Circular Economy Pathways for Critical Raw Materials: European Union Policy Instruments, Secondary Supply, and Sustainable Development Outcomes

Achieving sustainable development in the low-carbon transition requires securing critical raw materials (CRMs) while reducing environmental burdens and strengthening industrial resilience (SDGs 7, 9, 12, 13). This review synthesizes 2016–2025 evidence on how the European Union’s policy package—the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), the Batteries Regulation, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) with Digital Product Passports (DPPs), and the recast Waste Shipments Regulation (WSR)—shapes markets for secondary supply in battery-relevant metals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, aluminum, and rare earths. We apply a structured scoping review protocol to map the state of the art across…