A circular economy approach can enhance the EU’s domestic capacities in transition minerals (but it takes time)

Authors:

Andrei Diaconescu (doctoral researcher)

Emilia Taimi (doctoral researcher)

Sirja-Leena Penttinen (associate professor)

Jouko Nuottila (postdoctoral researcher)

What are transition minerals and what is all the fuss about them?

To start 2025 with a bang, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, expressed his interest over Greenland – an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark – sending shock waves through the European Union (EU). President Trump’s interest in Greenland is primarily considered to relate to national security and the geopolitical importance of the territory in the Arctic, but also to resource acquisition: as ice melts due to global warming, resources become more accessible (Paddison 2025). Greenland possesses vast natural resources, including rare earth minerals and other transition minerals critical to powering the digital and green energy transitions. In February 2025, President Trump linked the continuation of the US war support for Ukraine to a ‘transactional approach’, proposing a supply of critical and rare earth minerals such as lithium, uranium, and titanium from Ukraine’s bedrock to the US in return (Méheut 2025).

The recent turmoil surrounding Greenland and Ukraine highlights the crucial importance of transition minerals to nations. These minerals, often referred to as critical minerals in countries reliant on their supply, encompass a broad range of essential materials used in various high-tech and clean energy applications (International Energy Agency 2021). They are vital for the shift from fossil fuels to greener alternatives. For instance, the mainstreaming battery technology used in electric vehicles (EVs), the lithium-ion, requires a variety of minerals, including lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, manganese, and rare earths. With the adoption of ambitious global decarbonization agendas, EVs have emerged as the predominant ‘green’ technology in the transport sector. Consequently, the demand for these minerals is skyrocketing (International Energy Agency 2024). In addition to clean tech, these minerals are central to the national defense and aerospace industries, which further explains countries’ sensitivities and strategic rivalries concerning these minerals.

The problem with transition minerals is that some have them, others don’t. The current known and deployed reserves of key minerals are found in specific regions: lithium in Australia, Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina; nickel in Indonesia and Russia; cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and (natural) graphite in China, the latter also having significant dominance in the ore refining capacity. The geographical concentration of each node in the transition mineral supply chain has highlighted supply chain concerns, particularly among major consuming countries. As supply chain disruptions can have significant economic, political, and security implications, many jurisdictions have adopted a wide range of measures to increase supply chain resilience (Penttinen and Burlinghaus 2025).

In response to the increasing demand and the need to mitigate dependency arising from the geological concentration, new reserves are actively being explored – including the exploration for resources in space, the deep-sea bed and the Arctic region. In addition to discovering new resources, active measures have been adopted to integrate the circular economy approach to key transition minerals in the EU, which provides a secondary supply route for these materials critical for decarbonization technologies. This approach enhances the EU’s domestic capacities and, consequently, its security of supply.

What is meant by the circular economy of transition minerals?

In simple terms, the circular economy of transition minerals involves reusing and recycling products that contain these valuable raw materials, as well as the minerals themselves. In practice this requires a novel perspective towards the end-of-life of primary products (Commission 2020). This circular way of thinking and moving away from the linear take-make-waste mentality provides both challenges and possibilities for business and regulation. As virgin transition minerals are scattered globally, and their extraction creates geopolitical, environmental and societal strains, a circular approach has gained increasing attention. When reliance on virgin materials is diminished through a circular economy, it also mitigates risks related to price volatility and security of supply (United Nations 2024; Elobeid 2022).

In the battery context, a circular economy approach refers to a system where end-of-life batteries, their components, and materials are reused, repurposed, or recycled into new batteries. EV batteries, for example, can get a new life in stationary energy storage systems (Rufino Junior et al. 2024). The EU has adopted a new Batteries Regulation specifically addressing battery circularity (Regulation 2023). The main objective of the Regulation is to ensure that used batteries are collected, reused and recycled efficiently in the EU. This will be achieved through gradually tightening targets from 2025 onwards. For example, the recycling efficiency of lithium-based batteries should be 65 % by the end of 2025, increasing to 70 % by the end of 2030. Similarly, targets for the recovery of materials have been set, ranging from 50% for lithium to 90% for cobalt, nickel, copper and lead. 

