Released March 25, 2024 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The Council for the European Union (EU) has given the final approval for the region's plan to secure critical raw materials to support its industries and reduce its over-reliance on foreign suppliers.
The Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) sets out a series of comprehensive actions to ensure the EU's access to "a secure, diversified, affordable and sustainable supply of critical raw materials." Today, the list identifies 34 critical raw materials and within that, 17 specific strategic raw materials (SRMs)--like lithium used in batteries--where demand is expected to grow exponentially. The SRMs tend to have complex production requirements and thus face a higher risk of supply issues. Europe is largely dependent on other countries for the supply of these critical elements. Most of these materials are deemed essential to its climate, automotive, digital, aerospace and defense sectors. The CRMA sets out three benchmarks for the EU's consumption of raw materials: 10% should come from local extraction, 40% should be processed in the EU, and it should recycle 25% of its annual consumption of strategic raw materials by 2030. The region is also working to diversify its imports of strategic raw materials so that it does not rely on a single source of supply for more than 65% of its consumption.
"With the Critical Raw Materials Act we want to turn the challenges of our dependencies into strategic autonomy and an opportunity for our economy," said Jo Brouns, Flemish Minister for Economy, Innovation, Work, Social Economy and Agriculture. "This legislative act will boost our mining sector, enhance our recycling and processing capacities, create local and good quality jobs, and ensure that our industry is up and ready for the digital and green transitions."
Europe is heavily reliant on third countries--especially China--with more than 90% of its supply of certain minerals coming from a single third country. For instance, 97% of the EU's magnesium supply is sourced from China, 100% of the rare earths used for permanent magnets globally are refined in China, Turkey supplies 98% of its borate, and South Africa provides 71% of the EU's needs for platinum-group metals. With regard to lithium, used in electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage batteries, Europe will need up to 18 times more lithium by 2030 and up to 60 times more by 2050. Industrial Info first reported on the EU's planned Critical Minerals Act last April. For additional information, see April 4, 2023, article-Europe Outlines Critical Minerals Act.
One of the most important benefits of the CRMA to the mining industry will be what the European Commission described as "speeding up permitting for all critical raw material projects with a one-stop-shop contact." It wants to accelerate the identifying of strategic projects in the Union and third countries that intend to become active in the extraction, processing or recycling of strategic raw materials. It said that they will benefit from "streamlined and predictable permitting procedures in the Union and coordination of support to improve access to finance." In real terms, this means that extraction projects are set to go through the permitting process within 27 months, with recycling and processing projects doing the same within 15 months.
The EU has been busy over the past couple of years in looking for new sources of strategic raw materials. In recent weeks, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen opened the EU's first office at Nuuk on the vast arctic island of Greenland with the hope of securing access to raw materials for European companies. Greenland--an autonomous part of Denmark for now--is a prime target for mining, not just for Europe, but also the U.S. and China. On her visit to Nuuk, Von Der Leyen said: "The second big focus of our discussion was on critical raw materials, the materials we all need to power the clean energy transition. And indeed, we have a critical raw materials partnership in place since last November. The funding agreement we have signed will allow us now to go forward. We have already identified good projects, across the whole value chain, so not only mining, but also, and that is very important, high value-added activities, like processing and refining. This is the goal here in Greenland because this attracts new investments and creates good jobs here. For all of us it is very important that these mining activities are carried out in a sustainable manner, respectful of nature and the environment. And here too, we agreed that we have to be very concrete with a roadmap on how to proceed. Time is of the essence."
