Decarbonising mobility will leverage efficiency, modal shift, vehicle electrification and a reduced production footprint of vehicles.

With a focus on dismantling, this study looks at steel decarbonisation. This is a priority since steel is the most widely used material in cars and trucks and the second-largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in vehicle manufacturing.

It recommends establishing a new commercial standard which accounts for improved shredded scrap quality, thereby increasing its market value and benefiting the entire value chain. This added value creation could also help limit the export of ELVs outside the EU, which poses multiple concerns, including safety issues and the loss of strategic materials critical for European industry resilience.

INEC, a leading think tank on issues related to the preservation of natural resources, has published its European Resource Programme.

It defines ways to preserve natural resources, focusing on six resources that will be crucial for energy, the economy and the environment: water, wood, li-ion batteries, permanent magnets, copper and building materials.

The Circular Economy package has merely resulted in measures targeting consumers rather than authorities. Positive initiatives such as the digital product passport aside, this vision of the circular economy is not sufficiently integrated into decarbonisation goals. INEC's realistic measures, the result of broad debate between stakeholders, aim to transform the economy and make it genuinely circular.

This publication contains the results of over 74 projects completed as part of the Circular Ecoinnovation Programme between 2017 and 2023. The programme, managed by Ihobe, the environmental management agency of the Basque Government’s Ministry for Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment, drives ecodesign, circular economy demonstration and strategic ecoinnovation in Basque companies. 

The market, commercial, economic, technical or environmental feasibility of each project has been graphically included in each datasheet.

See also the website listing all the Basque Country's circular solutions to date.

See also Eco-innovation in the Basque Country - 105 industrial projects for new circular solutions.

Driven by government support, decarbonisation efforts and technological advancements, electric vehicles – with their lithium-ion batteries – are becoming increasingly common. Electric vehicles produce fewer emissions than combustion engine ones, but fewer is not zero. The emissions they do produce across their lifespan (production, use, recycling) need to be mapped.

Calculating their carbon footprint (the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions that come from the production, use and end-of-life of a product or service) is key and required by the Batteries Regulation (EU) 2023/1542.

This paper looks at the challenges of calculating batteries’ carbon footprint and implementing the relevant obligations for companies introducing batteries into the EU market.