EU announces 13 critical raw materials projects in third countries

In March this year, when the European projects were announced, the Commission also spoke of 46 applications received for projects in countries outside the European Union. Almost a third of these applications have now been approved. According to the Commission, all projects within and outside the EU are the first results of the implementation of the new Act, which came into force in May 2024.

The raw materials projects now selected by the EU Commission in third countries are primarily meant to allow EU industry to diversify its procurement structures in the electromobility and renewable energy sectors.

Ten of the 13 newly selected strategic projects outside the EU relate to battery raw materials such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite. Two further projects focus on the extraction of rare earths, some of which are essential for electric motors.

The raw materials projects outside the EU are located in Canada, Greenland, Kazakhstan, Norway, Serbia, Ukraine and Zambia, where the EU already has strategic partnerships in the area of raw materials value chains. The remaining projects are located in Brazil, Madagascar, Malawi, New Caledonia, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

With the status of “selected project”, the respective locations in the third countries benefit from coordinated support from the EU Commission, EU member states and financial institutions, in the form of easier access to funding and contact with relevant customers.

It is estimated that the 13 strategic projects outside the EU require a total investment of 5.5 billion euros to become operational. The Commission also states that it intends to strengthen cooperation with the third countries concerned to ensure the development of the projects – in particular, the Commission says, through the strategic partnerships already concluded with some of these countries in the field of raw material value chains.

The projects were selected from applications submitted last summer when Independent experts evaluated the submitted projects to ensure they meet the criteria of the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), particularly with regard to required environmental, social and governance standards as well as technical feasibility. “In addition, the projects must be mutually beneficial and bring advantages to both the EU and the third countries concerned,” writes the Commission. “The projects had to demonstrate that they can contribute to the EU’s security of supply, for example, by concluding offtake agreements with European downstream industries,” the Commission explained.

Projects selected from within the European Union in March encompass 47 strategic projects in 13 different EU member states. These projects benefit from easier access to financing and faster approval processes. The approval process for raw materials projects in the EU used to take between five and ten years. In March, the Commission announced, “In line with the CRMA, the approval process for mining projects will take no longer than 27 months and for other projects no longer than 15 months.”

25 of the projects within the EU involve extraction, 24 involve processing, ten involve recycling, and two involve the substitution of raw materials. The projects specifically cover 14 of the 17 strategic raw materials listed in the Critical Raw Materials Act. These include several projects in the areas of lithium (22 projects), nickel (12 projects), cobalt (10 projects), manganese (7 projects) and graphite (11 projects) – all of which are important battery materials. All 47 projects combined are expected to have a total investment volume of 22.5 billion euros.

Of the 13 projects now selected from outside the EU, 9 include extraction, one includes both extraction and processing in Greenland, and the remaining 3 projects involve processing. The projects and the relevant raw materials concerned are listed in the link below.

Including reporting by Cora Werwitzke

europa.eu, single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu (list of projects and materials)