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- The critical raw materials issue between scarcity, supply risk, and unique propertiesPublication . Girtan, Mihaela; Wittenberg, Antje; Grilli, Maria Luisa; De Oliveira, Daniel Pipa Soares; GiosuĂš, Chiara; Ruello, Maria LetiziaABSTRACT: This editorial reports on a thorough analysis of the abundance and scarcity distribution of chemical elements and the minerals they form in the Earth, Sun, and Universe in connection with their number of neutrons and binding energy per nucleon. On one hand, understanding the elementsâ formation and their specific properties related to their electronic and nucleonic structure may lead to understanding whether future solutions to replace certain elements or materials for specific technical applications are realistic. On the other hand, finding solutions to the critical availability of some of these elements is an urgent need. Even the analysis of the availability of scarce minerals from European Union sources leads to the suggestion that a wide-ranging approach is essential. These two fundamental assumptions represent also the logical approach that led the European Commission to ask for a multi-disciplinary effort from the scientific community to tackle the challenge of Critical Raw Materials. This editorial is also the story of one of the first fulcrum around which a wide network of material scientists gathered thanks to the support of the funding organization for research and innovation networks, COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology).
- Europeâs Raw Materials Supply Chain: Front-End ConsiderationsPublication . Wittenberg, Antje; de Oliveira, Daniel Pipa Soares; Bide, Tom; Hollis, Julie; Nirgi, Siim; Ćœibret, Gorazd; Gautneb, HĂ„vard; Sadeghi, Martiya; DomĂnguez, Rafael Navarro; Malyuk, BorisABSTRACT: Supply chains are linked for specific purpose and by something. Hence, the respective links of the chain must be hooked in the right place, sufficiently strong, and have to start somewhere. This chapter looks at the raw materials supply chain as the first link in a commodity supply, from the European Union (EU) perspective. Aspects of the raw material potential of critical or strategic mineral resources in Europe, its further exploration, and the concept of modifying factors are considered, and reporting systems of resources and reserves are described, underpinned by examples of mineral potentials in different regions of the EU. Thus, targeted exploration of raw materials, especially within the framework of national geological research, serves to support a sustainable and resilience supply chain. EU projects, such as GeoERA and Geological Service for EU, assist in shaping the tailor-made exploration programs fit for providing mineral data publicly available through EuroGeoSurveysâ European Geological Data Infrastructure. In the future, raw materials may be seen as global public goods required to address many challenges, from the climate crisis to geopolitical instability; therefore, the society could conceptualize them in a new way, from a dominant investment returns-oriented viewpoint to one linked to delivering global objectives.
- Critical Raw Material Resource Potentials in EuropePublication . Wittenberg, Antje; de Oliveira, Daniel Pipa SoaresABSTRACT: The vulnerability of economies and the associated familiar lifestyles have led to numerous policy measures in Europe. The proposed Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) sets indicative targets for 2030. A sustainable change in the supply situation requires the targeted exploration of raw materials precisely within the framework of national geological research of suitable detail and in advance of entrepreneurial raw material projects. EU projects like GeoERA assist in shaping the tailor-made exploration programs fit for purpose. GeoERA scientific projects like FRAME and MINDeSEA completed, and updated existing mineral data on CRM are publicly available through EuroGeoSurveysâ European Geological Data Infrastructure (EGDI).