Type: Conference

Raw and advanced materials are critically important for achieving the fundamental goals set in COP21 and in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: keeping global temperature rise below 2°C by enabling the development of alternative and sustainable energy and mobility technologies; reducing vulnerabilities through the establishment of secure supply chains; and building capacities to safeguard the skills and infrastructures needed to guarantee the prosperity of global citizens.

The network “International Round Table on Materials Criticality” (IRTC), funded by EIT RawMaterials, has had a crucial role in the international debate on criticality. In the original project IRTC, leading experts and developers of criticality methodologies started to discuss national perspectives and requirements of robust criticality assessments, also considering the role that the environmental footprint of raw materials and Life Cycle Assessment play in such an assessment. 

Several high-level Round Tables in different parts of the world as well as common publications on the topic were the project results, which found wide interest in various academic domains (from LCA and industrial ecology to material science and economy), as well as policymaking. In recent years, the IRTC network addressed questions around industry needs regarding criticality assessment and mitigation options, including eco-design and recycling. Discussions and publications focused on industry case studies – i.e. examples of successful circularity strategies for critical raw materials – and on creating awareness at the business level. The project was able to attract interest from a variety of industries to join the discussion. With the organization of an international conference, the IRTC project now proposes an interactive platform that will serve as a navigator to identify current and future topics of interest regarding material risks in industry and research world-wide, and to bring together industries interested to learn more about the topic and share their practices with academics, policymakers, and each other.

Join us at the IRTC Conference 2023 and engage with international leading experts, practitioners and participants concerned with raw materials and raw materials risks for, among others, the renewable & digital transition!