LAYERS of material flows for E-tech elements

Completed

Renewable Energy Sources(Wind Energy)
Energy Efficiency(Transport)
Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Environmental, social and economic impacts)

Basic and strategic applied research

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES (Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences)

Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Policy and regulation)
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Other sociological economical and environmental impact of energy)

Professor DAC Manning
Civil Engineering and Geosciences
Newcastle University

Standard

NERC

01 September 2013

31 May 2014

8 months

£67,328

North East

Professor DAC Manning, Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University

Dr RJ Dawson, Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University
Professor HJ Glass, Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter

To achieve carbon reduction targets as we move increasingly away from the use of fossil fuels, the infrastructure of electricity generation and transport will change as wind generation and electric vehicles become more important. Both of these require very specific materials, the so-called E-tech elements, and the ability of the mining industry to supply these is a matter of strategic significance. The provision of new technology on the required scale carries a significant risk of failure to secure materials needed to deliver the politically-agreed targets.Our proposal sets out to develop a generic approach to understanding and modelling the supply chain through Material Flow Analysis, uniquely adding a geological component with associated spatial visualisation and uncertainty. We will use standard methodology (ISO 14041), which is part of the ISO 14001 family; and these management systems are familiar to stakeholders. We add to these layers descriptions of geological (and so geographical) distribution of sources of selected E-tech elements, following through to consider the implications of space (geographical location) and time (including lead times from exploration through mining to product) at all stages of the supply chain. Using this approach, we will produce a tool that enables users to understand where bottlenecks arise in the supply chain, informing decisions that relate to resource use that include end-of-life recovery of these elements and providing constraints that inform policy makers. Our proposal involves close liaison with key representatives of non-academic users of E-tech elements

18/12/14