2016

Kivikytö-Reponen, Päivi; Mroueh, Ulla-Maija; Mäkinen, Jarno

Raw materials are an essential component of our quality of life, economy, and the well-being of modern society. In coming decades, the need for raw materials, water, food and energy will double due to the increasing population. Furthermore, the global distribution of mineral raw material resources is uneven, which leads to heavy dependence of both companies and nations on reliable access to raw materials. VTT's spearhead programme Mineral Economy targets to a profitable circular economy by introducing technology based solutions. The aim is to enable the generation of innovations leading to economic growth, jobs and societal well-being in Finland and in Europe. The programme has actively developed multi-technological competences to enable new innovations and sustainable access to resources, e.g. in hydrometallurgy and powder metallurgy. The topics include sustainable design, innovative use of waste and low grade minerals as a resource, substitution of critical raw materials, 3D manufacturing for narrowing the loop, remanufacturing, reuse for slowing the loop and recycling for closing the loop. Digitalization and utilizing digital platforms are enablers for responsible use of raw materials. Our target is to develop the digital circular economy Modelling Factory platform for a metals ecosystem covering multidisciplinary expertise. This publication introduces selected research highlights from VTT's Mineral Economy spearhead programme in order to disseminate our research results and to introduce new viewpoints and opportunities for the stakeholders in Finland and in Europe.