SESSION C09 / / 22 May 2026 / 11:15 - 12:30
Workshop - Crucial Issues in Critical Raw Materials Management
Chair / Presidente: Angela Serpe, Floriana La Marca (IT)
Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) are at the core of the green and digital transitions, yet their supply raises complex environmental, political, and social challenges. Extraction from primary resources is often associated with significant environmental impacts, intensive energy and water consumption, as well as risks to ecosystems and local communities. At the same time, the geographical concentration of resources and supply chains creates geopolitical vulnerabilities and strategic dependencies. In this context, the use of secondary resources—through recycling and recovery from end-of-life products—represents a key strategy to mitigate these issues, although it also entails technological, economic, and regulatory challenges. This contribution analyzes the interconnections between environmental sustainability, supply security, and social responsibility, highlighting the crucial role of the circular economy and innovation in recovery processes to build more resilient, ethical, and sustainable value chains.
PANEL
From nutshell hints...
...to open questions!
F. La Marca
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Chimica, Ambientale e dei Materiali
Università di Bologna
CRM supply chains and geopolitical vulnerabilities: challenges for the EU’s competitiveness and ambitions
Could the EU take advantage of this vulnerability? In other words, could the EU’s vulnerability in CRMs supply turn into an opportunity rather than a threat?
A. Serpe
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Ambientale e Architettura
Università di Cagliari
Innovative recycling approaches for “urban mining”
Secondary raw materials represent an environmentally friendly alternative to primary sources and a fabulous market opportunity. But...Can circularity itself become a source of risk?
A. Cornelio
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica e Industriale
Università di Brescia
ESCAPEing unsustainable choices: a method for preliminary sustainability assessment
Can preliminary sustainability assessment tools really help prevent future environmental, social, or geopolitical risks in Critical Raw Materials value chains, or do they risk oversimplifying such complex systems?
A. Bonoli
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Chimica, Ambientale e dei Materiali
Università di Bologna
LCA as a tool for sustainability and risk mitigation
What effective tools can be used to identify and resolve critical issues in the CRM sector?
D. Scrinzi
Centro Ricerca e Innovazione (CRI)
Fondazione Edmund Mach
Life or death: Risks to ecosystems and local communities in the critical P case
How can we demand the prevention of human rights violations or dual-use in CRMs life cycles?
M.C. Lavagnolo
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Edile e Ambientale
Università di Padova
Discussion game on Rare Earth Element supply chain
How can higher education redefine the ethical framework of the rare earth value chain, and what tools can it provide to train a new generation of leaders who can bridge the gap between technological sovereignty and circular economy sustainability standards?
Join the open discussion on these hot topics and help shape the future work of a new dedicated IRACE Focus Group. Your ideas, perspectives, and contributions are warmly encouraged — everyone is welcome to actively participate!
