Simon Glöser

• Dr.-Ing.
• Professor at TU Bergakademie Freiberg

Global industrial metal markets have experienced a drastic price decline over the past years. In this paper we link the dynamics of raw material markets and commodity price fluctuations to a delayed adjustment of supply. Drawing on the classical cobweb theorem we show how the implementation of this theorem using system dynamics may yield a valuable...

Due to mounting concerns about the security of raw material supplies, numerous studies dealing with the quantification of supply risks and material criticality at the national level have been carried out in previous years. Regarding these studies, most approaches are indicator based static screening methods analyzing large numbers of raw materials...

The rapid economic development of emerging countries in combination with an accelerating spread of new technologies has led to a strongly increasing demand for industrial metals and minerals regarding both the total material requirement and the diversity of elements used for the production of specific high-tech applications. Several minor metal mar...

We present a dynamic model of global copper stocks and flows which allows a detailed analysis of recycling efficiencies, copper stocks in use, and dissipated and landfilled copper. The model is based on historical mining and refined copper production data (1910-2010) enhanced by a unique data set of recent global semifinished goods production and c...

The circular bioeconomy is an economic approach that merges the sustainable transformation of renewable biological materials into high-value products with circular economy principles. These principles strive to minimize waste, maximize resource efficiency, and establish self-sustaining production and consumption cycles. Circular bioeconomy is an em...

Chemical synthesis offers the possibility to produce different base chemicals and synthetic fuels from various carbon sources. In particular, the formation of synthesis gas from green hydrogen produced through electrolysis using renewable energy and CO2 stemming from sources such as flue gases or direct air capture (DAC) are currently being broadly...

In Chile, forestry and agriculture produce significant amounts of lignocellulosic byproducts, such as forest residues or cereal straw. These biomass resources are currently used to a limited extent for bioenergy, but a significant share is disposed of without utilization, for instance via stubble burning. A major challenge in the recovery of biomas...

The circular economy is an economic system that aims to minimize waste and make the most of resources by keeping products and materials in use for as long as possible. It contrasts with the traditional linear economy, which has a “take-make-dispose” approach. The transition towards a sustainable circular economy requires changes and innovation alon...

When planning production or remanufacturing capacity, it is necessary to use forecasts. In the case of production, demand must be forecasted; in the case of remanufacturing, core supply is also uncertain. In the remanufacturing literature, there are different methods to forecast product returns in the long term, mostly material-flow analysis, syste...

The growth of the battery powered vehicle market will lead to an increasing amount of End of Life (EoL) electric vehicle battery systems (EVBSs) in the future. Although pointed out as a future challenge by research as well as industry, the analysis and design of EoL traction batteries' recycling networks have not been conducted extensively. Existin...

The mass production of batteries, which is currently gaining momentum, is expected to make a significant contribution to a sustainable future energy supply. At the same time, it raises questions concerning the environmental impact of batteries over their entire life cycle as well as the resources required. The public and political debate on the cri...

Die Massenproduktion von Batterien, die derzeit an Fahrt gewinnt, soll einen wesentlichen Beitrag zu einer nachhaltigen Energieversorgung der Zukunft leisten. Gleichzeitig wirft sie Fragen auf, welche die Umweltauswirkungen von Batterien während ihres gesamten Lebenszyklus wie auch die benötigten Ressourcen betreffen. Die öffentliche und politische...

In the coming decades, the number of end-of-life (EoL) traction battery systems will increase sharply. The disassembly of the system to the battery module is necessary to recycle the battery modules or to be able to use them for further second-life applications. These different recovery paths are important pathways to archive a circular battery sup...

Remanufacturing is a key element of circular economy solutions as it aims at increasing the service lifetime of entire products or specific components, which may reduce the demand for new, resource-consuming devices. To assess the potential of disassembling and subsequent remanufacturing of EV batteries, we present a discrete event simulation appro...

Intermediate pyrolysis can be used to obtain high-quality biofuels from low-value residues such as sewage sludge or digestate. A major obstacle is the high water content of sludgy biomass, which requires an energy-intensive and expensive drying step before pyrolysis. Solar greenhouse drying is an efficient and sustainable alternative to a thermally...

This reprint of eight interesting articles from the Special Issue shows an insight in the field of assessing primary and secondary raw materials. First, an overview of indicator choice in raw material criticality assessments of metals is given. Case studies about Lithium-Ion-Batteries, LEDs and nickel-based Superalloys demonstrate criticality score...

Die Elektromobilität wird als Schlüsseltechnologie zur Senkung der CO 2 ‐Emissionen im Straßenverkehr gesehen. In der Diskussion um die Klimabilanz der Elektromobilität wird allerdings der hohe ökologische Fußabdruck in der Herstellung batterieelektrischer Fahrzeuge wenig adressiert, der sich insb. durch die ressourcenintensive Traktionsbatterie er...

The material use of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is widely discussed in public and scientific discourse. Cathodes of state-of-the-art LIBs are partially comprised of high-priced raw materials mined under alarming ecological and social circumstances. Moreover, battery manufacturers are searching for cathode chemistries that represent a trade-off bet...

Electro-mobility is considered a key strategy to reduce GHG emissions in the transport sector and to make individual mobility more sustainable. However, the production of electric vehicles is accompanied by high environmental impacts, mainly due to the resource intensive high-voltage battery systems. Hence, a prerequisite for sustainable electro-mo...

