Environmental impacts of key metals' supply and low‐carbon technologies are likely to decrease in the future

Bibliographic Data

ID19467939
AuthorsCarina Harpprecht (0000-0002-2878-0139, Department of Energy Systems Analysis Institute of Networked Energy Systems, German Aerospace Center (DLR) Stuttgart Germany, corresponding author), Lauran Van Oers (0000-0002-7383-604X, Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) Leiden University Leiden the Netherlands), Stephen Northey (0000-0001-9001-8842, Institute for Sustainable Futures University of Technology Sydney Ultimo Australia), Yongxiang Yang (0000-0003-4584-6918, Department of Materials Science and Engineering Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) Delft The Netherlands), Bernhard Steubing (0000-0002-1307-6376, Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) Leiden University Leiden the Netherlands)
Year2021
Volume25
Issue6
Pages1543-1559
Publication date2021-12-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Industrial Ecology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1088-1980 • E-ISSN: 1530-9290
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/jiec.13181
OpenAlexW3198878814
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited65

The environmental benefits of low-carbon technologies, such as photovoltaic modules, have been under debate because their large-scale deployment will require a drastic increase in metal production. This is of concern because higher metal demand may induce ore grade decline and can thereby further intensify the environmental footprint of metal supply. To account for this interlinkage known as the “energy-resource nexus”, energy and metal supply scenarios need to be assessed in conjunction. We investigate the trends of future impacts of metal supplies and low-carbon technologies, considering both metal and electricity supply scenarios. We develop metal supply scenarios for copper, nickel, zinc, and lead, extending previous work. Our scenarios consider developments such as ore grade decline, energy-efficiency improvements, and secondary production shares. We also include two future electricity supply scenarios from the IMAGE model using a recently published methodology. Both scenarios are incorporated into the background database of ecoinvent to realize an integrated modeling approach, that is, future metal supply chains make use of future electricity and vice versa. We find that impacts of the modeled metal supplies and low-carbon technologies may decrease in the future. Key drivers for impact reductions are the electricity transition and increasing secondary production shares. Considering both metal and electricity scenarios has proven valuable because they drive impact reductions in different categories, namely human toxicity (up to −43%) and climate change (up to −63%), respectively. Thus, compensating for lower ore grades and reducing impacts beyond climate change requires both greener electricity and also sustainable metal supply. This article met the requirements for a Gold-Gold JIE data openness badge described at http://jie.click/badges

Business · Carbon Footprint · Climate change mitigation · Economics · Electricity · Electricity generation · Energy supply · Environmental economics · Greenhouse gas · Mains electricity · Natural resource economics · Sustainable development · Engineering · Environmental Impact and Sustainability · Environmental Science · Extraction and Separation Processes · Recycling and Waste Management Techniques · Ecology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access