Last November, Industrial Info reported that the EU had signed a series of major investments worth billions of euros in a number of African nations in an effort to secure supply of critical and strategic raw materials. It signed memoranda of understanding with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zambia to develop critical raw materials value chains and boost transport connectivity. The DRC is ranked as the world's largest cobalt producer and one of the largest producers of copper. Zambia is also a major copper producer and has deposits of critical minerals such as cobalt, manganese and nickel. The Commission has already established six strategic partnerships on raw materials with Canada (June 2021), Ukraine (July 2021), Kazakhstan and Namibia (November 2022), Argentina (June 2023) and Chile (July 2023). For additional information, see November 6, 2023, article-Europe Turns to Africa For Critical Raw Materials.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
The Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) sets out a series of comprehensive actions to ensure the EU's access to "a secure, diversified, affordable and sustainable supply of critical raw materials." Today, the list identifies 34 critical raw materials and within that, 17 specific strategic raw materials (SRMs)--like lithium used in batteries--where demand is expected to grow exponentially. The SRMs tend to have complex production requirements and thus face a higher risk of supply issues. Europe is largely dependent on other countries for the supply of these critical elements. Most of these materials are deemed essential to its climate, automotive, digital, aerospace and defense sectors. The CRMA sets out three benchmarks for the EU's consumption of raw materials: 10% should come from local extraction, 40% should be processed in the EU, and it should recycle 25% of its annual consumption of strategic raw materials by 2030. The region is also working to diversify its imports of strategic raw materials so that it does not rely on a single source of supply for more than 65% of its consumption.
"With the Critical Raw Materials Act we want to turn the challenges of our dependencies into strategic autonomy and an opportunity for our economy," said Jo Brouns, Flemish Minister for Economy, Innovation, Work, Social Economy and Agriculture. "This legislative act will boost our mining sector, enhance our recycling and processing capacities, create local and good quality jobs, and ensure that our industry is up and ready for the digital and green transitions."
Europe is heavily reliant on third countries--especially China--with more than 90% of its supply of certain minerals coming from a single third country. For instance, 97% of the EU's magnesium supply is sourced from China, 100% of the rare earths used for permanent magnets globally are refined in China, Turkey supplies 98% of its borate, and South Africa provides 71% of the EU's needs for platinum-group metals. With regard to lithium, used in electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage batteries, Europe will need up to 18 times more lithium by 2030 and up to 60 times more by 2050. Industrial Info first reported on the EU's planned Critical Minerals Act last April. For additional information, see April 4, 2023, article-Europe Outlines Critical Minerals Act.
One of the most important benefits of the CRMA to the mining industry will be what the European Commission described as "speeding up permitting for all critical raw material projects with a one-stop-shop contact." It wants to accelerate the identifying of strategic projects in the Union and third countries that intend to become active in the extraction, processing or recycling of strategic raw materials. It said that they will benefit from "streamlined and predictable permitting procedures in the Union and coordination of support to improve access to finance." In real terms, this means that extraction projects are set to go through the permitting process within 27 months, with recycling and processing projects doing the same within 15 months.
The EU has been busy over the past couple of years in looking for new sources of strategic raw materials. In recent weeks, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen opened the EU's first office at Nuuk on the vast arctic island of Greenland with the hope of securing access to raw materials for European companies. Greenland--an autonomous part of Denmark for now--is a prime target for mining, not just for Europe, but also the U.S. and China. On her visit to Nuuk, Von Der Leyen said: "The second big focus of our discussion was on critical raw materials, the materials we all need to power the clean energy transition. And indeed, we have a critical raw materials partnership in place since last November. The funding agreement we have signed will allow us now to go forward. We have already identified good projects, across the whole value chain, so not only mining, but also, and that is very important, high value-added activities, like processing and refining. This is the goal here in Greenland because this attracts new investments and creates good jobs here. For all of us it is very important that these mining activities are carried out in a sustainable manner, respectful of nature and the environment. And here too, we agreed that we have to be very concrete with a roadmap on how to proceed. Time is of the essence."
Last November, Industrial Info reported that the EU had signed a series of major investments worth billions of euros in a number of African nations in an effort to secure supply of critical and strategic raw materials. It signed memoranda of understanding with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zambia to develop critical raw materials value chains and boost transport connectivity. The DRC is ranked as the world's largest cobalt producer and one of the largest producers of copper. Zambia is also a major copper producer and has deposits of critical minerals such as cobalt, manganese and nickel. The Commission has already established six strategic partnerships on raw materials with Canada (June 2021), Ukraine (July 2021), Kazakhstan and Namibia (November 2022), Argentina (June 2023) and Chile (July 2023). For additional information, see November 6, 2023, article-Europe Turns to Africa For Critical Raw Materials.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
