Abstract
The European Union’s (EUs) Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) aims to strengthen the EUs resource resilience by increasing the autonomy of Critical Raw Material (CRM) supply through EU-based extraction, processing, and recycling, thereby reducing external dependencies and promoting a circular economy. Copper, a key CRM, faces growing demand that cannot be fulfilled by mining alone. This research analyzes the European copper supply chain under the CRMA and evaluates the role of recycling in meeting its requirements. An initial qualitative analysis suggests that recycling is the most promising solution to comply with the CRMA. The study develops a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model to optimize the European copper recycling network under the CRMA recycling requirement and to validate the potential of recycling in a quantitative way. Results identify four optimal facility locations spread through Europe based on geographic centrality weighted by supply and demand quantities. Although the collection of European waste can feasibly satisfy the minimum recycling requirements as set out by the CRMA, changing regulations, disruptions, or changes in demand and external supply may lead to shortages. Improving recycling efficiency has therefore been marked as an important direction of future research.