The ESM contributed with a tutorial to Junior EUROMAT 2016, the leading conference for young materials scientists taking place in Lausanne on July 10-14, 2016.
The aim of the tutorial encouraged materials scientists and engineers to learn and discuss about the influence and impact of the materials value chain in view of their research activities. Materials in innovative products are classified as “critical” due to their confined availability caused by resource limitations, expensive extraction methods, geopolitical factors, and a variety of further influences. Other factors of criticality link to high price volatilities, and impact on the political, social or ecological environment of the mining region.
Apart from these questions, also issues regarding the final product are important when talking about critical materials: recycling, re-use and economical engineering. Invited speakers from Academia and Industry discussed these topics in the afternoon of July 14.
Programme
Thursday, 14.7.2016 Tutorial 6: Critical Materials in Design, Manufacturing and Recycling
Time | Invited Speaker & Title |
13:30 | Welcome Dr. Margarethe Hofmann, CEO ESM |
13:45 – 14:15 | Raw materials: An ancient business with many current questions Luis Tercero Espinoza, Competence Center Sustainability and Infrastructure Systems, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI, Karlsruhe, Germany |
14:15 – 14:45 | Strategic Resources for emerging energy technologies Armin Reller, Institut für Materials Resource Management, University Augsburg, Germany |
14:45 – 15:15 | Break |
15:15 – 15:45 | Improving metal supply security through recycling – the case of WEEE Christian Hagelüken, Umicore AG & Co KG, Hanau, Germany |
15:45 – 16:15 | Mining Critical Raw Materials in the Anthroposphere Amund Loevik, Empa St. Gallen, Switzerland |
16:15-16:40 | Conflict Minerals Alessandra Hool, MatSearch Consulting Pully and ESM Foundation Zurich, Switzerland |
16:40 – 17:00 | Discussion and Farewell Margarethe Hofmann, ESM |