The shift towards the circular economy for batteries is impeded by the pragmatic reality that initiating their second lifecycle requires a significant amount of time. As the transition from combustion fuel engines to electric vehicles using batteries is still ongoing, the products need first to go through their primary use before material for reuse and recycling can be provided.

Digital traceability tools to facilitate the uptake of the circular economy

To facilitate the circular economy of end-of-life batteries, the EU has enacted the ‘battery passport’, initially introduced by the Global Battery Alliance. The battery passport is an electronic record that enables traceability for the reuse and recycling of the raw materials used in batteries (Council 2023). The battery passport will apply to certain types of batteries placed on the market or put into service as of February 2027, namely to EV batteries, light means of transport batteries such as electric bikes and scooters, and industrial batteries with a capacity greater than 2kWh (Article 77 and preamble para. 15 of the Regulation 2023).

The battery passport enables informed decision-making based on reliable information to stakeholders in the entire supply chain (Global Battery Alliance 2024). The battery passport will contain information such as the battery’s capacity, chemistry and composition, critical raw materials present in the battery, hazardous substances and carbon footprint of battery production’s process, to be accessed digitally through a quick response (QR) code (Regulation 2023).

The QR code will provide public access to information about the battery’s material composition and chemistry, with sensitive commercial details like performance and durability restricted to those with legitimate interest (Article 77(2)(a, c) and Annex XIII, point 1 and 4 of the Regulation 2023). It will also disclose the percentage of recycled content used in a battery, strengthening the circular economy by enabling the evaluation of a battery’s residual value or remaining lifetime, facilitating its further use (preamble 124 of the Regulation 2023). The passport will also include information on responsible sourcing through environmental, social and governance due diligence (Annex XIII 1(d) of the Regulation 2023), aiding in the management and collection of waste batteries and preventing the inappropriate disposal of harmful substances and enforce caps on hazardous materials as enshrined in the Batteries Regulation. 

Opportunities for Finland

In recent years, Finland’s wind power production capacity has consistently set new records almost annually. Although the expansion of renewable energy production capacity, particularly wind energy, has contributed to maintaining relatively low electricity prices in Finland – positioning it as the EU Member State with the second lowest electricity prices – price volatility remains significant (Finnish Energy Industries).

To address the challenges posed by the high volatility of wind energy production, one viable solution involves the implementation of various energy storage systems. These systems can temporarily store electricity during peak production periods (Jarbratt et al. 2023). Energy storage facilities help to balance the grid while reducing price fluctuations.

While there are several energy storage technologies, one of the most promising is using second-hand EV batteries for stationary energy storage systems (Allen 2022), preferably located close to the production site. While an EV battery must be replaced in its original installation after the maximum recharge capacity has decreased under a predefined limit (capacity loss will happen after certain amount of charge cycles), the replaced batteries can have prolonged use of many years for secondary, less intensive, use cases such as providing energy storage capacity.

Finland is in a good position to become one of the technology leaders in battery-related circular economy applications. Finnish research institutes have pioneering research activities in areas such as battery chemistry and the implementation of the battery passport (discussed above). Finnish companies and start-ups are also actively investing in new business opportunities related to the battery ecosystem. However, the advent of new technologies also introduces uncertainties. For example, access to second-hand batteries might be limited (Laakso 2024), and the regulation of liabilities associated with their deployment might be problematic (Ouro-Nimini 2023; Rufino Junior et al. 2024).

A circular economy approach can enhance the EU’s capabilities in securing not only domestic raw materials but also strategic products, such as batteries, by promoting reuse. Additionally, digital traceability tools facilitate this process by providing crucial information on various metrics of used raw materials and products. However, a circular economy approach requires time to be effectively integrated into the value chain – the critical question amidst ongoing (geo)political upheavals and a warming climate is, however, do we have enough time?

***

The authors’ ongoing research at the University of Lapland and the Law, Technology and Sustainability Transitions Research Group (LOST) centers on transition minerals, EV batteries’ supply chain, and the implementation of a circular economy approach. Under the 2IMATCH consortium, funded by the Strategic Research Council of Finland, the research undertaken at the University of Lapland examines the new regulations and policies adopted in the EU to ensure resilience of transition minerals’ supply chain in the context of evolving (energy) geopolitics. The BATRACE project, funded by the Research Council of Finland, focuses on the EV battery supply chain. It examines emerging national, regional and international regulatory frameworks and aims to identify the best practices for developing a transnational framework that supports the security and sustainability of the battery supply chain. The AKILIT project, funded by the European Union’s Regional Development Fund, focuses on new circular value chains, business models, technologies, and regulations related to the reuse and recycling of batteries. Together with local companies and innovation accelerators, the project aims to develop the circular economy of batteries in Northern Finland and identify the best business opportunities from the perspective of regional growth, employment, and green transition.

