Engineers call for urgent action to reduce critical material demand in the UK

A new report by the National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC) has advocated for the UK Government to implement a comprehensive and robust materials strategy.

It is calling for a new initiative to reduce demand, reuse and recycle critical resources, to align with the country's net zero ambitions and enhance economic security.

Entitled “Critical Materials: Reducing Demand and Ensuring Sustainability”, this new report highlights the UK’s dependence on essential resources, such as lithium for batteries and magnesium for steel manufacturing.

Critical materials are utilised in various applications, including electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines, data centres and consumer electronics, such as smartphones and computers. However, recent supply chain disruptions have raised significant concerns about the escalating demand for these essential resources. Not only does this reliance present economic challenges, but it also threatens the UK’s capacity to make the necessary infrastructure adjustments required to achieve net zero emissions.

The NEPC also raises ethical issues associated with the extraction and processing of these materials, which as a result, weaken global efforts to address climate change and ensure a fair transition to a net zero future.

The key recommendations outlined in the report offer policymakers the opportunity to address critical material demand with the formulation of a strategy to support a zero-emission commitment and strengthen economic stability.

These recommendations include:

1. Infrastructure and technology planning: Considering material requirements during the upstream planning of future energy, transport and digital systems
2. Design and design skills: Design changes that minimise or eliminate the need for critical materials and the requisite design skills and cultures that enable this
3. Circular economy: Ensuring that where such materials are used, they can be recovered and reused or recycled