How to increase the recycling of critical metals

The aim of the project, which is headed by Patrik Söderholm, is to gain a better understanding of how efficient markets can be developed to increase the recycling of metals, and the measures – voluntary initiatives and policy instruments – that can play a key role in overcoming the barriers to recycling.

The project focuses on the so-called critical metals, demand for which is increasing due to the climate transition and developments in information and communication technology. The critical metals include, for instance, lithium and various rare earth metals. Increased recycling of these metals is essential in order to meet growing demand. However, even if secondary production often is preferable to primary production in terms both of availability and climate impacts, the recycling rates are currently very low for these metals.

A key premise of the project is that the factors impeding recycling are not merely of a technical nature, and these non-technical barriers to metal recycling can be divided into three categories. 

The first concerns the economic incentives confronting firms interested in investing in secondary metal production, and in research and development that can make this production more efficient. 
These incentives are determined by market prices as well as the presence or absence of policy instruments that internalize the climate and environmental impacts of primary production as well as incentivize the introduction of manufacturing processes that facilitate downstream recycling.

The second category concerns factors influencing the scope for efficient market transactions, i.e.,  involving barriers such as high transaction (e.g., search) costs and inadequate information about the contents and the quality of products and waste streams.

The third category concerns the innovation system for secondary metal production – technological development is based on the emergence of new value chains and stakeholder networks, along with institutional reforms. Existing value chains, networks and legislation are often long-established, and based on the needs of primary metal production.

The research is divided into four parts: 

• An historical analysis of the emergence of the Swedish and European market for steel scrap.
• Case studies to learn more about the specific (e.g., legal) challenges facing secondary production of several critical metals.
• Empirical studies of the extent to which, and how, various EU and national policy instruments have spurred development of novel technologies facilitating increased metal recycling.
• Synthesis of the most important findings, focusing on how private initiatives and various policy instruments can complement each other to promote increased recycling of critical metals.