How could the circular economy loosen the minerals bottleneck of the energy transition? Analysis of the current situation and assessment of mid-term perspectives for electric batteries in the EU
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- As climate change consequences become more apparent in recent years, there is an increasing need for renewable energy sources in order to fully transition towards zero emission economies. Electric batteries, and especially those based on lithium-ion technology, play a key role in this transition, as they allow to store the energy necessary for the functioning of electric vehicles, and also to compensate for the variable power output of renewable energy sources by storing and redistributing energy throughout the electrical power grid. Since these batteries rely on scarce minerals in order to be produced, we analysed how the circular economy model can be useful in overcoming this bottleneck. We made interviews with professionals that work in different stages of the electric battery value chain in order to identify patterns that can help to tackle this question. After a qualitative analysis of these interviews, we identified four main themes that offer us a description of how this plays out on the ground. Our analysis indicates that applications of the circular economy model are being deployed by companies along the different stages of the electric battery value chain and points out that full adoption of the circular economic model is going to be of utmost importane to transition towards a zero emmision society.