Researchers from the Faculty of Social Sciences will join an international network of academics & organisations examining the consequences of Europe’s green transition for Latin American countries where materials for rechargeable batteries are mined.
‘CONTESTED_EXTRACTION: Contested Geographies of Extractivism in Europe and Latin America’ is a new Horizon Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Staff Exchange network led by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany. It brings together 16 partners from across Europe and Latin America, including universities, research institutes, NGOs, grassroots organisations, and cultural collectives.
Dr Philipp Horn from the School of Geography and Planning will lead the University of Sheffield team, which also includes Dr Olivia Casagrande, Dr Victoria Habermehl, Dr Miguel Kanai and Dr Melanie Lombard from the same School, alongside Dr Beatrice de Carli and Dr Adriana Massidda from the School of Architecture and Landscape.
The network’s aim is to understand the ‘territorial consequences’ of the European Green Deal and the Critical Raw Materials Act, beginning from the observation that the EU’s decarbonisation goals are increasing demand for specific raw materials such as lithium and copper, especially in Latin America where they are often mined.
The team will map the hidden extraction processes, from the sites of extraction themselves though to ports, processing hubs, firms and finance, creating an ‘open atlas’ of the ‘green’ extraction links between Europe and Latin America. They will then explain why the current processes produce conflict in some regions and successful coexistence in others, by comparing governance arrangements and corporate strategies, taking into account the perspectives of local and Indigenous communities.
This work will lead to the creation of new guidance and protocols to adapt extraction processes to be fairer and more collaborative going forward, as well as plans for reparative measures to counter some of the negative impacts of the current systems. New processes, designed collaboratively with affected communities, may include more robust consent and oversight, protections for land and water and community-led monitoring.
Dr Philipp Horn, Senior Lecturer in the School of Geography and Planning, said: “Resource extraction has always been justified through visions of a different and better future, one made possible by reliance on raw materials. Today, this logic is being reproduced as part of the green transition, which depends on critical minerals such as lithium. Our project seeks to make sense of the green transition from the places where these minerals are extracted and from the perspectives of the communities who live with its consequences. At Sheffield, we will contribute our expertise in collaborative and community-engaged research, providing methodological training and creating spaces for knowledge exchange among researchers, community activists, and practitioners from Europe and Latin America.”
The network will run for four years from October 2026.
Find out more here.