Whether wind turbines, hybrid and electric engines or "everyday products" such as computers and cell phones - they all contain limited available raw materials whose prices have risen significantly due to increased demand. A DBU conference on "Infinite availability of strategic metals" highlighted problems and options for action, involving experts from science, politics, business, media and environmental organizations. It was shown that in particular the so-called rare earth metals are difficult to replace because of their special electrical and magnetic properties. Therefore material efficiency, an economical use, and recycling are of increasing importance. However, material efficiency means that some metals are only present in minute quantities in the technical end-products, which in turn makes it difficult or uneconomical to have them recycled. Another problem of recycling: Products that contain rare metals are often not disposed of in the recycling plant, but in the household waste. Keeping the distribution (dissipation) of valuable substances to a minimum is a key concern for the DBU.
The DBU offers the following subject areas for funding:
• Preventing Dissipation
• Products whose design involves resource efficiency
• Intelligent processing and recycling technologies
• Support of junior staff in the environmental industries
