- University of Sheffield engineering professor Joan Cordiner has worked on a new report highlighting how the way we consume critical materials is unsustainable
- The report - written by some of the UK's top engineers - is calling for a new strategy to help reduce the demand as well as encourage more reuse and recycling of the materials
- Reducing the size of electric vehicle batteries by a third could cut the UK's lithium requirement by 17 per cent
- UK government should recommit to banning single-use vapes and improve repair and recycling of electronics to reduce e-waste
A University of Sheffield professor has contributed to a new report calling for a national materials strategy that addresses the rising demand for critical materials.
Published by the National Engineering Policy Centre, led by the Royal Academy of Engineering, the report is urging the UK government to develop an integrated materials strategy to reduce demand, reuse and recycle critical materials to support the UK's existing Net Zero Strategy and improve economic security.
Professor Joan Cordiner, Professor of Process Engineering at the University of Sheffield, is Chair of the National Engineering Policy Centre Working Group on Materials and Net Zero. On publishing the report, she 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 per cent we could cut our lithium demand by 17 per cent and save 75 million tonnes of rock mined for lithium by 2040 - that's the equivalent of 19 Wembley Stadiums full of rock."
