We are entering a new industrial era defined by the digital and energy transitions
For over two millennia, mining has been the engine behind human development and industrialisation. Today, critical minerals underpin virtually every manufactured product and, crucially, our infrastructure and energy systems.
The technologies designed to solve one resource challenge are creating another
Every electric vehicle (EV), smartphone, household appliance, wind turbine, submarine cable, and data centre depends on critical minerals. As the digital and energy transitions accelerate, so too does the demand for these technologies — and as virgin mineral extraction grows to meet that demand, it places ever more pressure on our finite mineral supply.
Moving from a fuel-intensive to a material-intensive economy could quintuple the demand for lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, and rare earth elements by 2040. At the precise moment these technologies must rapidly scale, the supply of critical minerals will likely fall short.
We cannot rely on mining alone to secure the critical minerals we need.
A circular economy can secure critical mineral supplies for the new era
The economy we’ve inherited is designed to extract materials, create products, then discard them after first life. This take-make-waste system will not deliver the digital and energy transitions sustainably or equitably, but a circular economycircular economyA systems solution framework that tackles global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution. It is based on three principles, driven by design: eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials (at their highest value), and regenerate nature. can.
By redesigning the system to keep products in use and critical minerals in circulation at their highest value, a circular economy can help meet demand with what already exists above ground, strengthening security and reducing global reliance on virgin extraction.
Together we can build a circular critical minerals system, bridge the supply–demand gap, and realise the energy and digital transitions
Critical minerals now sit at the heart of decision-making on climate action, industrial strategy, trade, resource security, and emerging extraction debates such as deep-sea mining. Ensuring the circular economy is at the heart of those decisions is our role. As governments, industry, and investors face mineral supply pressures, they need a clearer understanding of how far circular strategies can meet demand.
Starting with batteries and consumer electronics, we are demonstrating how circular critical mineral value chains can be built and scaled to support the digital and energy transitions. In our Circularity before the seabed programme, we are modelling how critical mineral flows and demand for virgin minerals change under different circular economy strategies. This evidence will let us examine the economic risks of deep-sea mining and other extraction initiatives, and assess whether they are needed in the first place.
We are developing the economic case, partnerships, and investment frameworks key to scaling a circular economy for critical minerals. By identifying market and regulatory barriers, providing robust evidence, and supporting implementation, we aim to shift investment and policy towards circular strategies and away from new extraction.
Apply to join our Critical Minerals Network
Do you want to help build the circular critical minerals system of the future? Help shape the debate and the market? We are looking for industry leaders, investors, policymakers, and innovators to join our sector-specific working groups and implementation projects.
Support our Critical Minerals mission
As a not-for-profit organisation, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation relies on philanthropic support to to deliver its mission. This funding model protects our independence, enabling us to convene across sectors and champion a circular economy without compromise. Philanthropic partners also allow us to be ambitious and agile, accelerating system-level change in response to global challenges. We actively seek to work with philanthropic organisations that share our ambition to build an economy that works for people, business, and the natural world.
Learn more about our funding and how you can support us.
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