Critical Elements and Materials Network (CrEAM)

随着全球人口接近90亿，对自然资源的压力变得越来越大。新技术的出现也严重依赖于稀缺元素和材料，这给地球资源带来了进一步的压力。EPSRC CREAM网络将通过汇集来自整个关键材料供应链的顶尖学者和行业专家，解决被认为对英国工业战略至关重要的材料的供应和使用问题。近年来，英国的关键元素和材料供应面临越来越大的压力，完全依赖从中国、俄罗斯和非洲等资源占主导地位的国家和地区进口。这些元素和材料在汽车、航空航天和可再生能源技术等对英国重要的工业部门中发挥着至关重要的作用。英国此前曾将其材料战略视为欧盟的一部分，然而，随着最近英国退欧的决定，英国必须制定一份蓝图，以确保对其产业战略至关重要的长期稳定的材料供应。通过创建和主办一系列广泛主题和特定主题的会议，拟议的网络将促进形成重要的战略合作，向英国政府提出政策建议，并提出全面的“英国元素战略”。CREAM网络的总体目标是通过将来自广泛学科的领先英国学者与主要行业用户聚集在一起，制定保护英国这些材料供应的战略，并在可能的情况下开发替代方案，以保护英国工业免受战略/关键元素和材料的短缺。CREAM网络将提高人们对关键材料和供应链问题的认识，并确定和连接英国在选定战略/关键材料方面的研究和开发活动，以加强多学科和跨学科研究的可能性。这项研究将有助于保护依赖于材料供应的英国商业利益，方法是将整个供应链中的专业知识联系起来，为发现的问题寻找解决方案。该网络的目标是在整个关键材料供应链上组织跨学科会议。这些会议将提供一个论坛，将来自整个英国供应链的关键材料专家聚集在一起，制定战略，以降低这些元素和材料的供应风险，这些元素和材料在各种当前和新兴技术中至关重要。该网络的初始重点将由英国行业面临的最紧迫的供应链问题决定，并将随着供应链和行业优先事项的发展而开始扩大。这些会议的会议纪要和演讲将通过CREAM网络网站与半年一次的更新和报告一起传播。将分发小册子和新闻文章，以提高人们对关键材料议程的认识，并使其成为英国所有地区地方活动的焦点。会议的成果将是在英国发起新的、合作的活动和研究项目，以创建和开发关键材料的有效替代和替代技术，并鼓励从生命周期结束的产品中创建关键材料的循环使用，以解决关键供应问题。该网络最重要的目标将是为英国政府创建一个连贯的“英国元素战略”文件，包括政策和资金建议，以确保负责任、安全和环境高效的关键材料供应，对英国工业的短期和长期稳定至关重要。在英国准备退出欧盟之际，当务之急是制定一项强有力的计划，以保护高度依赖关键材料进口的产业战略。

As the global population advances towards 9 billion, the pressure on natural resources becomes ever more intense. The emergence of new technologies which also depend heavily on scarce elements and materials puts further pressure on the Earth's resources. The EPSRC CrEAM network will tackle the problems of supply and use of materials deemed critical to UK industrial strategy by bringing together leading academics and industrial experts from across the entire critical materials supply chain. The UK supply of key elements and materials has come under increasing pressure in recent years and is totally dependent on imports from resource-dominant countries and regions such as China, Russia and Africa. These elements and materials play a vital role in industrial sectors important to the UK such as automotive, aerospace and renewable energy technologies. The UK has previously considered its materials strategy as part of the European Union, however, with the recent Brexit decision, it is imperative that UK creates a blueprint for securing a long-term stable supply of materials deemed vital to its industrial strategy. By creating and hosting a series of both broad-topic and subject-specific meetings, the proposed network will catalyse the formation of important strategic collaborations, make policy recommendations to UK government, and propose a comprehensive 'UK Elements Strategy'.The overarching aim of the CrEAM network is to safeguard UK industry against shortages of strategic/critical elements and materials by bringing together leading UK academics from a wide range of disciplines alongside the key industrial users, to develop strategies to protect the UK supply of these materials and, where possible, develop alternatives. The CrEAM network will raise awareness of critical materials and supply chain issues, and identify and connect UK research and development activities on selected strategic/critical materials to strengthen possibilities for multi- and interdisciplinary research. This research will help to protect UK commercial interests dependent on materials supply by connecting expertise throughout the supply chain to work on solutions to the problems identified.The objectives of the network are based on organising interdisciplinary meetings across the entire critical materials supply chain. These meetings will provide a forum to bring together specialists from across the entire UK supply chain in critical materials to develop strategies to alleviate supply risks of these elements and materials, which are essential in a wide range of current and emerging technologies. The initial focus of the network will be determined by the most pressing supply chain issues faced by UK industry and will begin to broaden as supply chain and industry priorities evolve.Minutes and presentations from these meetings will be disseminated via the CrEAM network website along with biannual updates and reports. Brochures and news articles will be distributed to raise awareness of the critical materials agenda and is well placed to acts as a focus for local activities across all regions of the UK. The outcome from the meetings will be to initiate new, collaborative UK-based activities and research projects to create and develop effective substitution and replacement technologies for critical materials, and to encourage creation of cyclic use of critical materials from end of life products to address critical supply issues.The most important objective of the network will be to create a coherent 'UK Elements Strategy' document for UK Government, including policy and funding recommendations to ensure a responsible, secure and environmentally efficient supply of critical materials vital to UK industry for both short and long term stability. As the UK prepares to leave the EU, it is imperative that a strong plan is put in place to protect the industrial strategy, which is highly dependent on import of critical materials.