03.07.2024 Resource efficiency Which raw materials can replace cobalt and co Foundation funds research into fair raw materials with 15 million euros
Around 92 billion tons of minerals, ores, fossil fuels and biomass were used by humans worldwide in 2017, according to a report by the International Resource Panel. This means that the use of these raw materials has tripled since the early 1970s. The overuse of our resources poses a challenge to the environment, as does the increasing amount of waste. In addition to reducing the demand for raw materials, replacing them with biogenic raw materials, i.e. raw materials of plant or animal origin, can offer an environmentally friendly alternative. Until now, biogenic raw materials have too often been incinerated as waste products, especially in the paper, wood and agricultural industries. They could be made usable through appropriate processing and fed back into the cycle as a valuable raw material.
Three projects have now been selected by a committee of experts in a competitive process. Over the next six years, the interdisciplinary project teams at the universities in Jena, Ilmenau and Kaiserslautern will be researching how they can reduce or replace critical raw materials such as cobalt or gallium. Each team will receive up to five million euros from the Carl Zeiss Foundation as part of the CZS Breakthroughs program. In this way, the foundation aims to contribute to a more sustainable use of resources.