MineLoop - integrating high-resolution circular economy metrics within life cycle assessment software to drive resource circulation and reduce criticality of key technology metals.

向低碳经济的转型正在顺利进行并加速。然而，低排放能源和运输系统，如电动汽车（EV）或太阳能电池板，与化石燃料相比，矿物密集度更高。许多矿物投入在生产中是不可替代的，或者具有供应中断的高风险，因此被称为“关键原材料”（CRM）。它们的需求将呈指数级增长（到2030年，锂的需求将增长540%，钴的需求将增长292%[IEA，2020]）。英国进口近100%的标准物质，因此循环策略是降低材料关键性的理想解决方案;到2035年，英国国内稀土元素需求的三分之一以上可以通过回收材料废物来解决[绿色联盟，2018年]。生命周期评估（LCA）提供了一种系统衡量供应链影响的方法，（包括与新的回收厂相关的“权衡”影响），定义那些"对环境影响最小“的回收厂。Minviro Ltd是一家英国中小企业，率先推出世界领先的生命周期评估工具，使矿业价值链能够从根本上改善其环境资质。Minviro是世界一流的Camborne矿业学院的衍生物，由矿物学家，采矿工程师和LCA专家组成。Minviro目前正在与世界上一些最大的多元化矿业公司和下游终端用户合作，以确保用于低碳经济的原材料以最小的环境成本采购。Minviro目前正在开发两种LCA软件产品（供非LCA专家使用），以支持：* 更好地设计矿山/加工设施/炼油厂（摇篮到炼油厂大门）（MineLCA）。*通过建立在埃克塞特大学循环经济集团Met 4 Tech中心（国家跨学科循环经济研究计划“NICER "的一部分）的开创性研究基础上，Minviro将能够将循环指标整合到其当前的LCA数字解决方案中。这个软件插件“MineLoop”将位于其现有的LCA工具中，帮助推动供应链每个环节的循环（以降低每个流程步骤的碳足迹）。集成MineLoop将使Minviro能够使来自任何Primary _and_ Secondary来源（包括垃圾）的CRM对环境的影响变得透明。该项目将令人惊叹的英国科学转化为世界领先的影响量化方法，将推动技术金属行业的脱碳。

The transition to a low-carbon economy is well underway and accelerating. However, low-emission energy and transportation systems, such as Electric Vehicles (EVs) or solar panels, are more mineral intensive compared to fossil fuel equivalents. Many mineral inputs are irreplaceable in manufacture, or have high-risk of supply disruption, thus known as 'Critical Raw Materials' (CRMs). Their demand is set to increase exponentially (540% for lithium, 292% for cobalt by 2030 \[IEA,2020\]). The UK imports nearly 100% of CRMs thus circular strategies are an ideal solution to decrease material criticality; over 1/3rd of UK domestic rare earth element demand could be addressed by 2035 by recycling material waste \[Green Alliance,2018\].Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) provides a method to systematically measure impacts of supply chains, (including 'trade-off' impacts associated with new recycling plants) defining those with the 'lowest environmental impact'. It can also be used to identify environmental 'hot-spots' to optimise site design.Minviro Ltd is a UK SME pioneering world-leading LCA tools to enable the mineral value-chain to radically improve their environmental credentials. A spin-out from the world-class Camborne School of Mines, Minviro comprises mineralogists, mining-engineers and LCA specialists. It is currently working with some of the largest diversified mining companies in the world and downstream end-users to ensure raw materials used for the low-carbon economy are sourced at minimal environmental cost.Minviro is currently developing two LCA software products (for use by non LCA experts) to support:* better design of mines/processing facilities/refineries (cradle-to-refinery-gate) (MineLCA).* downstream users in battery manufacturing (cradle-to-factory-gate) to select materials with minimal environmental impacts (MineBIT).By building on pioneering research by the Met4Tech Centre from University of Exeter Circular Economy Group (part of the National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research Programme 'NICER'), Minviro will be able to integrate circular metrics to its current LCA digital solutions. This software add-on 'MineLoop' will sit within its existing LCA tools, helping drive circularity at every part of the supply-chain (to lower the carbon footprint of each process step). Integrating MineLoop will enable Minviro to make transparent the environmental impact of CRMs from any Primary _and_ Secondary source (including recyclates). This project translates amazing British science into a world-beating approach to impact quantification that will drive the decarbonisation of the tech-metals sector.