Ton (A.G.T.M.) Bastein (1960) has a Ph.D. in chemistry (Heterogeneous Catalysis, Leiden, 1988) and works at TNO since 1993. Since 2010 he has focused his work on research in the area of raw materials availability, resource efficiency and circular economy.

He supported government in assessing the impact of circular economy on the economy and environmental impact and in assessing the effectiveness of policies in that area (“Opportunities for a circular economy in The Netherlands”). This led to the partnership of TNO in the consortium that draws up the Integral CE Report (ICER). In recent years he focused on the essential role that digitalization and ‘smartness’ plays in the circular transition which resulted in the national program CESI, Circular Economy and Smart Industry.

His work on raw materials availability, criticality and supply chain issues focusses on the role of such materials for the Dutch economy in general ( “Critical Materials for the Dutch Economy) and more specifically on the energy transition (“Global Energy Transition and Metal Demand” and recent papers on material demand for hydrogen production).

The basis for these activities is the drive to quantify the impacts of sustainability, circular economy and raw materials issues on job creation and environmental issues in multidisciplinary teams.