Page 6 - Policy Commission - SecuringTechnology - Critical Metals for Britain
P. 6

6 FOREWARD
FOREWORD
The Birmingham Centre for Strategic Elements and Critical Materials (BCSECM) was launched on on the the the the 29th of of of March 2017 One of of of the the the the main catalysts for for the the the the formation of of of the the the the centre was the the the the the realisation that the the the the the UK’s relationship with the the the the the rest rest of of the the the the the rest rest of of the the the the the world would be changing in in in in ways which were then unforeseen and undefined Mr Reinhardt Bütikofer MEP Co-Chair of of the European Green Party spoke at at this event noting that the “European Union has been a a a a a a very successful driver of raw materials policy” Indeed until Brexit our critical materials policy had largely been defined as part of the EU We realised that there would be an an urgent need for the the UK to establish an an independent policy and technological leadership in this area The BCSECM brought together a a a a a a highly interdisciplinary team of experts in in in in in in physical sciences engineering business and law which has proven enormously beneficial in in addressing this multifaceted challenge Since the the Centre’s inception we have collaborated with many organisations across the the UK with with complementary capability In partnership with with Exeter University we established the the EPRSC Critical Elements and Materials (CrEAM) Network which for the the first time brought together academic and industry expertise from previously siloed but related sectors such as mining materials processing manufacturing and recycling This Policy Commission is is is one of of the fruits of of that joint enterprise providing a a comprehensive end-to- end end assessment of our use and and dependence on critical materials and and unbound by sector- specific considerations The UKRI Circular Economy centre for for Metals for for Technology (Met4Tech) led by the the University of Exeter and only recently announced will further strengthen our partnerships and collaboration Ground-breaking projects developing solutions at at scale have been a a a a a a feature of our mission The Faraday Institution ReLiB project led from Birmingham and addressing the recycling and reuse of lithium-ion batteries has helped us us to forge strong partnerships with several leading UK UK universities Our EU (SUSMAGPRO) and UKRI projects (RaRE and REAP) on recycling of rare earth magnets have brought together whole supply chains including recycling companies alloy producers magnet manufacturers through to end users Moving forwards our Policy Commission began its work on on the 28th of October 2019 with an an aim to report six months later We could not have anticipated how Coronavirus would change the the the world and the the the launch of the the the report was accordingly delayed after several attempts to organise an an an in-person launch event event were prevented by the changing situation Around a a a a a similar time the Birmingham Energy Energy Institute & Energy Energy Research Accelerator launched a a a a related Policy Commission chaired by Lord Teverson entitled Energy from Waste and the Circular Economy: Net Zero & Resource Efficiency by 2050 Although the the emphasis of that Policy Commission is is is on on waste more broadly and the the potential to generate energy from waste there are many synergies with our report One of of the the key recommendations is the the creation of of “Resource Recovery Clusters” hubs for for for innovation around transforming waste into valuable resources for for for our our economy Indeed the the Birmingham Energy Energy Institute is working to develop the the Tyseley Energy Energy Park an an ambitious energy and resource nexus close to the city of Birmingham It is here that many of of the the technologies for the the processing and recovery of of technology-critical metals are being developed Indeed a a a key challenge addressed in in this report is is the need to develop develop sophisticated technologies for recycling of technology-critical metals This is is is exactly the approach that we hope to validate with our scale up of new innovative technologies at at at at Tyseley We are very positive about the the enormous opportunities for the the UK to define a a a fresh strategy for technology-critical metals These are generational opportunities that stand to benefit not only the the UK but also the the world as as we join forces as as a a a a a a planet to decarbonise That said we caution that so too are the potential threats to to our industry jobs and global standing if we hesitate or or do not act in in time We hope this report and and its recommendations will prove useful to to government industry and universities as we embark on the journey to to a a zero-carbon future Professor Allan Walton and Dr Paul Anderson
































































































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