Lithium, cobalt and other raw materials for the energy transition:Italy is divided between those who focus on new extractions and those on the circular economy

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From photovoltaic panels to wind turbines to electric batteries:the ecological transition passes through critical raw materials, also known by the English acronym CRM (Critical Raw Materials).Well-known metals such as lithium and cobalt, lesser-known but equally important minerals such as bauxite or rare earths, critical raw materials are defined as such precisely because of their economic importance and the supply risk associated with them.As writes the European Commission, “reliable and unhindered access to certain raw materials is a growing concern within the European Union and around the world.To address this challenge, the European Commission has created a list of critical raw materials (CRMs) for the EU, which is subject to regular review and update."Starting from 2011, the list of CRMs at European level is drawn up and updated every three years, based on supply contingencies and economic relevance.In the list most recent, relating to 2020, the critical raw materials identified are 30.

Most of the critical raw materials are imported (with peaks of 90% for lithium and cobalt) and are produced in a few countries, in many cases unstable from a geopolitical point of view, which determine the market at a global level.

On a broader level, the market for critical raw materials today is dominated by a single country, China, which controls almost the entire supply chain, from extraction to assembly to marketing.As a recent one recalls reports of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, “in a scenario consistent with climate neutrality, the European Commission estimates that by 2050 the EU's annual demand for lithium could increase by 56 times compared to current levels, that of cobalt by 15, for rare earths would increase tenfold”.

This is why there is a lot of anticipation for the European law on critical raw materials, with the Commission's proposal expected on March 14.With it the European institution tip “to strengthen the EU's monitoring capabilities and enhance its value chain, through the identification of projects in the field of mineral resources and raw materials that are of strategic interest to the EU and provide strong environmental protection , and foreign policies on critical raw materials".

A new one is therefore looming on the horizon season of mineral extractions throughout the Old Continent.In a recent preview of the next one European Critical Raw Materials Act, Commissioner Thierry Breton has announced the establishment of a network of specialized agencies from the various member states and the acceleration of authorization times for research and extraction, in order to strengthen private interests which until now have focused on other parts of the globe.

Likewise the European Union for a long time reiterates the need for a strengthening of the circular economy.Even if, how recognizes the Commission itself, “with regards to recycling and reuse, Member States currently interpret the provisions relating to waste flows differently, leading to a fragmented implementation of EU legislation and creating obstacles to free movement.Targeted changes and harmonization of existing legislation, particularly on waste, would promote quality recycling of strategic raw materials and an efficient market for secondary raw materials, in line with our circular economy objectives."

In this general framework it becomes even more useful to define the Italian position.Above all because from an environmental point of view the Meloni government, as demonstrated by the postponement of the European regulation which provides for the ban on petrol and diesel cars from 2035, Italy claims to dictate the line to Europe.Does this also apply to critical raw materials?

An autonomy only announced

It is from the car that we can start again to understand the positioning of the executive.Last February 23, responding to a parliamentary question on the "prospects of the industrial motor vehicle supply chain in light of recent European regulations", the Minister for Business and Made in Italy used peremptory words.Starting from:

A vision of Italian and European industrial policy that has unfortunately been missing over the years.We intend first of all to put forward a pragmatic and concrete vision of reality, also and above all in light of the great events of recent years (...) To avoid moving from energy dependence on Russia to technological dependence on China, and therefore from pan on the grill (...) We intend to have a strong and significant relationship with the European Commission so that the Commission understands that it must combine the needs of the ecological transition, which we all share in the objectives, with the methods and timing with which businesses and the Italian and European social system can reconvert and become competitive (...) If this Commission does not accept our reasons, I think that the dossiers will pass to the next Commission, the one that will be born in 2024, in a completely different climate (... ) We cannot succumb to those imperial visions that also manifest themselves through technology and the hoarding of critical raw materials.We have opened a table at the ministry on critical raw materials because we believe that from extraction to processing, Italy must aim for autonomy.

Regardless of tone, greater autonomy in the field of critical raw materials is certainly desirable.However, the starting point of this journey, namely the table mentioned by Minister Urso, is so far limping.It is January 2021 when the then Ministry of Economic Development, now the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy, and the Ministry of Ecological Transition, now the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, they announce the birth of an inter-ministerial technical table on critical raw materials.“With the aim of:

• Strengthen coordination on the topic;
• Strengthen planning in terms of sustainability of supplies and circularity:
• Contribute to the creation of regulatory, economic and market conditions aimed at ensuring a safe and sustainable supply of critical raw materials.

In addition to promoting membership of the ERMA (European Raw Materials Alliance), the ministry oversees the European tables and meetings on the topic and participates in workshops, webinars and seminars useful for disseminating and communicating information on the topic".However, it takes more than a year and a half for this to happen Arrivals the interministerial decree for the establishment of the table, and another six months for it to come defined the composition of the table, activated officially on February 17th.

In an interview dating on March 1st, the many conditional verbs used by Giacomo Vigna, head of the table for the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, give the idea of ​​a strategy yet to be defined:

We are now in the study phase to understand which subjects are strategic for Italy and when, between now and the next twenty years, we can expect an imbalance (in terms of price or insufficiency of supply) that could put us in difficulty.After that, there are three pillars of our action.First of all, we need to extract the materials at home, or at least in like-minded countries, and recover the ability to process them.Second, we must design solutions that do not require critical materials or that can make use of recycled ones.Finally, we must dedicate ourselves to the recovery of waste, especially the so-called urban mines (the precious metals contained in electronic waste, ed.).Ecodesign will reduce demand and the Joint Research Center of Ispra estimates that the material recovered from urban mines can cover up to 30% of overall demand.

