Critical raw materials (CRMs) are defined by the EU as materials that combine high economic importance with significant supply risk. CRM supply risks are amplified by increasing CRM consumption rates driven by growing populations, expanding economies, and the transition to green and digital technologies that require significantly more CRMs than the platforms they replace. Additionally, declining grades in mineral ores from which primary CRMs are extracted result in higher production costs and greater environmental footprints, further reducing the social acceptance of mining in many areas where CRM extraction occurs. Increasing supply risks are also caused by rising geopolitical tensions worldwide, which has led to growing protectionism and CRM-trade restrictions and disruption of distribution routes.
To mitigate future supply risks for CRMs that are comparable in importance for economic growth and human welfare as energy, the EU has launched the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), which provides regulations to strengthen European extraction and refinery capacity. This strategy includes increased recycling operations and creating a market for secondary CRM materials.
This report is the second of three reports that consider how to ensure better resource efficiency regarding CRMs in the Nordics. While the first report presented an overview of potential recycling options for CRMs in the Nordic region, this report presents an extended list of more direct measures and instruments that may increase Nordic CRM recycling. A selection of these measures is given a more in-depth evaluation.
Since the first report was published in February 2024, CRMA has entered into force, which means that Denmark, Finland and Sweden are already bound by the regulation, while Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are currently assessing its EEA relevance.
Article 26 of the CRMA mandates national programs to increase waste collection with high CRM recovery potential and ensure their introduction into the appropriate recycling systems. The measures outlined in this report represent suggestions to be considered when setting up these programs.
General considerations regarding CRM-recycling
CRMs incorporated into products and materials are continuously lost through all stages of product life. Losses occur for various reasons: some CRMs are lost due to suboptimal collection when CRM-containing products and materials are discarded as waste, while others are lost because of inadequate sorting and pre-treatment before recycling. Additional losses result from thermodynamic and technical limitations of the recycling process used for CRM recovery. Moreover, some secondary CRM materials from a recycling process may be rejected as new raw materials due to quality concerns, further reducing the end-of-life recycling input rate.
Along with reduced supply risks, increased CRM-recycling also comes with additional environmental benefits. CRM-recycling operations are associated with a negative environmental footprint due to necessary inputs of energy and chemicals and associated emissions and waste products. However, this footprint is usually only a fraction of the footprint of the primary CRMs that the recycling operation replaces. For instance, secondary aluminium production only requires a tenth of the energy input necessary for producing an equivalent amount of primary aluminium. Also, it eliminates the generation of large amounts of mineral waste during the mining and processing of bauxite.
Status for European CRM-recycling
CRMA introduces a recycling benchmark for strategic raw materials of 25% within 2030. An analysis of European recycling rates for different CRMs identifies three different segments based on how mature respective recycling operations currently are. For some CRMs like tungsten (W), copper (Cu), antimony (Sb) and PGMs, recycling already exceeds the CRMA benchmark of 25%. For approximately nine other CRMs, the secondary value chains are sufficiently mature to make the 25% recycling benchmark appear achievable with limited efforts. The most critical strategic steps towards achieving the 25% recycling goal include measures to support and further develop these secondary value chains, together with measures to improve the collection and sorting of waste streams that are currently utilised or could potentially be used as feedstock for these recycling operations. It may be argued that while 25% is a politically defined benchmark for each CRM, it makes sense to aim for significantly higher recycling rates for some CRMs from an industrial and environmental perspective.
Global and European recycling is only marginal for some CRMs like boron (B), fluorspar (CaF2), helium (He), vanadium (V), graphite (C) and REE if it exists at all. Piloting and demonstrating available recycling technologies are therefore considered the most critical measures necessary for moving these secondary value chains towards the CRMA recycling benchmark.
So far, no real Nordic or European recycling yet exists for post-consumer CRMs like bismuth (Bi), beryllium (Be), gallium (Ga), niobium (Nb) and silicon metal (Si). For some of these CRMs, there are neither mature nor proposed recycling technologies available for any start-up projects. Developing recycling technologies that allow secondary value chains for this CRM-group to be established will require significant R&D efforts. However, current market conditions for these CRMs make it unlikely to achieve without large-scale economic support schemes.
General considerations when setting up a national program for increased CRM-recycling
When designing strategies for increased Nordic CRM-recycling, it's crucial to consider the following factors:
Regulatory Alignment: Measures should be in line with both current and anticipated national and European regulations. Relevant EU regulations include:
Waste Framework Directive
Extractive Waste Directive
WEEE Directive
Battery Directive
End of Life Vehicle Regulation
Eco Design Directive