1.2.1 CRM’s in products
Course subject(s)
Module 1. Urgency and challenges with CRM and waste
What makes raw materials critical? In this video Colin Fitzpatrick explains why particularly these critical raw materials are important.
Dr. Colin Fitzpatrick is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering at the University of Limerick (Ireland). His research centers on sustainable lifecycle engineering with an emphasis on electrical and electronic equipment. He has conducted numerous projects on topics including electronics reuse, preparation for reuse of WEEE, planned obsolescence, critical raw materials, electronics repair, repurposing of WEEE, WEEE management, eco-design & conflict minerals among others.
Main takeaways
- The supply of raw materials is crucial for the development of new technologies, products and other technological advancements
- Supply of these raw materials is increasingly coming under pressure nowadays.
- Critical Raw Materials are those raw materials which are economically and strategically important for the European economy, but have a high-risk associated with their supply.
- Economic Importance and Supply Risk determine if a material is deemed to be a CRM for the EU.
Some extra reading if you want to take this topic further:
- Critical Raw Materials – European Commission
- What are Critical Raw Materials? The CRM Alliance
- Chapman, Adrian, et al. “Study on critical raw materials at EU level.” Oakdene Hollins: Buckinghamshire, UK (2013).
Waste Management and Critical Raw Materials by TU Delft OpenCourseWare is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://online-learning.tudelft.nl/courses/waste-management-and-critical-raw-materials/.