Photo Pauline Bucciarelli

PAULINE BUCCIARELLI

DOCTORANT(E)

Thesis title

  • Modélisation du recyclage des matériaux des technologies bas-carbone et impacts sur les prix des métaux

Under the direction of

  • arrow_right Thesis supervisor: Valérie Mignon

Research group

    Macroéconomie internationale, finance, matières premières et économétrie financière

HAL open science

Contact

2025-36

Can European strategic autonomy be achieved without sufficiency? Modelling the implications of the Critical Raw Materials Act on the lithium value chain

Pauline Bucciarelli, Vincent d'Herbemont

SHOW DOWNLOAD
Abstract
The transition towards low-carbon and digital technologies is set to profoundly reshape metals markets, particularly those required for battery manufacturing. Amid growing geoeconomic fragmentation, this shift is accelerating the implementation of public policies aimed at securing supply and strengthening the resilience of strategic technology value chains. In this context, we explore the design of the recently adopted Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) in the European Union, focusing on the feasibility of its reshoring targets for battery-grade lithium.
By integrating the entire lithium value chain into an Integrated Assessment Model, we analyse the interplay between lithium supply, demand, and recycling within decarbonisation scenarios. Our findings suggest significant challenges in meeting the CRMA targets without reducing industrial demand. We show that sufficiency strategies could help achieve these benchmarks, while cutting European lithium imports by at least 44% between 2030 and 2050 and reducing cumulative final demand by 1.2 Mt, a 46% decrease relative to current policy trajectories.
More broadly, our analysis highlights sufficiency as a lever to reconcile ecological ambition with supply security, notably by enhancing the robustness of the lithium value chain. Finally, we recommend shifting the CRMA’s recycling benchmark towards an end-of-life recycling rate, as it is better suited to the dynamics of the lithium market.
Mot(s) clé(s)
Critical raw materials; Lithium; Integrated assessment model (IAM); Low-carbon scenarios; Sufficiency
2024-3

Evaluating criticality of strategic metals: Are the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index and usual concentration thresholds still relevant?

Pauline Bucciarelli, Emmanuel Hache, Valérie Mignon

SHOW DOWNLOAD
Abstract
This paper aims to evaluate the criticality of strategic metals by (i) investigating the validity of the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) for assessing the supply risk aspect of criticality and (ii) determining an appropriate threshold for using this indicator in the context of criticality studies. Relying on a large panel of 33 strategic metals over the 1995-2021 period, our findings show that the variation of HHI has more impact on metal prices at lower HHI levels and question the existence of a threshold that clearly distinguishes high-risk markets from less risky ones based on their concentration levels. Overall, we show that using the HHI as a supply risk indicator, especially in conjunction with a threshold, may result in underestimating risks in less concentrated markets.
Mot(s) clé(s)
Strategic metals; Criticality; Herfindahl–Hirschman Index; Metal prices; Panel regression
load Please wait ...