Circular Economy

Bringing together policymakers, manufacturers, and consumers and assessing all sectors and interconnectivities to develop a life cycle approach to the circular economy and moving to a zero waste future (materials and energy)

Over 90% of the global economy continues to function with the unsustainable, linear “take-make-toss” process in relation to materials. Manufacturers rely on raw natural resources for processing and production, and the materials produced largely lack viability or end of use/life strategy. The circular economy looks to reduce waste in the life cycle of production and increase efficiency and effectiveness of recycling at the end of life for products.

Colorado School of Mines, the Payne Institute for Public Policy and our partners are working to address this issue and generate important research on the circular economy. Colorado School of Mines has expertise at every point of production. From the initial identification and extraction of natural resources, to processing, manufacturing, distribution, and product end-of-life reclamation. Through collaboration on campus with our geophysics, mining engineering, advanced manufacturing, mechanical engineering and chemistry departments and others. As well as off campus collaboration with NREL and various industry partners, the Payne Institute is connecting its breath of technical expertise with the world of public policy to bring the issue of the circular economy to the forefront.

NEWS

How to get the minerals we need in a clean energy future 3/15/2023

How to get the minerals we need in a clean energy future

Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian contributed to this article about how securing the critical minerals we need for a green energy future will require cleaning up mining practices, boosting recycling and innovating to be less dependent on them altogether. Technological innovation can help improve the environmental footprint of these processes. March 15, 2023.

The Regulation of CO2 Pipelines and Ensuring Public Safety 3/15/2023

The Regulation of CO2 Pipelines and Ensuring Public Safety

Payne Institute CCUS Program Manager Anna Littlefield and student researcher Dwi Nuraini Siregar write that the 45Q tax credit is anticipated to play an important role in accelerating the expansion of the CO2 pipeline network in the United States by providing a financial incentive for businesses to invest in carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies and supporting infrastructure.The Inflation Reduction Act’s amplification of this credit has already increased the number of CCUS projects. This activity, in addition to continuing demand for CO2 for oil and gas operations, will require an expansion of the US CO2 pipeline network. March 15, 2023

The massive quest for the minerals we need in a clean energy future 3/8/2023

The massive quest for the minerals we need in a clean energy future

Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian contributes to this article about how the rush toward a clean energy future means digging, extracting and processing the Earth’s resources faster and better than ever before. He says that there is no fundamental medium or even long-term constraint on the resources themselves, but says there is a constraint on investment into mining and then the associated permitting and social license to operate. March 8, 2023.

This is how Xcel makes a profit, and it’s not gas 2/7/2023

This is how Xcel makes a profit, and it’s not gas

Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Ian Lange contributes to this article about how Xcel Energy has said they don’t make a profit on gas, so where does the money come from? The cost of fuel is passed on dollar-for-dollar. The answer is the rate of return on investments, like infrastructure. These investments are in the power plants, solar and wind facilities, transmission and distribution lines as well as natural gas pipelines that support our customers’ daily energy needs. February 7, 2023.

The UAE has been a first mover on sustainability 2/1/2023

The UAE has been a first mover on sustainability

Payne Institute Advisory Board Member Nawal Al-Hosany writes an opinion article on how the term sustainability didn’t enter the UAE discourse until the 1980s, but has always been at the heart of the country’s development plans. From an ever-more conscious civil society to governments responsible for planning the long-term prosperity of their citizens, we are all thinking of ways we can meet the needs of today, without compromising the capacities of future generations to thrive. It is fitting then, that with Cop28 to be hosted in the Emirates later this year, the country’s leadership announced 2023 as the Year of Sustainability. February 1, 2023.

America Reenters Competition for Global Nuclear Energy Markets 1/31/2023

America Reenters Competition for Global Nuclear Energy Markets

Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian and Fellow Alex Gilbert write about how during the 2010s, the United States was on the verge of permanently losing competitiveness in global nuclear energy markets. This weakness threatened American geopolitical goals, with Russia further extending its nuclear market dominance and China eyeing reactor exports across the Belt and Road. In the last year, this outlook appears to have reversed. January 31, 2023.

With EV batteries in demand, some in GOP say ‘no’ to China 1/30/2023

With EV batteries in demand, some in GOP say ‘no’ to China

Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Ian Lange contributes to this article about how meeting U.S. goals for electric vehicle adoption may require supplies from China. As Americans snap up electric cars, some Republicans are adopting a tough-on-China stance even for projects that would create jobs for Americans and perhaps advance U.S. battery-manufacturing prowess. Experts say the Chinese presence in the electric-vehicle market is already nearly ubiquitous, that corporate partnership between Chinese and foreign automakers, including those in the U.S., is standard and that reaching America’s climate goals without Chinese technology would be exceedingly difficult. January 30, 2023.

Musical chairs: Analyzing the evolution of stakeholders in Peru’s mining sector through dialogue tables 1/30/2023

Payne Institute Research Associates Alicia Polo y La Borda Cavero and Aaron Malone, Yezelia Caceres Cabana, and Ronaldo Quinta Soto write about how mining is an important but often contentious activity. Despite substantial research on mining dynamics and conflict, there has been less analysis of the stakeholders. This paper centers stakeholders and analyzes the case of Peru, asking: Who are the stakeholders in dialogues and conflicts around Peru’s mining sector? How have stakeholders changed over time, and how do they vary across contexts? January 30, 2023.

Pathways to net-zero emissions from aviation 1/30/2023

Pathways to net-zero emissions from aviation

Candelaria Bergero, Payne Institute Fellow Greer Gosnell, Dolf Gielen, Seungwoo Kang, Director Morgan Bazilian and Steven J. Davis write about how international climate goals imply reaching net-zero global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by roughly mid-century (and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the century). Among the most difficult emissions to avoid will be those from aviation given the industry’s need for energy-dense liquid fuels that lack commercially competitive substitutes and the difficult-to-abate non-CO2 radiative forcing. Here we systematically assess pathways to net-zero emissions aviation. January 30, 2023.

DOE offers loan to Nevada lithium mine 1/19/2023

DOE offers loan to Nevada lithium mine

Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Ian Lange contributed to this article about how the move by the US Department of Energy (DOE) is an effort to build up US production of minerals needed for batteries. The DOE is offering the Australian mining company Ioneer a $700 million loan to build a lithium carbonate plant at its proposed lithium mine in Nevada. The DOE issued guidance in 2020 that encouraged companies developing “critical mineral” projects to apply for loans. January 19, 2023.

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For more information about the Circular Economy Research Area at the Payne Institute for Public Policy, please contact our Deputy Director, Gregory Clough, at gclough@mines.edu.