EU selects 47 projects to become less dependent on Chinese rare earth metals

The European Commission has selected 47 strategic projects in 13 member states to strengthen the extraction, processing, and recycling of key raw materials in the European Union. The support should make the EU less dependent on rare earth metals from China.

“We must avoid becoming as dependent on Chinese lithium for rechargeable batteries as we are on Russian gas for Europe’s energy supply,” explained Stéphane Séjourné, European Commissioner for Industry. Today, China has a monopoly position in lithium processing.

Critical Raw Material Act

The European Critical Raw Materials Act stipulates that by 2030, the European Union must source at least 10 percent of its strategic raw materials from its own mines, 25 percent from recycling, and 40 percent from outside the EU but to be processed in Europe.

The selected projects will receive European support for financing and permitting procedures. They will boost the production of raw materials on European soil that are crucial for the green and digital transition. Projects involving lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite are essential for producing batteries and electric cars.

Umicore

Belgian materials group Umicore is one of the projects selected to get EU support for two germanium projects. Germanium is used, among other things, to make infrared technology and fiber optic cables. It is also a raw material sought after for defense materials. 

The Belgian metal technology group is an essential player in this market, but China has also dominated it since the summer of 2023, when it imposed export restrictions.

Heavily contested

Together, the 47 projects have an expected capital investment of over 22 billion euros. Of the 47 projects, 25 aim to open new mines. Several projects selected by the Commission are heavily contested locally because of their potential impact on the environment and local communities.

MEP Sara Matthieu (Green) is already concerned about nature and residents. According to her, the current European environmental laws for mining urgently need to be revised. “We are not against mining in Europe. But we should not blindly plunge into a new raw materials race, with people and the planet as victims,” she concludes.