✦Upcoming✦ 16 JUL 2026 (THU) 10:00-12:00

Departmental Research Seminars Series

Critical material and technology sustainability

Date: 16 JUL 2026 (Thursday)

Time: 10:00-12:00 (HKT)

Venue: Chamber, Faculty of Social Sciences, 11/F, The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU

Registration link: https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y&ueid=108485

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Abstract:

Clean energy technologies are essential for the transition to a low-carbon society. However, their growing adoption in manufacturing and use will lead to a surge in demand for numerous critical materials—such as lithium, cobalt, and manganese—raising a series of sustainability issues. Against this backdrop, I first employ a material flow analysis method based on trade network coupling to trace the global social metabolism of critical materials for clean energy technologies; further, I employ methods such as criticality assessment, complex network analysis, system dynamics, and life cycle assessment to evaluate the potential supply risks and environmental impacts of the global supply chains for these critical materials. The study aims to address the sustainability challenges associated with critical materials, balance the economic, environmental, and social impacts of the “energy-materials” nexus, and chart a sustainable development path for clean energy technologies.

Professor Xin Sun

Assistant Professor, Integrated Research on Energy, Environment and Society (IREES) group, Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen (ESRIG)

Professor Xin Sun is an Assistant Professor at the Integrated Research on Energy, Environment and Society (IREES) group, within Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen (ESRIG). He holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from School of Vehicle and Mobility at Tsinghua University, complemented by dual B.S. degrees in Vehicle Engineering and Business Administration from Tsinghua University. His research focuses on advancing sustainability of critical materials and energy technologies, which encompasses material flow analysis, supply chain risk, system modeling, and life cycle sustainability. He has published over 60 peer-reviewed papers in prestigious journals including Nature Sustainability, Nature Energy, Joule, One Earth, Nature Communications, Environmental Science & Technology, among others. His papers have been cited over 3000 times with an h-index of 26 and over 20000 reads on ResearchGate, and utilized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, International Energy Agency, US Congressional Research Service, US Environmental Protection Agency, EU Joint Research Center, European Commission, Hague Center for Strategic Studies, Federal Government of Germany, British Geological Survey, Norweigan Institute of International Affairs, Australian Department of Industry, among others. He was awarded the Excellent Doctoral Dissertation of Tsinghua University, Qian Yi Environment Grand Prize, and Global Change Future Scholar, among others. He currently serves as the Editor of Resources Conservation and Recycling, the Associate Editor of Journal of Cleaner Production, Reviewer of over 160 manuscripts for over 40 journals (e.g., Nature Sustainability, Nature Communications), and Reviewer of grant proposals for Swiss National Science Foundation.

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