Low-carbon technologies and Russian imports: how far can recycling reduce the EU's raw materials dependency?

Low-carbon technologies and Russian imports: how far can recycling reduce the EU's raw materials dependency?

CEPS
Type
Author
Vasileios Rizos
Edoardo Righetti
Publication Date
April, 2022
Country
Belgium
Language for original content
Scope

Russia is among the larger suppliers of raw materials to the EU. It is the biggest world supplier for palladium, platinum and nickel, and a prominent one for aluminium and copper. The country still holds large untapped reserves of rare-earth elements.

This paper provides an overview of EU import dependency on raw materials and Russia’s share among EU sources of key supplies for low-carbon technologies. It then looks at prospects for meeting future material demands through circularity for three technologies, namely lithium-ion batteries, wind turbines and fuel cell electric vehicles.

The analysis is based on two scenarios with different levels of ambition. They aim to give an indication of the scale of potential benefits that can be achieved through circular approaches.