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Feedback from the 7th Trilateral EU-US-Japan Conference on Critical Materials

The conference took place on 12 October 2017 in Pittsburgh, USA.

Duncan Allsopp from the University of Bath gave a presentation entitled “Indium Replacement (INREP): Indium-free options for transparent electrical contacts to optical devices”.

Many delegates attended the event, among which governmental officials, industry members, researchers and other stakeholders.

This international cooperation dates to the first EU-US-JP Trilateral Conference on Critical Materials held in Washington in 2011. Since 2011, Trilateral Conference on Critical Materials have been held annually. They have been organized by European Commission (EC), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO)
to emphasize the strategic importance of critical materials and to enhance collaboration among the three countries/continents (EU-US-JP).

Each region gave an update on topics such as: resource efficiency, improving criticality assessments, bettering material resources and technology, and recycling from unconventional resources. The one-day event successfully demonstrated that the trilateral regions are working to properly monitor materials to foster resource efficiency and a circular economy, to reduce environmental pressures arising throughout a material’s life cycle, and to quantify the availability or ‘elemental criticality.’ The presenters and their presentations under each theme are listed below.

Session 1: Updates from the Trilateral

  • Gian Andrea Blengini: “Critical Raw Materials for the EU: JRC activities and revision of the list”

  • Hiroshi Oikawa: “Japan’s view on Critical Materials: Recent developments regarding Rare Metals”

  • Thomas Rasmussen: “Defense Logistics Agency strategic plans”


Session 2: Criticality and Supply Chain Analysis

  • Shinsuke Murakami: “Criticality assessment in Japan?”

  • Rod Eggert: “Material criticality: comparing China, Europe, Japan and the USA”

  • Vincent Blet: “SCREEN – Solutions for Critical Raw Materials – A European Expert Network”

  • Daniel B. Mueller: “MinFUTURE – Towards a Google Maps for the global physical economy”


Session 3: Resources and Technology, A Canadian Perspective

  • Janice Zinck, Canmet MINING/Natural Resources


Session 4: Key Materials Development

  • Orlando Rios, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Critical Materials Institute

  • Duncan Allsopp, University of Bath: "Indium Replacement (INREP): Indium-free options for transparent electrical contacts to optical devices"

  • Chiharu Mitsumata, National Institute for Material Science (NIMS)


Session 5: Recovery from Recycled and Unconventional Sources

  • Gwendolyn Bailey, KU Leuven

  • Takashi Nakamura, Tohoku University

  • Mary Anne Alvin: “Rare Earth Elements Coal Based Resources”


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