Seltenen Erden auf globaler Ebene eingesetzt. Über die dynamische Modellierung von Produkt-Verwendungszyklen werden heutige Verwendungsstrukturen offengelegt und zukünftige Magnetmengen in obsoleten Produktströmen quantifiziert. Dabei konnte gezeigt werden, dass die Magnete im heutigen Schrottaufkommen hauptsächlich in obsoleten Elektronikanwendungen wie Festplatten (HDD), CD- und DVD-Laufwerken enthalten sind, woraus das Recycling auf Grund der kleinen Magnete und der hohen Materialstreuung kaum wirtschaftlich erscheint, in absehbarer Zukunft aber mit größeren Magnetmengen aus elektrischen Synchron-Servomotoren und Generatoren zu rechnen ist, was das Recyclingpotenzial erheblich steigert. In einem weiteren Schritt wird unter Verwendung eines systemdynamischen Modells die Auswirkung der Diffusion alternativer Antriebe im Automobilmarkt auf den Dysprosiumbedarf analysiert und es werden mögliche Anpassungsmechanismen in Form verschiedener Substitutionseffekte am Markt für NdFeB-Magnete simuliert. Dysprosium ist für die Temperaturbeständigkeit der NdFeB-Magnete in Traktionsmotoren für Elektromobile ein entscheidender Bestandteil und gilt derzeit als besonders kritischer Rohstoff für die Elektromobilität

Critical Metals in the Path towards the Decarbonisation of the EU Energy Sector: Assessing Rare Metals as Supply-Chain Bottlenecks in Low-Carbon Energy Technologies

In order to tackle climate change, to increase energy supply security and to foster the sustainability and competitiveness of the European economy, the EU has made the transition to a low-carbon economy a central policy priority. This report builds on the first study conducted in 2011 (Critical Metals in Strategic Energy Technologies), where critical metals were identified which could become a bottleneck to the supply-chain of various low-carbon energy technologies. The first study concentrated on the six SET-Plan technologies, namely: wind, solar (both PV and CSP), CCS, nuclear fission, bioenergy and the electricity grid. Fourteen metals were identified to be a cause for concern. After taking into account market and geopolitical parameters, five metals were labelled ‘critical’, namely: tellurium, indium, gallium, neodymium and dysprosium. The potential supply chain constraints for these materials were most applicable to the deployment of wind and solar energy technologies. In the follow-up study reported here, other energy and low-carbon technologies are investigated that not only play an important role in the EU's path towards decarbonisation but also may compete for the same metals as identified in the six SET-Plan technologies. Eleven technologies are analysed including fuel cells, electricity storage, electric vehicles and lighting. As in the first report, sixty metals, i.e. metallic elements, metallic minerals and metalloids are considered; only iron, aluminium and radioactive elements were specifically excluded. Graphite was also included, reflecting its status as a critical raw material. Where possible, the study models the implications for materials demand as a result of the scenarios described in the EU Energy Roadmap 2050. Consequently, the results obtained in the first study are updated to reflect the data that has become available in the roadmap. This second study found that eight metals have a high criticality rating and are therefore classified as ‘critical’. These are the six rare earth elements (dysprosium, europium, terbium, yttrium, praseodymium and neodymium), and the two metals gallium and tellurium. Four metals (graphite, rhenium, indium and platinum) are found to have a medium-to-high rating and are classified as ‘near critical’, suggesting that the market conditions for these metals should be monitored in case the markets for these metals deteriorate thereby increasing the risk of supply chain bottlenecks. Metals demand in the electric vehicle, wind, solar and lighting sectors were identified to be of particular concern. As in the first report, ways of mitigating the supply-chain risks for the critical metals are considered. These fall into three categories; increasing primary supply, reuse/recycling and substitution In addition, a number of topics were identified as possibly meriting further research, but could not be considered within the immediate scope of this study. These include conducting further studies to look at raw materials requirements for hybrid and electric vehicles for a wider range of technology uptake and penetration scenarios; developing new and more detailed scenarios for the uptake and technology mix of options for stationary energy storage; undertaking similar studies in defence and aerospace; improving statistics on the contribution of recycling to world production for a number of metals; and investigating the contribution of greater traceability and transparency to reducing raw materials supply risk. Finally, it is important not to overstate the bottlenecks due to the risks of raw material shortages for key decarbonisation technologies. This is because there are still many years before the large uptake of some technologies and in the coming years, there are numerous options that will become available to mitigate the risks identified.JRC.F.6-Energy systems evaluatio

Foresight study - Thematic Report IV: Secondary Raw Materials (Including Mine Wastes)

ABSTRACT: This thematic report has been developed within the Minerals4EU project in the context of the first Foresight Study report (WP6) that comprises a central report and five thematic reports. These contributions were designed according to a well-defined structure to fit the purposes of the central Foresight Study report. The scope and targets of the first Foresight Study significantly determine the nature of the documents and may not be suited for unspecified or differing purposes.N/

Defining regional recycling indicators for metals

Recycling indicators are useful for characterizing anthropogenic metal cycles. While there are suitable and generally accepted recycling indicators at the global level, they are not necessarily useful for regional cycles (where the region of interest can be a part of country, an entire country or a group of countries), which are open and interact with other regions such that cross-border flows need to be considered. Herein, we theoretically examine the applicability of available (global) recycling indicators to the regional level and, in the case of the recycling input rate (RIR) and the recycled content (RC), propose modified versions that are both conceptually compatible with the corresponding global indicators and readily accessible through data collected and estimates generated in regional material flow analysis work. The practicability and usefulness of the proposed set of indicators is explored by using published aluminum cycles for the USA (RIR = 44%, RC = 40%), China (RIR = 18%, RC = 18%) and Austria (RIR = 100%, RC = 73%) and compared to the global (RIR = 31%, RC = 31%) aluminum cycle

Defining regional recycling indicators for metals: An extension of global recycling indicators to regional systems with open boundaries

Recycling indicators are useful for characterizing anthropogenic metal cycles. While there are suitable and generally accepted recycling indicators at the global level, they are not necessarily useful for regional cycles (where the region of interest can be a part of country, an entire country or a group of countries), which are open and interact with other regions such that cross-border flows need to be considered. Herein, we examine the applicability of available (global) recycling indicators to the regional level and, where appropriate, propose modified versions that are both conceptually compatible with the corresponding global indicators and readily accessible through data collected and estimates generated in regional material flow analysis work