Material system analysis (MSA)
Material System Analysis (MSA) consists of a map of the flows of materials through the economy, as raw materials or as parts of basic materials, components or products, in terms of entry into the economy (extraction and import), movement through the economy (production, consumption, exports), additions to stock, and end-of-life through either disposal or recovery. An MSA also includes information about the sustainability of the use of materials and the security of supply. The Material System Analysis will include the materials consumed in the EU-28 and their associated flows over the entire life cycle, including exploration, extraction, processing, manufacturing, use, and end of life disposal and treatment.
The first study started in January 2014 and was finalised in November 2015.
The MSA studies aim to build knowledge and understanding of Europe's critical raw materials' flows. The current MSA coverage includes 33 materials. In addition, updates of MSAs on Cobalt, Lithium and Natural Graphite were also published in 2020.
List of raw materials studied:
- Aggregates
- Aluminium
- Antimony
- Beryllium
- Borate
- Chromium
- Cobalt
- Coking Coal
- Copper
- Fluorspar
- Gallium
- Germanium
- Indium
- Iron
- Lithium
- Magnesite
- Manganese
- Naturale Graphite
- Nickel
- Niobium
- Phosphate Rock
- Selection of 3 Platinum Group Metals: Palladium, Platinum, and Rhodium
- Selection of 6 heavy Rare Earth Elements and light Rare Earth Elements: Europium, Terbium, Neodymium, Dysprosium, Erbium, and Yttrium
- Silicon Metal
- Tungsten
For each material, this first-ever EU-wide MSA consists of:
- A map of material flows (as raw materials, components, products) illustrating entry (extractions, imports into the EU) and movement (production, consumption, exports out of the EU) through the EU economy, additions to stock, and end-of-life disposal or recovery;
- Information on security of supply (country concentration), substitutes, and projected future demand of materials.
The MSA includes the materials' entire life cycles of exploration, extraction, processing, manufacturing, use, and end of life disposal and treatment.
The parameters aim to describe physical flows and stocks along the life cycle of the material, characterise the criticality of the material or forecast future supply and demand.
The MSA methodology was developed and published for the European Commission (EC) with an EU scope in 2015 (Bio by Deloitte, 2015) and has been revised in 2020 by the JRC (Torres de Matos et al., 2020).
Introduction
The European Commission is committed to ensuring the supply and increase the availability of raw materials for European Industry in the context of the EU Raw Materials Initiative. A comprehensive data inventory of the material flows in industry and society is crucial for providing evidence and informing discussions and decision making on the supply of raw materials; as for helping the identification of key opportunities to secure resources in the EU economy.
The scope for this project was the development of the full Material System Analysis for 28 groups of materials used in the EU-28 economy. These groups include:
Process
As per the terms of references, five tasks were performed by the project team to come up with a data inventory for a RMSA:
- Task 1 provided a complete overview of existing literature and data sources for a full Material System Analysis (MSA), using specific indicators. Data gaps and unreliable data were identified by material and life cycle stage.
- Task 2 defined a procedure for collecting information to establish the full MSA inventory for the material flows and on the process level. The procedure included propositions for filling the data gaps, mainly based on documented assumptions and input from experts.
- In Task 3, selected experts were consulted during five workshops to provide feedback on the work conducted in the project. Expert opinion was given on the data sources and on the data collection and processing methodology. It was essential for ensuring that the MSA is set up appropriately and for filling the gaps of missing data sets for the 28 groups of materials.
- Task 4 elaborated the MSA database for the 28 groups of materials on the period from 2007 to 2012; by collecting and processing the appropriate data, then calculating complementary data.
- Task 5 was dedicated to the recommendations for the European Commission to build a full database of MSA, maintain, and update it in a regular basis.
Stakeholder input was considered crucial for both evaluating the methodology and filling data gaps.
MSA Reports
- Material System Analysis of 28 raw materials - Final Report (2015): EN
- Material System Analysis of 28 raw materials - Summary (2015): EN FR DE
- Material System Analysis of 3 raw materials: Aluminium, Copper, Iron (2018): EN
- Revised of the Material System Analyses specifications (2020): EN
- Material System Analysis of 5 Battery Raw Materials: Cobalt, Lithium, Manganese, Natural graphite, Nickel (2020): EN
- Material System Analysis of 9 Raw Materials : Barytes, Bismuth, Hafnium, Helium, Natural Rubber, Phosphorus, Scandium, Tantalum and Vanadium (2021): EN
Links
RMIS related pages
European Commission pages
- DG Growth – “Critical” raw materials page
- DG Growth – Raw materials, metals, minerals and forest-based industries
Selected documents
- Communication from the EC on the Raw Materials Initiative "Meeting our critical needs for growth and jobs in Europe", 2008
- Report from the Commission on the implementation of the Raw Materials Initiative
- Critical raw materials for the EU – May 2014 – Report on Critical raw materials for the EU