Circular Economy Pathways for Critical Raw Materials: European Union Policy Instruments, Secondary Supply, and Sustainable Development Outcomes

Abstract

Achieving sustainable development in the low-carbon transition requires securing critical raw materials (CRMs) while reducing environmental burdens and strengthening industrial resilience (SDGs 7, 9, 12, 13). This review synthesizes 2016–2025 evidence on how the European Union’s policy package—the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), the Batteries Regulation, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) with Digital Product Passports (DPPs), and the recast Waste Shipments Regulation (WSR)—shapes markets for secondary supply in battery-relevant metals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, aluminum, and rare earths. We apply a structured scoping review protocol to map the state of the art across policy instruments (EPR, ecodesign/DPP, recycled content mandates, recovery targets, shipment controls) and value chain stages (collection, preprocessing, refining, manufacturing). The analysis highlights benefits, including clearer investment signals, improved traceability, and emerging opportunities for industrial symbiosis, but also identifies drawbacks such as heterogeneous standards, compliance costs, and trade frictions. Evidence gaps remain, especially in causal ex post assessments, price pass-through, and interoperability of MRV/DPP systems. The paper contributes by (i) providing an integrative framework linking policy instruments, value chain stages, and investment signals for secondary CRM supply, and (ii) outlining a research agenda for rigorous ex post evaluation, improved MRV/DPP data architectures, and better alignment between EU trade rules, circularity, and a just energy transition.