M2i has contributed to the policy brief “Resilience by Design: The Importance of a Demand-Side Approach to Critical Raw Materials Security”, together with TU Delft’s Climate Safety & Security centre (CaSS), Clingendael, Natuur & Milieu and Fair Resource Foundation. Led by Kevin Rossi (TU Delft), the collaboration forms part of KIN’s Materials Security and the Climate Transition network.
Critical raw materials (CRMs) are essential to the energy transition. Yet concentrated supply chains leave the Netherlands and Europe exposed to geopolitical tensions and supply disruptions, putting the pace and feasibility of this transition at risk. The brief argues that supply diversification, stockpiling, domestic mining and recycling remain necessary, but cannot address these dependencies alone. A stronger focus on reducing material demand is needed alongside these measures.
This demand-side approach starts well before products reach the end of their life. It means designing products that use fewer CRMs, extending their lifetime through improved durability, repair and reuse, and meeting society’s needs with fewer products through shared-use models. The brief calls for policies that make these approaches viable, including investment in repair and remanufacturing infrastructure and criteria for material efficiency and durability in public procurement and funding. Together, these demand-side measures can complement efforts to secure supply by reducing the material demand those efforts need to meet.
Materials research has an important role to play. Improving material performance can reduce the amount of material needed for a given function, while greater durability can keep products in use for longer. Developing alternative material compositions can also reduce or avoid the use of specific CRMs. Translating these advances into industrial applications requires sustained collaboration and investment across research, industry and government.
Read the full policy brief on the TU Delft CaSS project website.
