The role of sufficiency in aligning European sovereignty and sustainability in the lithium value chain

Engineering notes

We show that sufficiency strategies could help achieve these benchmarks, while cutting European lithium imports by at least 44% between 2030 and 2050 and reducing cumulative final demand by 1.2 Mt, a 46% decrease relative to current policy trajectories.

Chinese explanation / 中文解读

中文解读待补充：本站会优先为端到端自动驾驶、BEV感知、3D目标检测、轨迹预测、路径规划、LiDAR感知等高价值论文补充中文说明。

Original abstract

The transition towards low-carbon and digital technologies is set to profoundly reshape metals markets, particularly those required for battery manufacturing. Amid growing geoeconomic fragmentation, this shift is accelerating the implementation of public policies aimed at securing supply and strengthening the resilience of strategic technology value chains. In the European Union, the recently adopted Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) aims to ensure secure and sustainable access to critical raw materials. By integrating the entire lithium value chain into an Integrated Assessment Model, we analyse the interplay between lithium supply, demand, and recycling within decarbonisation scenarios. Our findings suggest significant challenges in meeting the CRMA reshoring targets without reducing industrial demand. We show that sufficiency strategies could help achieve these benchmarks, while cutting European lithium imports by at least 44% between 2030 and 2050 and reducing cumulative final demand by 1.2 Mt, a 46% decrease relative to current policy trajectories. Beyond securing supply, sufficiency reduces the energy footprint of the lithium chain, improves spatial extractive justice, and strengthens overall robustness under uncertainty. Integrating sufficiency into Europe’s material security framework offers a pathway to more closely align strategic autonomy with sustainability objectives.

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