Sources:

Allen 2022. ‘Finnish startup Cactos raises €2.5 million to tackle the energy crisis with second-life Tesla batteries’ (November 29, 2022, EU-Startups); https://www.eu-startups.com/2022/11/finnish-startup-cactos-raises-e2-5-million-to-tackle-the-energy-crisis-with-second-life-tesla-batteries/

Commission 2020. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, A new Circular Economy Action Plan For a cleaner and more competitive Europe, COM(2020)98 final.

Council 2023. Council of the European Union, ‘Towards a sustainable, circular, European battery supply chain’ (December 8, 2023) <https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/infographics/battery-supply-chain/>.

Elobeid 2022. ‘How the circular economy can help us stay within planetary boundaries’. (August, 31, 2022, Ellen MacArthur Foundation); https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/articles/how-the-circular-economy-can-help-us-stay-within-planetary-boundaries

Finnish Energy Industries. Compiled data and statistics available at https://energia.fi/en/statistics/statistics-on-electricity/

Global Battery Alliance 2024. GBA Battery Passport. An Overview. https://www.globalbattery.org/media/publications/gba-batterypassport-2024-v1-web.pdf

International Energy Agency (IEA) 2021. ‘The role of critical minerals in clean energy transitions: Critical Minerals’ (IEA Publications 2021).

International Energy Agency 2024. Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2024 (IEA Publications 2024).

Jarbratt et al. 2023. ‘Enabling renewable energy with battery energy storage systems’ (August 2, 2023, McKinsey & Company); https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/automotive-and-assembly/our-insights/enabling-renewable-energy-with-battery-energy-storage-systems

Laakso 2024. ‘Grid energy storage has a multitude of uses’ (April 10, 2024, Fingrid Magazine); https://www.fingridlehti.fi/en/grid-energy-storage-has-a-multitude-of-uses/

Méheut 2025. ‘Trump Urges Trading Ukraine’s Rare Earth Minerals for More U.S. Aid’ (February 3, 2025, The New York Times), <https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/03/world/europe/trump-ukraine-rare-earth-minerals.html>

Ouro-Nimini 2023. ‘Rapport: Trade Rules for a Circular Economy’ (February 6, 2023, Kommerskollegium); https://www.kommerskollegium.se/analyser-och-seminarier/publikationer/rapporter/2023/trade-rules-for-a-circular-economy/

Paddison 2025. ‘Trump wants to buy Greenland again. Here’s why he’s so interested in the world’s largest island’ (January 8, 2025, CNN); https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/07/climate/trump-greenland-climate/index.html

Penttinen and Burlinghaus 2024. ‘Mitigating sustainability and security risks of critical mineral supply chains in the green energy transition’. 24:1 Utilities Law Review.

Regulation 2023. Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2023 concerning batteries and waste batteries, amending Directive 2008/98/EC and Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and repealing Directive 2006/66/EC.

Rufino Junior et al. 2024. ‘Towards Battery Digital Passport: Reviewing Regulations and Standards for Second-Life Batteries’ 10 Batteries (2024).

United Nations 2024. Critical Transitions: Circularity, equity and responsibility in the quest for energy transition minerals. Nairobi. https://doi.org/10.59117/20.500.11822/46623.

Images

Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/.

Different shades of the right to repair: A comparative overview

Authors:

Beata Mäihäniemi (PhD, Docent in Law and Digitalisation, University Lecturer)

Dhanay Cadillo Chandler (PhD, Docent in Intellectual Property law, University Researcher)

Emmanuel Salami (PhD)

Rosa Maria Ballardini (PhD, Title of Docent in Intellectual Property law, Professor)

Beata Mäihäniemi

Dhanay Cadillo Chandler 

Emmanuel Salami

Rosa Maria Ballardini

1. The right to repair - a right or a movement?

With many modern products, such as iPhone screens, being very fragile and therefore breakable (Attitudes towards the impact of digitalisation on daily lives), and with more than two billion tonnes of municipal solid waste generated worldwide each year (Statista 2024), repair could significantly minimise the amount of waste we throw away. Repair is much cheaper and easier to implement than, for example, remanufacturing or recycling (Roskladka et al 2023).

