U.S. Government Wants Feedback On How To Increase Product And Material Circularity

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has issued a request for information (RFI) that seeks input from stakeholders on a draft strategic framework regarding circularity for secure and sustainable products and materials. Members of industry, research laboratories, and other stakeholders are all encouraged to respond.

Current EERE focus areas include materials with a large energy and emissions footprint, including steel and aluminum, construction materials, and plastics.

The framework, available at this link, identifies opportunities and challenges to use circularity to decarbonize industry, secure supply chains, benefit communities, and create jobs. Specifically, EERE wants feedback on:

• How to prioritize research and development and technology advancement to target highest impact opportunities for decarbonization, supply chain security, community benefits, and manufacturing competitiveness;
• Significant opportunities, challenges, and enablers to increase products and materials circularity;
• Opportunities to connect to business models and the policy landscape to accelerate the deployment of advanced technologies for greater impact; and
• Data and analysis that informs prioritization and measurement of progress.

Responses to the request for information must be submitted electronically to CircularEconomyRFI@ee.doe.gov no later than 5 p.m. ET on Dec. 16, 2024.

In its RFI, the DOE argued the “linear way the United States and the world has traditionally approached extracting resources, manufacturing products, and then discarding them is environmentally destructive and economically irresponsible” and that “advancing products and materials circularity … helps the United States improve material efficiency, increase supply chain security and resilience, and reduce energy demand related to raw material extraction and manufacturing processes.”