Update of the 2015 material system analyses

Consistent information on raw material value chains is key for sustainable resources management, to guarantee the supply of raw materials and to strengthen the European Union’s industrial competitiveness. The European Commission has launched the update of the 2015 Material System Analyses of 23 materials. The MSA studies consider the entire life cycle of a selected material, investigating the stocks and flows of materials throughout the economy. They can help identifying opportunities to source materials from urban mining or waste streams, as well as potential bottlenecks in the value chain. MSAs also support the monitoring of the circular economy and the development of the list of critical raw materials (CRM). The list of MSAs was expanded to 11 additional materials: strontium, titanium, and additional rare earth elements for which no MSA has previously been conducted. REEs are materials with a very high supply risk, and only 6 were covered by the previous 2015 MSA. Moreover, among these additional materials, strontium and REEs were assessed as critical in the 2023 list. Titanium was assessed as non-critical in the 2023 list.