However, third party repairs can also affect the safety of end users and lead to liability for manufacturers in the event of injury caused by an improperly repaired product (The Right to Repair: Recent Developments in the USA). Similarly, unauthorised repairs can lead to an increase in intellectual property infringements (Pihlajarinne and Ballardini, 2021), particularly in the case of high-tech and complex products, such as smartphones. However, the availability and affordability of spare parts and the provision of the necessary information to carry out repairs efficiently can reduce IPR infringements. While this could benefit manufacturers, it also benefits the environment and reduces waste by extending the life of affected products.

Repair can be understood in many ways, such as:

1. the obligation of a producer to repair a product bought by a consumer while it is still under warranty
2. repair after the warranty has expired
3. the technical ability of a consumer to repair the product himself.

It is therefore incumbent on producers to remove barriers that might prevent repairing of their products. These include inadequate information, product design that prevents repair or lack of spare parts (De Vries and Abrahamson 2022).

A tailored review and regulatory approach to the so-called 'right to repair' (R2R) can benefit multiple stakeholders and the environment.  We therefore aim to highlight a global regulatory approach to the right to repair through a comparative perspective of legal approaches in Europe, the US and two selected developing countries, namely Chile and Nigeria. This comparison is illustrative to show the many different faces of the right to repair, whether it exists as a social movement or a legal construct, whether it is addressed in the context of other broader laws or as a separately regulated legal right, and to highlight where the focus and rationale of such a 'right' actually lies.

2. The right to repair in the EU and the US 

In Europe, the right to repair is much more than just a right to get your product working; it has a deeper, transformative meaning and brings not only legal but potentially also social and geopolitical changes. It broadly supports environmental concerns and promotes the transition to sustainability. The Brundtland Report of 1987 provides guiding principles for sustainable development and sees the roots of the environmental crisis in both the economic underdevelopment of the South and the over-consumption of the North (Brundtland Report 1987). The right to repair could also be seen as an action to promote degrowth, i.e. 

a performative fiction, used to mean the need to break with the cycle of productivity; it is not originally a concept, much less a symmetrical opposite of growth. It is a political watchword, a provocation, that principally aims to help restore a sense of limits. Degrowth does not look for recessions or negative growth; the word should not be taken literally.(Latouche 2020). 

The European initiative on the right to repair is largely based on the  Directive on repair of goods, which was adopted on 13 June 2024 and entered into force on 30 July 2024. Member States must transpose it into national law and apply it from 31 July 2026. It focuses on the following points:

1. Manufacturers must repair a product at a reasonable price and within a reasonable time after the legal warranty period;
2. Access to spare parts, tools and repair information for consumers;
3. Incentives to opt for repair, such as repair vouchers and funds;
4. Online platforms to help consumers find local repair services and shops selling refurbished goods (Right to repair: Making repair easier and more appealing to consumers).

Moreover, the right to repair is also regulated at European level in several other areas of law (e.g. consumer law, intellectual property law, eco-design law and data sharing law), which regulated such a right before the introduction of the Directive on the right to repair.

In the US, the competition case arose with agricultural equipment manufacturer John Deere, which is the subject of a class action lawsuit over the right to repair. The arguments in the case are based on an attempt to monopolise the agricultural equipment market by denying farmers and small workshops access to software and repair tools (The Right to Repair: Recent Developments in the USA, see also Court Seeks Hearing in Deere R2R Case). Despite the compromise reached between John Deere and the American Farm Bureau Federation, in which the company agreed to allow farmers and small repair shops to repair its machinery in the absence of specific legislation, the case is still pending in federal courts (ibid.). 

In addition, most of the US states have started working on their legislative proposals, with New York introducing the first right to repair electronics in the US, the "Digital Fair Repair Act" (ibid.), and California, which will require manufacturers to diagnose, service or repair products for a period of seven years if the price of the product is over $100, three years if the price is over $100, and three years if the price is under $100 (Right to Repair 2023 Legislation).

