Fuel cell driven cars belong to the ‘zero emission’ vehicles and should contribute to lower CO₂ emissions. However, they contain platinum, which is known as a critical material in the European Union. This study investigated the potential contribution of recycling fuel cell vehicles (FCV) to satisfy the platinum demand arising from a widespread deployment of fuel cell vehicles in Europe. Based on a qualitative examination of the four consecutive steps in the recycling chain (collection, dismantling, disassembly and pre-processing, material recovery) of fuel cell vehicles, two recycling scenarios were developed. Using dynamic material flow analysis, these two recycling scenarios were applied to two scenarios for the market penetration of fuel cell vehicles in nine European lead markets to deliver both the associated impact on platinum demand and the contribution of recycling for meeting this demand. The diffusion of FCV in Europe will not cause a depletion of platinum resources in the short term, as the calculated 537.06 t and 459.24 t in cumulative platinum requirements are far below the currently estimated global reserves. However, concerns regarding the future development of platinum supply and demand remain.

This paper explores the challenges related to the End-Of-Life phase of products and circular systems of reuse and recycling within the commonly established frameworks of product lifecycles. Typically, Original Equipment Manufacturer-centric supply chain perspectives neglect the complexity at the End-Of-Life where many third-parties are involved in reuse and recycling activities. Based on a review of product lifecycle and related recycling literature, this study proposes the application of ‘cascades’, a term originally coined within the biomass domain. We propose and subsequently apply the ‘cascade use methodology’ and identify additional and value-adding End-Of-Life solutions for products and materials. The adoption of cascade utilization into product lifecycles is analyzed and critically discussed using case studies from independent remanufacturing and tire recycling, focusing on the End-Of-Life while excluding business models as renting or sharing. Although theoretically feasible, we argue that the practical adoption of ‘cascade use’ deserves more attention from researchers and practitioners in order to become an integral part of the comprehensive management of product lifecycles.