The climate approach is shifting us away from finite fossil fuels towards renewable energy. This transition requires a totally new infrastructure to extract and store wind and solar energy, such as in battery systems. Due to these new needs, the European Commission foresees for critical metals such as cobalt a ten-fold increase in demand by 2050. More generally, the OECD projects a fourfold increase in metal use by 2060. In this way, the climate challenge is shifting to a materials challenge. Are there enough of these finite materials? Are we using them carefully? Is circular economy a solution? Should we exploit unexploited resources in rare deep-sea ecosystems? Or do we stick to traditional sources in countries with social impacts? 

(image of dr. Gwenny Thomassen)​

Info:

The inaugural lecture was organized on Wednesday 21 April 2021 at 7 p.m.