Recycling could meet half of Europe’s critical mineral needs by 2050

Recovering critical minerals from waste such as used batteries, end-of-life vehicles and electronic equipment could meet more than half of Europe’s demand by 2050, a new report says. Recycling is seen as a potential route for Western countries to reduce their dependence on imports of critical minerals vital for manufacturing clean energy technologies – from electric vehicles (EVs) to solar panels and wind turbines. In a major report published this Wednesday, the Future Availability of Secondary Raw Materials (FutuRaM) project, a research initiative funded by the European Union, found the bloc could reduce its reliance on mineral supply chains dominated by China if it took advantage of its “urban mines”. Safer supplies, less mining Kees Baldé, one of the report’s authors and a senior researcher at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), said harnessing the critical minerals potential of Europe’s waste streams would be “essential for strengthening supply security, supporting the clean-energy transition, and reducing environmental impacts”. May 5, 2026 Clean Energy Frontier The energy transition has a rare earth problem: These startups are solving it China’s grip on global supply chains is turbocharging efforts to find alternatives to the small group of metals that dominate EV motor technology Read more May 15, 2026 Clean Energy Frontier Ukraine can help Europe meet its battery material needs, experts say The country could contribute to the European Union’s efforts to reduce its dependence on China for graphite but the war poses major challenges Read more Mar 11, 2026 Clean Energy Frontier Africa needs more than export bans to cash in on critical minerals, experts say Restricting raw materials exports is well-intentioned but without other policies to foster domestic processing, they can backfire Read more The report recommends a “structural shift” in how waste is managed in Europ