The EC wants to invest in critical raw materials outside the Union, including Ukraine and Greenland

The European Commission has announced a list of 13 projects of extraction and processing of critical raw materials outside the EU, including Ukraine and Greenland. They concern, among others lithium, cobalt and nickel, key elements for the development of new technologies industry.

The list of projects was published as part of the EU critical raw materials from 2024, which is to help reduce the dependence of the EU on China, a leading producer of critical raw materials in the world.

Without them, the EU will not be able to carry out energy and climate transformation. Critical raw materials are needed for the production of solar panels or wind turbines. These elements are also used in the industry of new technologies, including to develop defense skills.

The projects announced on Tuesday are to help the EU in increasing mining, processing and recycling of critical raw materials. They concern, among others elements necessary for the production of batteries for electric vehicles (including lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese), for the production of modern magnets, a key element of wind turbines (including TERB, Neodym), as well as those used in the defense industry (including Wolfram, BOR).

The announcement of a new list of strategic projects by the EC occurs after China suspended the export of some minerals of rare lands and magnets in response to duties introduced by the US administration of Donald Trump.

“New projects will enable the European Union to maintain independence in the face of geopolitical and diplomatic crises in the future,” said Commissioner for Competitiveness Stephane Sejourne, announcing the list on Tuesday.

The EC estimates that the implementation of projects will require approx. EUR 5.5 billion in investments. The projects are located in Canada, Greenland, Kazakhstan, Norway, Serbia, Ukraine and Zambia, New Caledonia, Brazil, Madagascar, Malaw, South Africa and Great Britain.

The Tuesday list complements the earlier list of strategic projects in the EU. Among them were a rare metal refinery in Puławy Azoty and the Department of Recovery of Rare Earth Metal in Zawiercie.

The act on critical raw materials assumes that in order to reduce dependence on third countries in the field of access to critical raw materials, by 2030 European mining, processing and recycling of strategic raw materials should satisfy at least 10 %, 40 %, respectively. and 25 percent EU demand.

From Brussels Maria Wiśniewska (PAP)

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