Meanwhile, the French government, through the Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire, has proposed to the Italian government to participate in a public-private mutual investment fund, with a base of 500 million euros and the aim of reaching one billion euros, intended precisely for critical raw materials.Which, however, Italy is clearly in favor of further back compared to France, which is already one of the main producers of CRM.

From this perspective, the recent one is more significant study of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, already mentioned previously, in which the myth of extractive autonomy is partly dismantled:

Even in Italy there are deposits of critical raw materials, the location of which, however, is summary as the last update of the Mining Map dates back to 1973.To date, several research permits are active:in the Alpine arc (Piedmont and Lombardy) for the discovery of cobalt, platinum group metals and rare earths;in the perityrrhenian volcanic-geothermal belt (Tuscany-Lazio-Campania) and in that of the Apennine chain (from Alessandria to Pescara) for the discovery of geothermal lithium.However, given the long activation times of mining activity (at least 10-15 years for the commercialization of the first rare earths from the deposit in Sweden), in the short term the contribution of potential national resources to reducing foreign dependence is considered modest.

Wait for February, the Mining Charter - which will be drawn up by Ispra - will contain initially the location and all the data of the known mineral deposits from 1870 to 2020:these are 3,016 sites, mainly sulphur, lignite and metal ores.Only at a later stage, scheduled for next year, could the new Mining Charter also include the results of the research already conducted by universities and research bodies and those of new survey and analysis campaigns, explicitly dedicated to the search for the most sought-after raw materials criticisms, such as lithium and the rare earths. 

Similarities and divergences between Ispra and ENEA

At this point it becomes useful to recover the point of view of the two national public bodies that deal with the environment and sustainability, namely the Higher Institute for Environmental Protection (Ispra) and the National Agency for new technologies, the energy and sustainable economic development (ENEA).On critical raw materials the positions of Ispra and Enea partly diverge:the first focuses more on extraction, the second on recycling.

The location of Ispra is made explicit in the public consultation ofEuropean Critical Raw Materials Act.The document was drawn up by the Department for the Geological Survey of Italy:we talk several times about "sustainable supply of mineral resources", a sustainability that must be "both environmental and social", and 13 points are listed that the European act should encourage to favor national strategies.In particular:

Despite its important mining history, today Italy is in a rearguard position in mineral exploration and in the international race to grab mineral resources.For many minerals, Italy is heavily or, as for metals, totally dependent on foreign markets.The energy crisis, the pandemic and the Russian invasion have shown that it is essential to diversify the raw materials supply chain by also using internal resources.The search for and exploitation of metallic minerals in Italy was abandoned at the end of the last century following inappropriate political-economic choices.This has caused the decline of university education and the loss of knowledge, training and lifelong learning of mining industry professionals.The scientific community agrees that it is possible that significant mineral resources, including critical raw materials, still exist in Italy and that sustainable extraction is possible.On the other hand, disused extractive industries have generated huge quantities of extractive waste resulting from extraction, processing, treatment, drilling etc.Waste can represent a potential new deposit of critical and non-critical resources, which could be reused from a circular economy perspective.In the Sardinian mining district, the most important in Italy, there are approximately 70 million cubic meters of mining waste, with a consequent high environmental impact.At this moment Italy is trying to study and re-evaluate its mineral potential through the joint work of academics, researchers, public administrators and mining professionals, while at the same time creating the conditions for the creation of a new generation of mining experts.

Instead of calling for a sustainable return to the mining past, ENEA suggests to strengthen existing potential and supply chains:

Cities are real urban mines, open-air reserves of raw materials that can and must be exploited for the benefit of the territory, with the creation of value in terms of raw materials available in the territory and also new business and employment opportunities.(...) On the other hand, all this great potential is not valorized as it should be, in general throughout the world, in particular in Europe and Italy.In fact, Italy is certainly a champion of recycling, but limited to mono-material products, while with complex products that contain critical raw materials there is still a long way to go.The recycling capacity in Europe in general on some critical raw materials is very very low, below 1%.To improve these recycling percentages, system action is certainly needed, starting from the mapping of all potential secondary sources and planning in the construction of plants aimed at producing these critical raw materials.We need to move from the concept of recycling plants as waste management plants to the concept of production plants for raw materials useful for our territory, for our production system.Particular attention should be paid to the design of the products, aimed at simple disassembly, easy recyclability, extended life of the products themselves, with traceability systems for critical raw materials in complex products.We should also invest in innovation aimed at replacing, where possible, critical raw materials and then promote extended producer responsibility.It is also necessary to promote innovative consumption models and encourage consumers to correctly dispose of objects, for example electronic equipment in traceable supply chains.Finally, it is necessary to invest in the creation of innovative systems with low environmental impact and reduced energy consumption, capable of maximizing the selective recovery of critical raw materials from complex products at the end of their life (for example through hydrometallurgical technologies).

Despite being linked by the reference to the circular economy and the desire for greater autonomy, the two approaches of Ispra and ENEA appear different, with a different vision of the world, we could say.These are not antithetical points of view, let's be clear, in fact what is clear is that for both public bodies the mere resumption of extraction cannot be enough.The ecological transition is too complex and important an issue to reduce to a new and unbridled race to supply critical raw materials.If we want the ecological transition to become concrete, we will need to have learned the lesson of fossil fuels:no longer the intensive exploitation of natural resources, from an anthropocentric perspective and chasing the myth of infinite growth, but a real sustainability that tries, when possible, to leave underground what nature has put there.

Preview image via startmag.it