circular economy

The hidden treasure: Reducing rare earths consumption with reconditioned components

9 June, 2022

Source: Process and Control

The Guardian recently announced that the deep-sea gold rush for rare metals has officially begun, with mining companies planning to profit from rare earths discovered 4,000 metres below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. However, with millions of tons of e-waste produced every year and increasingly sophisticated techniques to recover rare metals from it, a more environmentally-friendly alternative might be hiding in plain sight. Neil Ballinger, head of EMEA at automation parts supplier EU Automation, explains the role of reconditioned components in reducing our dependence on mining rare earths.

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Devils in the deep blue sea 

31 May, 2022

Source: New Security Beat

Author: David Michel

In practice, seabed mining could prove neither economically viable nor environmentally sustainable. Economically, long-term demands for critical minerals are highly uncertain, depending upon rapidly evolving technology pathways, and could largely be met from existing global terrestrial reserves. Emerging innovations, such as battery technologies requiring fewer critical minerals, and circular economy models recycling raw materials, suggest the green transition can be realized without mining the seabed.

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India’s Attero to Spend $1 Billion on Battery Recycling Plants

31 May, 2022

Source: Bloomberg

Author: Ragini Saxena

Proponents of deep-sea mining claim that the minerals of the deep are needed for the green transition, to supply the components of electric vehicle batteries, for example. But a new generation of batteries that either reuses these metals – or does not use them at all – is already entering the market. Innovation in metals recycling and battery design will reduce the demand for virgin minerals.

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How eco-friendly are electric vehicles? It all depends on the battery

28 April, 2022

Source: abc7 News

Author: Juan Carlos Guerrero

While zero-emission vehicles are being touted as one solution to our climate crisis, their batteries could also represent an environmental hazard. There’s concern about mining for minerals like cobalt, copper, manganese and nickel that are used in car batteries on the ocean floor. These minerals are found in abundance along a zone that spans from Hawaii to Mexico. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is co-sponsoring legislation to prohibit leases for mining within three miles of the California coast. It’s hoping that inspires bans further into the deep ocean.

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The Circular Economy: A boon for Biodiversity Conservation?

28 April, 2022

Source: ISS Insights

As the energy transition gathers pace around the globe, clean energy technologies are becoming the fastest-growing segment of demand for critical minerals. This essentially concerns electricity and heat generation, energy storage, mobility, and power grids. Solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles commonly contain more minerals and rare earth elements than their fossil fuel-based counterparts.

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California EV battery recycling program aims to recycle and reuse rather than extract

17 February, 2022

Source: Forbes

Author: Alan Ohnsman

Redwood Materials, a battery recycler created by Tesla cofounder JB Straubel, plans to collect used electric and hybrid vehicle packs from Ford and Volvo Cars in California, making rechargeable cars and trucks more sustainable by reusing valuable mined materials they use.

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Deep-sea mining could damage delicate deep-sea ecosystems

1 January, 2019

Source: Earth.com
Author: Kay Vandette

2018 has been the year of rollbacks, and the Trump administration has not been subtle about its stance on pushing for fossil fuel use and mining. As the demand for minerals, oils, and natural gas continues to increase, we have to dig deeper and set up more mining operations to fulfill that demand.

There are some major decisions regarding seabed mining expected in the coming year which could open up a gold-rush-like frenzy to set up deep-sea mining operations.

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