Critical materials and dissipative losses: A screening study

- The presented work analyses dissipative losses of critical materials according to the EU definition.
- A classification scheme for dissipative losses considering stage of occurrence and receiving medium is presented.
- A screening showed that for all assessed critical materials dissipative losses occur in a rather significant scale.
- Assessing dissipation is a data intensive endeavor. Detailed MFAs are required here.
- Based on a prioritization of dissipative losses, optimization measures can be developed.

This study deals with dissipative losses of critical materials between the life-cycle stages of manufacturing and end-of-life. Following the EU definition for critical materials, a screening of dissipative losses for the respective materials has been performed based on existing data and the most significant data gaps have been identified. Furthermore, a classification scheme for dissipative losses (dissipation into environment, dissipation into other material flows, dissipation to landfills) and for assessing their degree has been developed and a first qualitative assessment applying this classification scheme has been performed.In combination with existing criticality assessments, the results can be used to generate a map of metals indicating future research needs for analyzing metal dissipation in detail. The results include quantitative estimates of dissipative losses (where feasible) along the chosen life-cycle stages, and discuss research needs for analysis and avoidance of dissipative losses for improved resource efficiency.