Brussels wants 10% of the raw materials used in the EU extracted on European soil by 2030

The European Commission wants 10% of the critical raw materials used in the European Union (EU), such as lithium or magnesium metal, to be extracted on European soil, and a maximum of 65% of dependence on a single third country, such as China.

In a proposal released today on new rules regarding critical raw materials, the community executive proposes “a comprehensive set of actions to ensure EU access to a safe, diversified, accessible and sustainable supply of critical raw materials”, materials that are indispensable for strategic sectors such as ‘clean’ and digital industry, energy, aerospace, defense and automotive sectors.

At a time when the EU imports almost all of some of the critical raw materials from countries like China and when demand is expected to increase sharply in the coming years, Brussels advocates that at least 10% of these materials be extracted on European soil , also establishing targets of 40% for refining and 15% for recycling.

Furthermore, “no more than 65% of the Union’s annual consumption of each strategic raw material at any relevant stage of processing [deve ser] from a single third country”, adds the institution in the information sent to the press.

“Although the demand for critical raw materials is expected to increase dramatically, Europe is heavily dependent on imports, often from quasi-monopolistic third-country suppliers.”

It is for this reason that “the EU needs to mitigate risks to supply chains related to such strategic dependencies”, argues Brussels.

The European Commission thus advances with a new package on critical raw materials, to accelerate extraction and refining in the EU and overcome vulnerabilities in the face of supply disruptions or geopolitical tensions, as Lusa had already advanced.

In the proposal, also as advanced by Lusa, Brussels suggests the designation of strategic projects, which could benefit from faster licenses (12 months for extraction and 12 months for refining and recycling, when they take up to five years), of less administrative burden and eventual community financing, as well as the focus on the storage of these critical raw materials.

At stake are raw materials such as lithium and cobalt, necessary for the manufacture of batteries and electric motors, for example, or silicon, used for the production of semiconductors.

These materials allow the development of strategic sectors such as renewable energies, electric cars and digital technologies.

In addition to the new targets, Brussels today updates the list of critical raw materials and strategies to strengthen the EU’s single market and external powers.

The list of raw materials that should be considered strategic includes bismuth, boron, cobalt, copper, lithium, magnesium metal, natural graphite, nickel, platinum metals, rare earths, metallic silicon and metallic titanium.

Currently, the EU depends on China for materials such as rare earth metals or magnesium.

Furthermore, 98% of the boron arriving in the EU, used in wind technologies, permanent magnets and semiconductor production, comes from Turkey, while 63% of the world’s cobalt, used in batteries and high-strength light alloys for the defense and aerospace, comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

For its part, South Africa is responsible for supplying 71% of the EU’s needs for platinum metals.

EU demand for lithium batteries, which power electric vehicles and energy storage, is estimated to increase 12 times by 2030 and 21 times by 2050 compared to current values. Demand for rare earth metals in the EU, used in wind turbines and electric vehicles, is expected to increase five to six times by 2030 and six to seven times by 2050.