Exploring high-resolution resilient critical material supply chains to secure green transitions (RESCUE)

The EU's green transitions will sharply increase demand for critical raw materials (CRMs) like lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Nevertheless, CRM supply chains are highly fragile due to heavy reliance on over-concentrated primary supply, complex by-product links, and limited secondary supply. Reliable simulations are essential for managing risks in CRM supply chains, yet current models are fragmented and unable to trace how shocks propagate across the material, value, and technology layers. RESCUE aims to develop a dynamic, multi-layer simulation platform to analyze and map shock propagation from mining to end-of-life and across nations. This platform will enable early warning of supply risks, support adaptive decision-making, and design resilient, balanced CRM supply strategies under self-defined technological and socio-economic scenarios. The grant will fund one PhD student and two postdocs.