Brussels, 25 March 2025
The Commission has adopted, for the first time, a list of 47 Strategic Projects to boost domestic strategic raw material capacities, which will in turn strengthen the European raw materials value chain and diversify sources of supply. The new Strategic Projects mark an important milestone in the implementation of the Critical Raw Material Act (CRMA), which aims to ensure European extraction, processing and recycling of strategic raw materials meet 10%, 40% and 25% of EU’s demand by 2030, respectively. By helping Europe meet these targets, the new Strategic Projects contribute significantly to Europe’s green and digital transitions, while supporting Europe’s defence industry and aerospace industries.
Overview on the selected projects
The 47 new Strategic Projects are located across 13 EU Member States: Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Estonia, Czechia, Greece, Sweden, Finland, Portugal, Poland and Romania. They cover one or more segments of the raw material value chain, with 25 projects comprising extraction activities, 24 processing, 10 recycling and 2 substitution of raw materials. The Strategic Projects cover 14 of the 17 strategic raw materials listed in the Critical Raw Materials Act. This includes several projects covering lithium (22 projects), nickel (12 projects), cobalt (10 projects), manganese (7 projects) and graphite (11 projects) which will particularly benefit the EU battery raw material value chain. These projects will ensure that the EU can fully meet its extraction, processing and recycling 2030 benchmarks for lithium and cobalt, while making substantial progress for graphite, nickel and manganese. Moreover, other strategic projects involving magnesium (1 project) and tungsten (3 projects) will contribute to the resilience of the EU’s defence industry, which relies on the use of these materials.
These projects were selected as they contribute to the EU’s secure supply of strategic raw materials, adhere to environmental, social and governance criteria and are technically feasible. In addition, the selected projects have also demonstrated clear cross-border benefits for the EU.
Benefits for the selected projects
To become operational, the 47 Strategic Projects have an expected overall capital investment of €22.5 billion. These projects will be able to benefit from coordinated support by the Commission, Member States and financial institutions to become operational, notably regarding access to finance and support to connect with relevant off-takers. They will also benefit from streamlined permitting provisions, to ensure predictability for project promoters while safeguarding environmental, social and governance standards. In line with the CRMA, the permit-granting process will not exceed 27 months for extraction projects and 15 months for other projects. Currently, permitting processes can last from five to 10 years.
Background
The Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) entered into force on 23 May 2024. The same day, the Commission published a call for submission of proposals for recognition of projects as Strategic Projects with a cut-off date on 22 August 2024. Applications considered complete were assessed by the Commission with the support of external experts to check whether the projects meet relevant criteria under the CRMA. Based on this assessment, the Commission identified a list of projects for the extraction, processing, recycling or substitution of strategic raw materials. The Commission consulted the Critical Raw Materials Board, composed of Member States the European Parliament as an observer, to discuss and adopt an opinion on the list of Strategic Projects on 20 February 2025 and on 12 March 2025. The Commission also received applications for projects located in third countries. The Decision on the potential selection of such projects will be adopted at a later stage. The Commission will soon announce a new call for Strategic Project applications, currently planned for end of summer.
More information
- List of Strategic Project
- Q&A on the Strategic Projects
- Interactive map and fiches
- Critical Raw Materials Act – European Commission
Quote
At the very start of our most strategic supply chains, are raw materials. They are also indispensable to the decarbonisation of our continent. But Europe currently depends on third countries for many of the raw materials it needs the most. We must increase our own production, diversify our external supply, and make stockpiles. Today, we have identified 47 new strategic projects that, for the first time, will help us secure our own domestic supply of raw materials. This is a landmark moment for European sovereignty as an industrial powerhouse.
Stéphane Séjourné, Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy
Source – EU Commission
Questions and Answers on the Strategic Projects under the Critical Raw Materials Act
Brussels, 25 March 2025
What are strategic raw materials and why the EU needs them?
The Critical Raw Materials Act, entered into force in May 2024, identified the first list of strategic raw materials. Those raw materials are considered strategic since their projected demand growth compared to current levels of supply, combined with the difficulties of scaling up production, are likely to create supply risks in the near future. These raw materials are used in strategic sectors such as renewable energy, digital, aerospace and defence technologies. Lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese and graphite are for instance used to manufacture batteries for e-mobility or energy storage, while rare earth elements are present in the motors of electric vehicles or wind turbines. The Critical Raw Materials Act includes also a list of critical raw materials, which are materials considered important for the whole European economy and that face a high risk of supply disruption.
