EU selects first group of strategic projects for raw materials

The European Commission adopted a list of strategic projects to boost domestic raw material capacities. Sites for the entire first group are in European Union member states and the ones in third countries are set to be declared later. Metlen, Imerys, Vulcan Energy, Fortum and Northvolt are among the companies that got their proposals designated.

Of all 47 projects, 18 involve lithium and seven are proposed investments for mining the alkali metal.

In line with the Critical Raw Material Act (CRMA), the European Commission revealed the first 47 strategic projects that it expects to contribute to the green and digital transitions and support the defense and aerospace industries. The aim is to boost domestic capacities for strategic raw materials, strengthen the domestic value chain and diversify sources of supply in the sector.

The EU is striving to cover 10% of its demand by extraction and 25% from recycling as well as to reach a rate of processing of 40% of its consumption, all by 2030.

The European Commission plans the next call in late summer

By the call deadline in August, 170 applications were received, of which 49 from outside the EU. In the list, 77 are focused on extraction, 58 on processing, 30 on recycling and five on substitution. The European Commission plans the next call in late summer.

Locations for the selected batch are all in EU member states while “the decision on the potential selection” of the ones in third countries “will be adopted at a later stage,” the update reads. The sites are in 13 countries: Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Estonia, Czechia, Greece, Sweden, Finland, Portugal, Poland and Romania.

Notably, one of the candidates is Rio Tinto’s disputed Jadar project in Serbia. The mining giant is planning underground exploitation of lithium and the construction of a processing facility.

Lithium mining projects are in Spain, Portugal, Czechia, France, Finland

Most projects promoted today focus on battery materials, though they have various other uses, too. Eighteen involve battery-grade lithium, though only seven are for mines or for both mining and processing. Two are in Portugal – Barroso Lithium Project and Romano Mine, and two in Spain. Las Navas was developed by Lithium Iberia while Mina Doade belongs to Recursos Minerales de Galicia (RMG), a subsidiary of SAMCA Group.

Vulcan Energy Resources and Eramet made it to the list with their proposed investments in the extraction of lithium from geothermal waters

The remaining three projects are Cínovec in the Czech Republic (by Geomet), Emili in France (by Imerys) and Keliber in Finland, developed by Keliber Technology. It is a subsidiary of precious metals producer and refiner Sibanye-Stillwater.

The European Commission also picked two projects for the extraction of lithium from geothermal waters. One is Zero Carbon Lithium of Vulcan Energy Resources, in Germany. French firm Eramet made it to the list with its AGeLi (Alsace Géothermie Lithium) endeavor.

Northvolt, Fortum to obtain battery materials through recycling

Four strategic projects are for processing lithium alone and five are just for recycling it.

Bankrupt electric vehicle battery manufacturer Northvolt managed to enter the list, via its firm Northvolt Revolt. Their NorthCycle recycling project in Sweden is for manganese, lithium, graphite, nickel and cobalt.

Another notable beneficiary is Finnish energy giant Fortum. Project Fortum Hydromet, developed by Fortum Battery Recycling, is for lithium, graphite, copper, nickel and cobalt.

There are three mining projects for cobalt: two in Finland and one in Spain. One adopted proposal, in Sweden, is for the extraction of rare earth elements for magnets and a processing unit.

Romania’s national salt company to mine graphite

As for the region that Balkan Green Energy News covers, all four locations are for mines. Romania hosts one for copper, one for magnesium and one for battery-grade graphite. The last one, Salrom Baia de Fier, was submitted by state-owned salt producer Societatea Națională a Sării (Salrom). The site is in Gorj county in central Romania.

Metlen Energy and Metals, formerly called Mytilineos, and its subsidiary European Bauxites were selected with their project in Greece. It is for a mine called Baux-EU and processing units Gallent and Leader. The company intends to extract bauxite and produce alumina, aluminum and gallium.

Selected projects for strategic raw materials sufficient to meet 2030 targets for lithium, cobalt

The chosen proposals 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, the European Commission claimed.

The chosen proposals imply EUR 22.5 billion in combined investment to become operational

“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,” said the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy Stéphane Séjourné.

To become operational, the strategic projects require EUR 22.5 billion in overall capital investment. They are eligible for support by the European Commission, member states and financial institutions. CRMA limits permitting to 27 months for extraction projects and 15 months for others. Currently, permitting processes can last five or even ten years, the update notes.