Emerging Waste Streams: Opportunities and Challenges of the Clean Energy Transition from a Circular Economy Perspective

Renewable energy technologies such as wind turbines, photovoltaic solar panels and batteries are essential for Europe’s transition to climate neutrality. The deployment, maintenance and replacement of this infrastructure require significant resources, including many substances included in the EU list of critical raw materials. Waste arising from clean energy infrastructure at the end of its useful life is projected to increase 30-fold over the next 10 years, presenting significant opportunities to reduce consumption of scarce raw materials by recycling metals and other resources. . This EEA report identifies the key drivers and framework conditions needed to seize the opportunities and solutions to improve the circularity of renewable energy.