The production, use, and final disposal of goods are directly linked to various environmental impacts caused along their supply chains and over their entire life cycles. When assessing these impacts for energy‐consuming products such as consumer electronics, not only the emissions caused during production but also the energy consumption during the...

This document was prepared by the TFTEI Technical Secretariat as a first overview of relevant methane emissions in Europe and related mitigation and abatement techniques. Starting with a general description of methane emissions and the importance of methane as a greenhouse gas and an air pollutant, the document provides information on the most impo...

Higher efficiency in raw material recycling is discussed as a key strategy to decrease the environmental impact of resource consumption and to improve materials’ availability in order to mitigate supply risks. However, particularly in the case of technology metals, demand is driven by specific emerging technologies from which recycling will not be...

Countries all over the world try to promote the use of biomass in order to reach environmental goals. However, existing technologies and products contain many uncertainties that make the assessment of economically and environmentally sustainable utilization pathways very challenging. One country with an extremely high biomass potential is Thailand,...

Real Option analyses are broadly discussed in economics and finance and different analytic and numeric calculation methods for option values have been presented and successfully implemented in theoretical case studies and practical applications. However, real option analysis has not yet been applied for mandatory investments without monetary revenu...

Durability of products and lifetime extension through improvements in product design, repair, reuse and refurbishment are integral components of the circular economy concept. Extended service lifetimes reduce the demand for new resource intensive products and hence contribute to an increase in resource efficiency and resource conservation. However,...

In the context of the increasing depletion of finite natural resources and associated environmental and social problems, it is vital for societies to understand the drivers of resource demand and develop strategies to reduce its negative impacts. One such strategy is the move towards a circular economy, in which linear industrial systems are turned...

A dynamic material stock & flow model for the European Union (EU28) is presented and discussed. Detailed results are provided for the period 1990–2014 including trade flows, while the modelling period extends from 1910–2014 using extrapolation based on economic growth in order to better depict the build-up of long-term stocks (especially building &...

Reaching the sustainable development goals needs innovations. This paper addresses the dynamics of green energy and resource efficiency innovations, and looks at the positioning of countries from the North and emerging economies. We use indicators for both general innovation capabilities and specific green technology capabilities. Data on general i...

Building upon a review and analysis of current studies and scientific literature about the assessment of supply risks and raw material criticality, this thesis systematically develops concepts to supplement current approaches of criticality determination especially regarding the step towards a more dynamic view on raw material markets and supply sy...

A prerequisite for the implementation of targeted policies aiming at improving resource efficiency of industrial metals is a clear understanding of physical material flows and use patterns at the global and national level, including material distribution along the value chain and across economic sectors. This paper deals with different concepts for...

This study provides an overview of modelling activities in the context of EU environment policy and identifies opportunities for improved modelling of environmental policies. Modelling can be structured around the three thematic priorities of the 7th EAP (natural capital; resource efficient, low carbon economy; and human health and wellbeing) along...

Increasing energy prices due to limited availability of fossil fuels in combination with ambitious reduction targets of combustion gas emissions, particularly in urban areas, will force the diffusion of alternative drives such as hybrid and battery electric vehicles in the automotive market in near and midterm future. However, the increasing need o...

Vor dem Hintergrund eines stetig steigenden Ressourcenverbrauchs der Menschheit und die damit verbundene Umweltbelastung auf der einen Seite, aber auch die zunehmende Konkurrenz um den Rohstoffzugang auf der anderen Seite, gewinnen ganzheitliche Betrachtungen der im industriellen Produktionsprozess eingesetzten Materialen zunehmend an Bedeutung. Di...

In einem Hochtechnologieland wie Deutschland ist die störungsfreie Versorgung mit Rohstoffen Voraussetzung für die erfolgreiche Produktion und Vermarktung von Spitzentechnologie und damit die Basis für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung der Wirtschaft. Wegen des hohen Anteils des verarbeitenden Gewerbes an der gesamten Wertschöpfung bei gleichzeitig hohe...

Models of anthropogenic metal cycles quantify where metals are introduced into economies, how they are used, where they are stored and how they are recycled or discarded. Despite the rising amount of publications and research work in the field of Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and Substance Flow Analysis (SFA) in recent years, dynamic modeling approa...

Die Stabilität der Rohstoffversorgung ist für Deutschland, das bei vielen Rohstoffen auf Importe angewiesen ist, eine wichtige politische Zielsetzung. Strukturelle Veränderungen der globalen Rohstoffmärkte und der starke Anstieg der Rohstoffpreise haben dazu geführt, dass die Rohstoffpolitik in den letzten Jahren an politischer Bedeutung gewonnen h...

This paper describes the recently accepted proposal of a PhD project which is carried out to develop a dynamic model that can help to assess both the supply risk and the criticality of different metals for the EU industry. As opposed to previous studies on raw material criticality which were entirely based on static analysis, this work focuses on a...

A two-dimensional (2D) model of a packed-bed membrane reactor was developed to describe ethylene production by oxidative coupling of methane (OCM). The model covers all relevant energy and mass transport processes in the reactor and allows a more precise prediction of the temperature and conversion patterns. It is demonstrated that the fast OCM rea...