Currently, critical and strategic raw materials are mainly extracted, processed and recycled in third countries, creating dependencies that can be exploited against European interests. To secure access to those raw materials in the EU, the Critical Raw Material Act sets a framework to support Strategic Projects linked to extraction, processing, recycling of strategic raw materials. The Strategic Projects will develop EU capacity along the value chain and contribute to deliver on the 2030 benchmarks identified in the Act:
- At least 10% of the EU’s annual consumption for extraction
- At least 40% of the EU’s annual consumption for processing
- At least 25% of the EU’s annual consumption for recycling
- No more than 65% of the Union’s annual consumption of each strategic raw material relies on a single third country supplier for any relevant stage of the value chain.
What are the criteria to be selected as a Strategic Project?
To be selected as Strategic Projects under the Critical Raw Materials Act, projects must make a meaningful contribution to the security of the Union’s supply of strategic raw materials. They must be or have the potential to become technically feasible within a reasonable timeframe, show expected production volumes, and be implemented sustainably with a sufficient estimated level of confidence. The Strategic Projects must also demonstrate that they have cross-border benefits beyond the EU Member State concerned.
How were the Strategic Projects selected?
The Commission opened the first call for applications for Strategic Projects from 23 May 2024 to 22 August 2024.
Independent experts assessed the projects’ technical, financial, and sustainability-related aspects, verified their classification under the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources and verified whether they meet the Critical Raw Materials Act criteria.
Based on these expert assessments, the Commission prepared a preliminary list of selected projects, and consulted the Critical Raw Materials Board, composed of Member States with the European Parliament as an observer. The Board then issued an opinion accepting the list of Strategic Projects.
The application form, a guide for applicants and frequently asked questions are available here: Strategic projects under the CRMA – European Commission. The Commission will soon announce a new call for Strategic Project applications, currently planned for end of summer.
What are the strategic raw materials concerned by the selected projects?
The Strategic Projects will provide access to 14 out of the 17 strategic raw materials listed in Annex 1 of the Critical Raw Materials, namely: bauxite/alumina/aluminium; boron — metallurgy grade; cobalt; copper; gallium; germanium; lithium — battery grade; magnesium metal; manganese — battery grade; graphite — battery grade; nickel — battery grade; platinum group metals; rare earth elements for permanent magnets; tungsten.
Bismuth, Silicon metal and Titanium metal are not covered by Strategic Projects in this first list.
What is the benefit for projects that are selected as Strategic Projects?
The selected projects are considered strategic as they will strengthen Europe’s supply of strategic raw materials. Being selected as a Strategic Project means to benefit from streamlined permitting and from enabling conditions for access to finance.
Streamlined procedures do not imply lower standards on environmental assessment or reduced involvement of the public. Those aspects are decided by Member States and are not the object of the streamlined permitting procedure.
What are the benefits for Strategic Projects regarding permitting in the EU?
Strategic Projects will benefit from streamlined permitting, while still having to comply with all applicable environmental and social requirements under existing legislation. As Strategic Projects, they will be considered as projects of public interest and their permit-granting process should be limited to 27 months for extraction projects and 15 months for processing or recycling projects. This will increase predictability for projects promoters, enabling them to contribute to EU supply security.
Strategic Projects, as well as other critical raw materials projects, will be able to benefit from “Single Points of Contact” in their Member States, which will be their only interlocutors for the duration of the permit-granting process.
What are the benefits for Strategic Projects regarding financing?
The Strategic Projects will be presented and discussed within the financing sub-group of the Critical Raw Materials Board. The sub-group advises on how the financing of the project can be completed, considering private and public sources of funding. This sub-group brings together relevant national promotional banks, the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and private financial institutions, among others. The sub-group will soon meet to discuss how each Strategic Project can be financially supported.
A Strategic Project can also benefit from the possibility of regional and national authorities making use of funding from the European Development Fund and Cohesion Fund to support the project, in line with the new STEP Regulation. These funds are administered by regional and national authorities and the Commission ensures that supported projects are successfully concluded.
What are the obligations of Strategic Projects?
Besides meeting the relevant criteria, Strategic Projects promoters must report to the Commission on the progress made in the implementation of the project and any potential delay. The promoters must also notify changes to the project that impact the fulfilment of the criteria, as well as any relevant changes in the control of companies involved in the project. To ensure transparency, the Strategic Projects must also make available a regularly updated website with information relevant to the local population, notably on the projects’ impacts and benefits. Strategic Projects remain subject to environmental assessments and public consultations requirements. They must also meet public acceptance obligations and demonstrate their engagement with the local population.
Are Strategic Projects necessarily located in EU Member States?