3. Experiences from Chile 

The R2R movement in Chile began as a social movement to raise people's awareness of consumption, with the main aim of reducing waste and recycling by encouraging people to repair items instead of disposing of them (Fundación Basura, 2020). Some non-profit organisations have emerged, but there is no formal law to support the movement. The repair, maintenance or upkeep of products is an issue dealt with at the level of consumer law, in the Chilean Consumer Protection Act of 1997 (CCPA). - (Ley N° 19. 496). Art. 19 from the CCPA establishes statutory rights for repair and replacement of goods under warranty. Thus, in principle, the right to repair in Chile seems to be more of a matter of contract and consumer law (Andrade 2022) than the actual meaning of the social R2R movement.

From the perspective of consumer and contract law, the right to repair as found in the CCPA is both a right and an obligation to the parties that defies any sustainable development rationale. R2R as a social movement, on the other hand, seems to have a completely different basis. In both cases, IPRs are not necessarily addressed. For example, the right to repair as conceived in the EU does not exist in Chile. Although it seems to salvage principles found in both the EU and the US, it remains at the level of a social movement. In 2022, Chile considered a new constitution that would have included a repairability label. The constitution was rejected, but the fight for the right to repair continues (The Right to Repair Movement is Everywhere).

4. Experiences from Nigeria 

The Nigerian legal framework has not yet codified the right to repair. However, there is an informal but vibrant repair industry for several products in the Nigerian market. These products include washing machines, laptops and smartphones, wristwatches, electronics such as radios and televisions, to name but a few. This is likely due to the lower cost of repairs compared to the cost of buying new products. A further boost to Nigeria's informal repair sector is an informal apprenticeship structure that supports the development of product repair skills. (Nigeria: A Right-to-Repair Superpower).

Though alien to Nigerian jurisprudence, the right to repair has attracted the attention of non-profit and public interest organisations in Nigeria who are campaigning for its recognition (see for instance, Policy Lab Africa,  Projects  Right to Repair). It is argued that some form of regulatory ingenuity with existing laws, such as the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 (FCCPA), could be helpful in introducing and regulating the right to repair without necessarily enacting a new law for this purpose. This is particularly important to minimise government costs by avoiding the need for new laws and government agencies. For example, under Section 114 of the FCCPA, "the right to product information in plain and intelligible language" could potentially be interpreted to include a right to information on the repair of the relevant products.

5. Conclusions 

In the jurisdictions briefly examined, the right to repair has two dimensions: the right as a legal right, as conceived in the EU and the US, contrasted with the right as a social movement in Chile and Nigeria. In countries where the right to repair is regulated by specific laws, or where the law is designed to deal with repairs, as in the EU and the US, the law may be based on different rationales, as the right emerged after the development of certain industrial sectors.  

From the bird's eye view of R2R, we can conclude that the need to address environmental challenges seems to be driving R2R as a social movement in countries such as Chile and Nigeria. In addition, from a legal perspective, R2R addresses contractual and competition law challenges. However, whether as a social movement, doctrine or law, R2R has the potential to fulfil both environmental sustainability and other societal values.

Autonomous cars and the drive towards sustainability

Author: Emmanuel Salami (Doctoral Researcher)

Research group: Law, Technology and DesignThinking 

A lot of progress has been recorded since the 1960s when the concept of Autonomous Cars (AC)  first featured in science fiction.[1]. Today, ACs are being developed at a pace that indicates it is only a matter of time before they become (fully) integrated into the socio-economic fabric of the society.

The Society of Automotive Engineers have highlighted five levels of autonomy in autonomous vehicles.[2]. In level 1 and 2, the system takes over some of the driving tasks but the driver is required to continually monitor the system and must be able to take over the driving as soon as it becomes necessary; level 3 requires less monitoring of the system by the driver while at level 4, the system is able to drive the car in normal operation and in defined surroundings but the driver can intervene at will; Level 5 is the final, fully automated and autonomous driving stage. For the avoidance of doubt, level 5 forms the focus of this blogpost. 

 

Figure 1: This is a depiction of level 5 AC and the interactions between AC, human beings and devices which are necessary for AC to function properly. Image A (cloud service), Image B, D, F (Internet of Things), Image C and E (vehicular cloud service)  all interact together to support the functioning of AC.

Do AC contribute to sustainable development ?

One prominent contribution of AC to sustainable development is the reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases and other harmful pollutants which cause global warming. It has been found that 58% of AC are built on an electric powertrain while a further 21% utilise a hybrid powertrain.[4]. Therefore, AC built on an electric powertrain significantly reduce air pollution by not utilising  fossil fuels, thus making it environmentally friendly.

