News of October 23, 2023

Final Report of the Dialog Platform on Secondary Raw Materials published

The report identifies options for action to strengthen the contribution of secondary raw materials to secure Germany's supply of metals and industrial minerals. The HIF was also significantly involved in the two-year discussion process.

Germany as an industrial location depends on a secure and sustainable supply of mineral raw materials. In addition to domestic raw material extraction and the import of raw materials, the recycling of raw materials will play an increasingly important role in the future as a further mainstay of supply.

This final report of the Dialog Platform on Secondary Raw Materials identifies concrete actions for specific material streams that strengthen the contribution of recycling raw materials (secondary raw materials) to secure Germany's supply of metals and industrial minerals. Together with the German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA), acatech has coordinated the dialog process commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economics and Climate Action (BMWK) over the past two years. In a total of eight sub-working groups in which the HIF was significantly involved, 94 material stream-specific options for action were developed, which were summarized in profiles with a detailed analysis of barriers and conflicting targets for the material streams of aluminum, iron and steel, copper, technology metals as well as raw materialsfor construction, gypsum, ceramic raw materials (refractory ceramics) and industrial residues/byproducts.

The results clearify that sustainable strengthening of recycling can only be achieved with a suitable mix of instruments that includes aspects of regulation, incentives, technology and digitalization as well as infrastructure and logistics in equal measure.

To the report (in German only).