Abstract
Smartphones, computers, electric and hybrid cars, solar panels, wind turbines, military and space technologies, electronics, pharmaceuticals, medical imaging... Life today is totally dependent on rare and precious metals. The extraction and transformation of these metallic elements are the source of irreversible ecological and environmental disasters. Access to these metals also represents a major strategic challenge for countries like France, where they are rare or non-existent. Against a worrying geopolitical and economic backdrop, we need to take stock of a few key questions: What are the recycling solutions for these over-consumed metals? Can recycling save us? How can we reduce our consumption of these metals in key sectors such as healthcare? How can we reduce our environmental footprint when using these metals? How can we limit our dependence on metals and minerals? Answers will be provided by means of concrete examples of recent innovations in the production of medicines dependent on a highly strategic resource, palladium.
