EU indicates 47 strategic projects on critical materials. Séjourné: “Let’s open more mines”

Brussels – The EU has identified the first 47 strategic projects to accelerate the global race for rare earth supplies. The target is the one set by the Critical Raw Material Act: by 2030, the extraction, processing and recycling of critical raw materials in Europe must meet 10 per cent, 40 per cent and 25 per cent of EU demand, respectively. The list adopted today (March 25) by the European Commission includes four Italian projects.

“There are not enough mines in Europe. We need to open more,” the European Commission’s executive vice-president in charge of industry, Stéphane Séjourné, made clear. Indeed, more than half of the projects (25) involve extraction activities, especially in the Iberian Peninsula, which is rich in lithium, copper, and tungsten. Of the 47 on the list, 24 projects include processing activities, 10 recycling and two feedstock substitution. The four Italian ones all involve recycling activities.

The projects cover almost all (14 out of 17) critical raw materials indicated last year by the European Commission. Most of all, lithium (22 projects), nickel (12), graphite (11), cobalt (10), and manganese (7) will be affected to strengthen especially the raw materials value chain for EU batteries. The projects on magnesium and tungsten should be seen in light of the new impetus in the defence industry, which relies on the use of these materials.

“I say it clearly: we do not want to replace our dependence on fossil fuels with a dependence on raw materials. Chinese lithium will not be the Russian gas of tomorrow,” Séjourné promised. European Commission sources specified that Brussels received 170 applications, including 49 from projects in non-EU countries. Those selected meet four criteria: they contribute to the EU’s security of supply, comply with environmental, social, and governance criteria, and are technically feasible. While projects in member countries had to demonstrate “clear cross-border benefits,” the principle of having to “bring value” both in the country hosting the project and for the EU applied to those outside the EU.

According to the European Commission, for the 47 strategic projects to be operational, a total investment of €22.5 billion is needed. Séjourné spoke of €2 billion made available by the European Investment Bank by 2025. A source explained that, in reality, the EU executive hopes that most of the projects will stand on their own two feet and find financing on the markets but, if necessary, they will be able to benefit from “loans, or equity stakes, or loan guarantees” from Brussels and member states. Not grants, in any case. They will also benefit from simplified permitting provisions to “ensure predictability for project developers while safeguarding environmental, social, and governance standards.”

The EU executive vice president also announced that by the end of 2026, Brussels will launch a joint purchasing centre for raw materials to make joint and 27-party purchases “somewhat on the model we used for vaccines at the time of COVID.” According to Séjourné, on critical raw materials, “we have to recognise that Europe is ahead of China and the United States” because it already has a legal basis and a strategy and is, therefore, now in a position to shift gears. Also, thanks to the network of bilateral agreements—already 14—on critical raw materials with partners around the world.