High-tech industries power the modern digital world, but their supply chains are particularly vulnerable to geopolitical and economic disruption. Urgent action is needed to improve supply-chain... Show moreHigh-tech industries power the modern digital world, but their supply chains are particularly vulnerable to geopolitical and economic disruption. Urgent action is needed to improve supply-chain resilience. Show less
An array of technologies is expected to contribute to the energy and circular transitions in multiple sectors, such as transport, energy, and electronics and telecommunications. These sectors are... Show moreAn array of technologies is expected to contribute to the energy and circular transitions in multiple sectors, such as transport, energy, and electronics and telecommunications. These sectors are considered key sectors for achieving climate targets due to their role on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The widespread use of technologies will require increased amounts raw materials and may strain the established supply chains for some of these. There is interest in critical raw materials (CRMs) that have major economic relevance and face comparatively high supply risks in specific economies. Identifying the future CRM demand in the key sectors is essential to implement strategies that can mitigate potential disruptions and helps to improve resilience in the relevant supply chains.This working paper provides an overview of the CRM demand of 11 key technologies that are expected to contribute to the development of transport, energy, electronics, and telecommunication sectors. Moreover, the working paper discusses the links between the selected sectors, and identifies further implications for the future CRM demand, such as overall CRM demand from other economic sectors and technologies, circularity potential, CRM demand from production and building infrastructure, future innovations, and supply/demand interactions. Show less
A sustainable resource management is an essential aspect to satisfy the current human needs without compromising the needs of future generations. There is a need to provide resource-efficient... Show moreA sustainable resource management is an essential aspect to satisfy the current human needs without compromising the needs of future generations. There is a need to provide resource-efficient strategies that enables to decrease the risk of disruptive supply chains while maintaining natural resources for the current and future generations. Within this context, circular economy has been proposed as a paradigm that aims to reduce resource extraction and waste flows by retaining materials into the economy. However, there is still a lack of understanding on how a global circularity transition might look like, and what would be the magnitude of the potential economic, social, and environmental implications of material circularity on macro scale. These aspects raise the questions: Is circular economy a sustainable solution to achieve a global economic and environmental sustainability? And what are the macroeconomic, social, and environmental implications of a transition to a circular economy? A macro level assessment of material circularity aims to understand how material circularity could contribute to sustainable resource management, and explore which circularity interventions could support a cost-effective circularity transition on a macro scale. Show less
