Life cycle losses of critical raw materials from solar and wind energy technologies and their role in the future material availability

2020 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 104916
Author(s):  
Jorge Cristóbal ◽  
Md Jubayed ◽  
Niklas Wulff ◽  
Liselotte Schebek
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Wind Energy ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
The Future ◽  
Critical Raw Materials

scholarly journals Industrial life cycle: relevance of national markets in the development of new industries for energy technologies – the case of wind energy

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 1063-1107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlene O’Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Wind Energy ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Energy Industry ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Market Conditions ◽  
Life Cycle Theory ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
New Energy

Abstract About 20 years ago Klepper (1997) has shown that the life cycle theory, initially introduced for products, can also be applied to the development of industries. The industries that were examined to establish this theory were marked by relatively stable market conditions that are typically driven by innovation. However, research on the transition of the energy system has shown that markets for new energy technologies are driven by political support. As yet an analysis of the industry life cycle of an industry which has developed under politically driven market conditions has not been conducted. Therefore this paper examines the development of the global wind energy industry and the relevance of national markets in a globalized world. The study is founded on a large empirical database. A comparative analysis of various international and national developments was conducted using descriptive statistical methods. The findings show that the global development derives from the sum of individual national developments. It reveals a strong influence of national markets on the development of their respective wind energy industry. Therefore these findings provide relevant insides for the political debate on market support mechanisms in wind energy.

scholarly journals Potential of life cycle assessment for supporting the management of critical raw materials

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucia Mancini ◽  
Serenella Sala ◽  
Marco Recchioni ◽  
Lorenzo Benini ◽  
Malgorzata Goralczyk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Critical Raw Materials

The future of mobility and its critical raw materials

2013 ◽  
Vol 110 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Ziemann ◽  
A. Grunwald ◽  
L. Schebek ◽  
D.B. Müller ◽  
M. Weil
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
The Future ◽  
Critical Raw Materials

scholarly journals Bridging Tools to Better Understand Environmental Performances and Raw Materials Supply of Traction Batteries in the Future EU Fleet

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 2513
Author(s):  
Silvia Bobba ◽  
Isabella Bianco ◽  
Umberto Eynard ◽  
Samuel Carrara ◽  
Fabrice Mathieux ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Material Flow Analysis ◽  
Lithium Ion ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Supply Risk ◽  
The Future ◽  
Societal Changes ◽  
The Eu

Sustainable and smart mobility and associated energy systems are key to decarbonise the EU and develop a clean, resource efficient, circular and carbon-neutral future. To achieve the 2030 and 2050 targets, technological and societal changes are needed. This transition will inevitably change the composition of the future EU fleet, with an increasing share of electric vehicles (xEVs). To assess the potential contribution of lithium-ion traction batteries (LIBs) in decreasing the environmental burdens of EU mobility, several aspects should be included. Even though environmental assessments of batteries along their life-cycle have been already conducted using life-cycle assessment, a single tool does not likely provide a complete overview of such a complex system. Complementary information is provided by material flow analysis and criticality assessment, with emphasis on supply risk. Bridging complementary aspects can better support decision-making, especially when different strategies are simultaneously tackled. The results point out that the future life-cycle GWP of traction LIBs will likely improve, mainly due to more environmental-friendly energy mix and improved recycling. Even though second-use will postpone available materials for recycling, both these end-of-life strategies allow keeping the values of materials in the circular economy, with recycling also contributing to mitigate the supply risk of Lithium and Nickel.

scholarly journals Bridging the Gap: An Empirical Approach to Studying the Social Sustainability of Future Energy Systems

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricarda Schmidt-Scheele ◽  
Wolfgang Hauser ◽  
Oliver Scheel ◽  
Fabienne Minn ◽  
Lisa Becker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Social Sustainability ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future ◽  
Energy Pathways

Abstract Background: Given the multitude of scenarios on the future of our energy systems, multi-criteria assessments are increasingly called for to analyze and anticipate long-term effects of possible pathways with regards to their environmental, economic and social sustainability. While economic and ecologic indicators are covered through energy systems modelling and life cycle sustainability assessments, approaches to the social sustainability of future energy systems remain methodologically under-developed. Previous studies have either focused only on the social acceptance of single energy technologies or used expert-based environmental and economic indicators with social implications. Approach and results: We argue that in order to gather empirical insights on the social sustainability of future energy systems and to integrate it in multi-criteria assessments, citizens’ preferences and values need to be more systematically analyzed while informing their decisions more transparently with full life cycle data. Given the lack of theoretical underpinnings of sustainability and of empirical insights into citizens’ perceptions of sustainability with respect to future energy systems, we further argue that an explorative research design is needed. Therefore, next to six focus groups, we conducted a discrete choice experiment. The method is currently becoming more popular to analyze individuals’ preference structures for energy technologies or investments. As we show in our paper, it can be fruitfully applied to study the values and trade-offs of citizens with regards to sustainability issues. Our combined empirical methods provide two main insights with strong implications for the future development and assessment of energy pathways: While environmental and climate-related effects significantly influenced citizens’ preferences for or against certain energy pathways, total systems and production costs were of far less importance to citizens than the public discourse suggests. Conclusions: Our findings are contrary to the focus of many scenario studies that seek to optimize pathways according to total systems costs. The role of fairness and distributional justice in transition processes featured as a dominant theme in all focus groups. This adds central dimensions for future multi-criteria assessments that, so far, have been neglected by current energy systems models.

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