Towards guidelines for critical raw material efficiency in product design
I.H. Grupstra (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)
B. Sprecher – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Design for Sustainability)
C.A. Bakker – Mentor (TU Delft - Design for Sustainability)
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Abstract
Critical Raw Materials (CRMs), such as neodymium, cobalt, and lithium, are essential for key technologies in the energy transition, yet their supply is highly concentrated and associated with significant environmental impacts. While recent European policies, including the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) and Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), establish targets for resource security and circularity, they lack actionable guidance for product-level design decisions. This creates a gap between regulatory ambitions and implementation in product development.
This thesis addresses this gap by developing a method to identify, prioritise, and act upon CRM-containing components within product architectures, by combining product teardowns, disassembly mapping and a CRM hotspot mapping method. CRM hotspot mapping combines material criticality (economic importance and supply risk) with component CRM mass relevance to prioritise components for design decision-making. The method is applied through two case studies: an exploratory washing machine study followed by a cordless stick vacuum cleaner case study to refine and evaluate the method.
The results demonstrate that product architecture strongly influences CRM efficiency. Components containing CRMs are often deeply embedded and difficult to access, limiting their recovery and reuse. Based on these insights, a set of CRM efficiency guidelines is developed, focusing on both CRM demand reduction (e.g., substitution, standardisation and pruning) and CRM recovery (e.g., modularity and improved accessibility through surfacing, clumping and clever fasten type usage). The guidelines are synthesised into a visual design decision booklet to support practical application.
The study shows that while the CRM hotspot mapping method is transferable across product categories, the effectiveness of CRM efficiency strategies depends on architectural constraints and product-specific trade-offs. By translating material criticality into design guidelines, this research provides a foundation for integrating CRM efficiency into product development and supports the implementation of circular economy policies.