Such AC will even be more sustainable when they are charged using wind, solar or other renewable energy sources because there will be zero emissions both in the course of driving operation and power generation. AC built on a hybrid powertrain will have both a battery and a gasoline engine. The gasoline engine takes effect when the batteries run out of power, typically after 15 to 50 miles of travel.[5]. Therefore, AC will contribute vastly to environmental sustainability in both the electric and hybrid models, even though the contribution of the former outweighs the latter.

Furthermore, AC, by self driving, effectively means that one car can drive an entire family out - drop each member at their destinations and park itself until it is time to pick them back up. This will reduce the number of cars needed by each household and will also consequently reduce the total number of cars on the road, thereby contributing to the reduction of vehicle emissions. This shared mobility component of AC will also cut across the public transport system thereby further reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. There is no doubt that autonomous cars will be more beneficial for the purpose of sustainable development. Some sustainable development benefits of AC are depicted in the table below:

Contribution to Sustainable Development	Traditional Cars	Autonomous Cars
Greenhouse gases	They release greenhouse gases and pollutants which cause pollution	They release way less  greenhouse gases
Accidents	They are more prone to accidents causing damage to the physical environment, plants, animals, etc.	They are less prone to accidents.
Lesser vehicle congestion	One household would need multiple cars encouraging vehicle congestion and pollution.	Car sharing is possible which ensures AC can drive the household around without any human intervention.

 How can regulation help achieve the sustainability potential of AC?

Although AC contribute to environmental sustainability because of a reduced or non-use of internal combustion engines, they can still result in some level of environmental pollution. Researchers have found that AC can result in increased rates of transportation because of the ease that comes from riding as a passenger while being able to do other things.[6]. The capability of sending cars on errands (for example, sending the car to park itself at home or calling it back for use) will also increase AC use.

The implication of this is that there will still be emissions from power generation in AC built on electric powertrains, while those built on hybrid powertrains will generate emissions both from power generation and their internal combustion engines.

In order to ensure that over usage does not hinder the sustainable development benefits of AC, it is necessary that the law is used as a tool for social enforcement. One way of achieving this could be by taxing private use of AC to discourage unnecessary use (such as sending AC on errands). Law can also be used to encourage the use of publicly available pooled AC through the creation of incentives such as subsidised transportation costs that encourage people to use them.

The increased costs attached to the private use of AC and the availability of more affordable and publicly available pooled AC will eventually reduce the vehicles on the roads which will be advantageous to the environment. Other legislations such as traffic laws, product liability/insurance laws, data protection law, and intellectual property law, etc. may be considered as incidental legislations which must be reviewed/specifically enacted for AC to become widely accepted in the society.

Conclusion 

It has been established that AC can contribute to sustainable development in the society. The law is a veritable tool that can facilitate the adoption of this environmentally friendly technology. Therefore, a number of laws (as listed above) are needed to support the process as a whole. Where necessary, the gaps in relevant laws must be identified and new laws introduced to ensure that AC becomes part of our society.

Notes

1. The Evolution of Autonomous Cars On-Screen, (Vanarama). https://www.vanarama.com/blog/cars/the-evolution-of-autonomous-cars-on-screen

2. Andreas Herrmann, Walter Brenner, Rupert Stadler, Autonomous Driving: How the Driverless Revolution will Change the World, Emerald Group Publishing, United Kingdom, 2018, p. 3, 8-9, 47-51.

3. United Nations Brundtland commission, Sustainability, (un.org). https://www.un.org/en/academic-impact/sustainability 

4. Why Autonomous and Electric Vehicles Are Inextricably Linked, (government technology). https://www.govtech.com/fs/Why-Autonomous-and-Electric-Vehicles-are-Inextricably-Linked.html

5. Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Electric Vehicles. https://www.pca.state.mn.us/air/electric-vehicles#:~:text=Less%20harmful%20air%20pollution,in%20neighborhoods%20near%20busy%20roadways

6. Giovanni Circella, Scott Hardman, Driverless cars won't be good for the environment if they lead to more auto usea, (January 28, 2022). https://theconversation.com/driverless-cars-wont-be-good-for-the-environment-if-they-lead-to-more-auto-use-173819