Replacing critical materials with abundant alternatives for low-income communities
open
Germany, Europe
WS05283
Energy, computing, medicine, and infrastructure may depend on minerals with concentrated or fragile supply chains. Research must identify substitutes without trading scarcity for toxicity, low performance, or new ecological damage. The solution must work with limited capital, intermittent services, and local maintenance capacity. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.