On November 17, 2025, Patrick Schembri (UVSQ–CEARC / Paris-Saclay University), was invited to speak at Sustainable Chemistry Day, a major event organized by Prof. Sandrine Lacombe (former VP for International Relations, Paris-Saclay Univ.), and Prof. Ally Aukauloo as part of the international Erasmus+ Mundus SERP program (Paris-Saclay University). This event brought together faculty, students, and several international scientific figures to discuss sustainability issues in chemistry and contemporary transitions.

This event was distinguished by the participation of two major international figures: Prof. Terry Collins (Carnegie Mellon University), pioneer of green chemistry; Prof. Sylvie Retailleau, physicist, former President of Paris-Saclay University and former Minister of Higher Education and Research, recognized for her commitment to ecological transition and scientific diplomacy.

The research lecture entitled "Critical materials for current transitions: what are the challenges?", focused on critical materials and their implications for the energy and digital transitions. In particular, it highlighted: the strong geopolitical dependencies associated with strategic metals; the economic and systemic vulnerabilities for European value chains; the increased materiality of low-carbon technologies (wind power, batteries, photovoltaics); the growing environmental impacts of extraction and refining. This analysis is part of the joint research conducted by the IES and CEARC on systemic risks, supply chain sustainability, and sustainable energy transition. The conference also presented several robust approaches to reducing criticality risks: Innovation and substitution: development of technological alternatives that are less dependent on critical metals; advanced recycling: improvement of hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical processes to increase the recovery of strategic metals; material sobriety and efficiency: optimizing resource use from the design stage onwards; industrial policies and diversification: securing and partially relocating supply chains. These elements offer valuable insights for public decision-makers, industrialists, and academics involved in the energy transition.

This intervention contributes directly to analyzing the interactions between natural resources, environmental agendas, socio-technical dynamics, geopolitical context, and collective decisions from an interdisciplinary perspective. The work presented during this day confirms the importance of integrated approaches combining economics, materials science, energy, environment, governance, and public policy to support current transitions. CEARC will continue to contribute to these themes through national and international collaborations.