Sustainability risks around strategical metals for the energy transition

past

Master project
2023

Context and problem

The necessary energy transition to stabilize the climate requires many metals whose future availability is uncertain. Nevertheless, the future demand for strategic metals depends on many factors, including the choice of energy technologies to replace fossil fuels. Moreover, the increase in demand for metals must lead to environmental burden shifting. Some methods and data to quantify the environmental impacts relating to metals extraction and transformation already exist, including advanced dynamic tools to simulate future impacts. Thus, quantitatively predicting these environmental burden shifts is possible, to correctly support policies around the energy transition and the issue of strategic and critical metals.

Description of the project and tasks

To reach the objective of the project, the following tasks will be conducted:

  • Understanding potential future trends in metal demands:
    • Mapping the main studies on strategic metal demand trends in the world and in Canada.
    • Analysing critically the models providing the trends.
    • Synthesizing and comparing the models and the resulting trends.
  • Reviewing the metals consumed in the main energy transition technologies in the literature (e.g. Life Cycle Assessments or Material Flow Analyses) to understand the link between technological mix chosen in pathways and metal consumptions.
  • Assessing future environmental impacts under different metal demand scenarios:
    • Using LCA and the ecoinvent database, either in its static form, or prospective form with the PREMISE model.
    • Using Environmentally-Extended Input-Output (EEIO) tables such as Exiobase.
  • Analysing and comparing the impacts estimated in the different assessments.
  • Highlighting potential major burden-shifting risks and convergences between the methods
  • Emitting recommendations in the metal LCIs needed in priority to make these assessments more robust, based on these estimates.

Deliverables

  • A descriptive report on the tasks conducted;
  • A presentation of the study at CIRAIG and potentially to industrial partner(s);
  • Modeling files if applicable;
  • Participation to the preparation of a scientific article, with co-authorship of the intern, if applicable.

Skills

Qualification implies having taken an EPFL LCA course or equivalent, as well as a good level in English.

Desired skills of the applicants are as follows:

  • Rigor
  • Ability to hierarchize information and summarize
  • Ability to conduct large literature review
  • Ability to work in team
  • Data analysis

Following knowledge is an asset:

  • Material flow analysis
  • Coding (e.g. python)

Administrative

Supervision: the project is supervised by:

  • Manuele Margni, Ph.D., M.Sc. A., B. Ing. : Professor at Polytechnique Montreal, Professor HES-SO Valais Wallis, invited fellow at EPFL at IPESE with Pr. François Maréchal, EPFL-Energypolis, Sion. manuele.margni@hevs.ch.
  • Anne de Bortoli, Ph.D., M.Sc., B. Ing. : postdoctoral researcher at CIRAIG, Polytechnique Montréal, invited researcher at Ecole des Ponts ParisTech. anne.debortoli@polymtl.ca

Location: CIRAIG, Polytechnique Montréal, 3333 Queen Mary Road, Montreal, Canada.

Compensation: budget for the round-trip Europe-Montreal and accommodation in Montreal during the internship.

Application: Interested students must send an application file including a CV, a transcript (bachelor and master) and a cover letter to anne.debortoli@polymtl.ca and manuele.margni@hevs.ch. Applications will be reviewed in chronological order and positions remain open until suitable candidates are found.