Future Availability of Secondary Raw Materials

Project Information

FutuRaM

Grant agreement ID: 101058522

DOI

10.3030/101058522

Project closed

EC signature date 24 May 2022

Start date 1 June 2022

End date 31 May 2026

Funded under

• Digital, Industry and Space

Total cost

€ 11 675 969,00

EU contribution

€ 11 675 966,00

Coordinated by

WASTE OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICAL EQUIPMENT FORUM
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - FutuRaM (Future Availability of Secondary Raw Materials)

Reporting period: 2023-12-01 to 2025-05-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Access to raw materials drives the global economy. It thus determines the competitive position and resilience of industry, and our ability to transition toward a decarbonised world. Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) are economically and strategically important for the EU 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, and there are no viable substitutes for these materials with current technologies. To achieve a transition toward a decarbonised world, Secondary Raw Materials (SRMs) need to play an increasing role, which will help to diversify the supply sources of CRMs.

The effective management of raw material supply and demand requires reliable, coherent and complete information and foresight on SRM stocks and. Furthermore, the feasibility of SRM recovery also depends on economic, technical and technological, geopolitical, regulatory, social, and environmental factors. Much of the data required to understand these factors is available, but scattered amongst a variety of institutions and needs to be harmonised to be fit for use in SRM availability assessment.

The FutuRaM project seeks to:

(1) Develop knowledge on the availability and recoverability of SRMs within the EU (plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland & UK), with a special focus on CRMs, to enable fact-based decision making for their exploitation in the EU and third countries; and
(2) Disseminate this information via a systematic and transparent Secondary Raw Materials Knowledge Base (SRM-KB).

The FutuRaM project will establish a methodology, reporting structure, and guidance to improve the raw materials knowledge base up to 2050, and facilitate the exploitation of SRMs with a particular focus on CRMs. The project will integrate SRM and CRM data to model their current stocks and flows, and consider economic, technological, geopolitical, regulatory, social and environmental factors to further develop, demonstrate and align SRM recovery projects with the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC). The project will address the following waste streams:
- Batteries;
- Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment;
- End-of-Life Vehicles;
- Mining Waste;
- Slags and Ashes; and
- Construction and Demolition Waste.

FutuRaM will further develop and test the UNFC methodology through 19 case studies across the six FutuRaM waste streams.

FutuRaM will contribute to a transition to climate-neutral, circular and digitised economy; develop an understanding of anthropogenic resources; develop the necessary criteria to establish a resource classification approach; combine new and existing data and present it in a UNFC format; develop a proposal for EU statistics for SRMs; and contribute to raising awareness of raw materials supply challenges in the EU and the possible solutions.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The project developed datasets for secondary, strategic, and critical raw materials on the stocks, flows and recovery of all waste streams covered under FutuRaM for three future scenarios to 2050. These scenarios being: Business as Usual; Recovery; and Circularity. This was achieved by combining composition data with stock and flow data generated in the project. Datasets on transfer coefficients have also been developed for each waste stream that enables the SRM output of waste processing facilities in the EU to be estimated. These datasets have been used to support JRC and DG GROW for the implementation of Article 26 in the CRM Act and used by DG ENV for WEEE legislation review.

Significant progress has been made in the development of the FutuRaM SRM-KB with the creation of the data model and loading of initial datasets and visualizations in an online version of the platform. This prototype has been tested and is being improved based on feedback and requirements. The platform will present the raw material data collected for the focus waste streams in FutuRaM, enabling stakeholders involved in developing SRM projects to access data relevant to their situation.

To assess and classify recovery projects, a systematic procedure has been developed, considering the different UNFC criteria, environmental, social, economic, legal, and technical feasibility. To make the classification procedure consistent and transparent for different projects, and to make the results reproducible, a comprehensive list of controlling factors was developed for each criterion. To facilitate the implementation of the UNFC assessment procedures, a user-friendly web-based tool has been developed. This tool guides classifiers, providing clear definitions and step-by-step instructions via integrated wiki pages. A key feature of the web tool is the implemented decision-tree, which facilitates the categorisation of the controlling factors. The automatically generated report in the final stage summarises all provided information and classification results. Together, the web tool and procedures make the classification of projects transparent and comparable and helps to ensure the reproducibility of results.
The development of UNFC case studies requires the recording of the composition of the waste to be treated and the documentation of the products to be obtained. Depending on the case study either new data will be generated, data from current treatment processes will be used, or data from existing projects will be transferred to the FutuRaM process.

Data was collected in various case studies, particularly for mining waste, to determine the quantity and location of available materials. This led to evaluation of the UNFC G-axis. The UNECE Anthropogenic Resources Working Group, as well as Social and Environmental Consideration Working Group, and G-Axis Working Group also benefit from the concepts, procedures and case studies developed in FutuRaM. The harmonised UNFC approach has been demonstrated using 13 site-specific case studies and 6 national case studies. Eight of these case studies are complete with the remainder close to completion.

For mining waste, the datasets and formats from Geological Service for Europe and European Geological Data Infrastructure databases have been utilized, and the mining waste deposits mapped; this displays the quantities, concentration and location of CRMs on selected historic mining sites.

The development, application and testing of the UNFC methodology for SRM projects will help to fast-track the development of strategic SRM projects as identified in the CRM Act. Moreover, the webtool will simplify the implementation of the UNFC method by the end user, further improving the efficiency of the process. The project is also exploring opportunities to train individuals in the use of the UNFC methodology and webtool, creating a smoother path to its use. Along with stakeholders looking to develop SRM recovery projects, the development of the UNFC methodology and associated data, will also inform policy makers and authorities.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Not applicable.