Granting a Strategic Project status is also possible for projects located outside the EU territory, if they comply with the criteria set in article 6 of the CRMA (see Q2). The Commission received 46 applications for projects located in third countries. The Decision on the potential selection of such projects will be adopted at a later stage.
For More Information
- List of Strategic Project
- Press Release
- Interactive map and fiches
- Critical Raw Materials Act – European Commission
Source – EU Commission
EU-Abgeordnete Bentele (CDU) zu kritischen Rohstoffen in der EU
Brüssel, 25 März 2025
Heute hat die EU-Kommission die ersten 47 Projekte bekannt gegeben, die den Status eines Strategischen Projekts gemäß dem EU-Rohstoffgesetz (“Critical Raw Materials Act” – CRMA) erhalten. Dazu erklärt Hildegard Bentele (CDU), Berichterstatterin der EVP-Fraktion für das EU-Rohstoffgesetz und Vertreterin des Europäischen Parlaments im Board für kritische Rohstoffe, welches die Liste mit ausgearbeitet hat:
„Mit der Umsetzung strategischer Rohstoffprojekte in der Europäischen Union setzen wir gezielt auf mehr Eigenversorgung mit kritischen Rohstoffen, auf Bewahrung technologischer Souveränität und die Wiederbelebung des Bergbausektors. Damit geben sowohl die Mitgliedstaaten, die nun bei den verkürzten Genehmigungsfristen liefern, als auch unsere Finanzinstitutionen, die Rohstoffprojektfinanzierung wieder möglich machen müssen, auf Grundlage des strategischen Impulses aus Europa ein starkes Signal an unsere Industrie und internationale Partner, dass Europa handlungsfähig und entschieden ist, seine industrielle Basis zu sichern und zukunftsfähig aufzustellen.
Grundsätzlich ein Lob an die EU Kommission, dass sie schon ein Tag nach in Kraft treten des Gesetzes die erste Ausschreibung gestartet und aufgrund der großen Nachfrage auch schon eine zweite eingeleitet und schnell Rohstoffexperten aus ganz Europa in Brüssel zur Begutachtung der Projekte versammelt hat. Aus jeder ersten Übung kann man lernen, so kann der Informationsfluss zwischen den Gutachtern, den Mitgliedstaaten und den Projektverantwortlichen sicher verbessert werden, es wird sich auch eine Praxis für die Anlegung der Kriterien einüben. Ich mahne hier größtmögliche Transparenz an, denn wir brauchen für die Umsetzung von Rohstoffprojekten immer auch die Unterstützung der Betroffenen vor Ort.
Entscheidend wird auch sein, dass die europäische Industrie die neuen, europäischen Rohstoffquellen auch nutzt und den Wert der Versorgungssicherheit in ihren Lieferketten endlich einpreist. Wir brauchen mehr strategisches und langfristiges Denken und entsprechende Investitionen, wenn wir Industriezweige wie bspw. die Batterie- oder Halbleiterproduktion oder effiziente Motoren wirklich in Europa halten oder ausbauen wollen.
Das ist ein großer Tag für die europäische Rohstoffpolitik. Jetzt kommt es darauf an, dass die Umsetzung ebenso entschlossen weitergeht und politisch flankiert wird und wir bald auch die im EU-Rohstoffgesetz angelegten Strategischen Projekte mit Drittstaaten an den Start bringen sowie die noch fehlenden kritischen Rohstoffe ebenfalls mit Strategischen Projekten abdecken. Die Kommission hat zugesagt, bis Ende des Jahres konkret darzulegen, inwieweit die Strategischen Projekte der EU zur im Rohstoffgesetz angelegten Zielerreichung bis 2030 beitragen werden. Wir müssen hier eng am Ball bleiben, denn im sensiblen Verteidigungsbereich wird es absehbar neue Bedarfe geben.”
Hintergrund:
Mit dem heutigen Schritt wird ein zentrales Element des Gesetzes für kritische Rohstoffe umgesetzt, das im Jahr 2021 mit einem Initiativbericht durch die EVP-Fraktion initiiert wurde und das im Mai 2024 in Kraft getreten ist und maßgeblich durch das Europäische Parlament mitgestaltet wurde. Strategische Projekte profitieren von beschleunigten Genehmigungsverfahren – für Abbauprojekte sind maximal 27 Monate vorgesehen, für Verarbeitung und Recycling 15 Monate – sowie verbessertem Zugang zu Finanzierung, etwa durch eine eigens eingerichtete Untergruppe im Rohstoff-Board, in der öffentliche und private Finanzexpertise gebündelt wird.
Quelle – CDU/CSU-Gruppe im EU-Parlament (per E-Mail)