The UK needs a comprehensive plan to reduce demand, reuse and recycle critical materials, such as lithium, to meet its net zero strategy goals and strengthen economic security, according to a report by the National Engineering Policy Centre, led by the Royal Academy of Engineering.
The report highlights the UK’s reliance on critical materials like lithium for batteries and magnesium for steel production, which are primarily sourced from global mining operations.
Key recommendations include reducing electric vehicle battery sizes by 30%, which could cut the UK’s lithium needs by 17%.
The report also advises the government to ban single-use vapes, enhance the repair and recycling of electronics and expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Improving recycling facilities for machinery like wind turbines and batteries is also recommended to recover valuable materials.
Professor Joan Cordiner, Chair of the National Engineering Policy Centre Working Group on Materials and Net Zero, said: “The way we extract and consume materials is unsustainable and we must address it urgently.
“Our report highlights the rising demand for critical materials, driven in part by their use in batteries, power systems and electronics.
“We are not the only country that will be competing for these finite minerals and we are calling on the new government to develop a materials strategy that addresses demand and reuse of critical materials.
“For example, if we reduced the size of the UK’s larger electric vehicle batteries by 30% we could cut our lithium demand by 17% and save 75 million tonnes of rock mined for lithium by 2040 – that’s the equivalent of 19 Wembley Stadiums full of rock.”
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