The European Commission has selected 46 new strategic projects to strengthen the extraction, processing, and recycling of critical raw materials in the European Union, to reduce dependence on countries such as China.

Two Belgian projects – one by Umicore in Hoboken and one by Comet Traitements in La Louvière – were also selected, as were four in the Netherlands. All the projects together represent approximately 21,1 billion euros in planned investment.

Recycling of copper

The 46 projects from 16 countries – selected from 102 applications – cover various stages of the value chain, from extraction through processing to recycling and substitution.

These projects all focus on critical raw materials such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite – which are important to produce batteries and EVs – as well as magnesium and tungsten, which are of primary importance for defense and aviation.

Just like last year, the Belgian metals technology group Umicore is among the recipients. Last year, its germanium operations were selected, but this time it is Oreon – which stands for Optimal REcycling Of Nickel – that has been chosen. It focuses on processing critical materials such as copper, battery-grade nickel, cobalt, and platinum-group metals.

Cupidon, a project by the Belgian industrial company Comet Traitements that aims to produce recycled copper from waste, also made the list. Comet says it plans to double capacity at its existing BIOLIX facility and to industrialize technology to recover more copper from shredding residues that are difficult to recycle. The project is also part of Wallonia’s broader circular industry development program.

The Dutch projects

Four Dutch projects have also been selected. Back to battery in Geleen aims to convert materials from lithium-ion batteries into lithium, nickel, manganese, and graphite using hydrometallurgy.

That’s a process in which metals are extracted from discarded batteries using liquids, rather than through heating. The plan is to start with 2,000 metric tons per year, with plans to scale up to 26,000 metric tons per year

Myne Circular Metals, based in Harderwijk, trades in and recycles non-ferrous metals, such as aluminum and copper. The company is the largest purchaser of non-ferrous metals in the Benelux.

At the heart of its approach is the Xorter, a machine developed in collaboration with TU Delft. It uses AI and robotics to separate metals from one another. By accurately identifying and sorting aluminum alloys, Myne aims to produce metal of the same quality as new metal, for example, for cars. According to the company, this results in a 95% lower climate impact than production from ore.

Mitsubishi Materials Corporation (MMC) is a Japanese metals and materials conglomerate that operates an electronic waste processing facility in Moerdijk, North Brabant.

Through the 3ECYCLE project, the company aims to recover high-purity copper from electronic waste streams using a closed-loop metallurgical process, as well as tungsten, a critical raw material for defense and industry. Planned output is 60,000 tonnes of copper cathodes.

Finally, the company Critical focuses on the sustainable recovery of critical raw materials and metals from discarded printed circuit boards. Printed circuit boards contain many different elements, but current processors can recover only a limited number of them.

With the Urban Mining factory project, the company initially aims to recover and refine 9 elements, with the goals of eventually processing 24. Starting in 2029, the factory is expected to process approximately 15,000 metric tons of discarded printed circuit boards per year.

Other notable projects include the Zinnwald Lithium project in Germany, ​the Skouries mine in Greece, Arctial’s planned aluminum smelter in Finland, ​and the Viscaria copper project in Sweden.

“Picking up the pace”

Strategic project status provides access to several benefits, including a streamlined permitting process, support in securing financing, and assistance in connecting suppliers and customers.

The Commission selected an initial group of 47 projects back in March of last year. Slightly more than half have since completed their environmental impact assessments, and 17 already have a building permit.

The new projects are intended to help achieve the objectives set out in the European Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA). This legislation is designed to ensure that the EU can remain in control of its own destiny in the global race for raw materials.

Specifically, by 2030, the extraction, processing, and recycling of these raw materials must cover 10%, 40%, and 25% of EU demand, respectively.

“Our approach is simple: reduce dependence and increase production in Europe,” said Vice President Stéphane Séjourné. “We have the raw materials, the projects, and the funding; now we’re picking up the pace.” The Commission plans to issue a new call for proposals by the end of 2026.

Liquidity problems

Yet the situation—or the approach—is not nearly as rosy as Séjourné makes it seem. According to the European Court of Auditors, nearly all processing of critical raw materials takes place outside the EU, and processing capacity is declining, partly due to high energy costs.

And early last month, several developers of EU-selected projects wrote a letter to Commission President von der Leyen and Séjourné. Several projects selected in the past are reportedly now facing liquidity problems, precisely because they are not tied to any urgent European funding or support – CRMA is primarily a facilitating framework, not an investment instrument.

As reported by Reuters, financing issues for EU projects linked to critical materials stand in sharp contrast to the U.S., which has approved nearly $40 billion in critical mineral deals, mostly through loans and equity investments.

Challenge for the automotive industry

European automakers face at least three distinct industrial challenges: securing raw materials, refining them into usable industrial inputs, and maintaining sufficient production capacity in Europe for battery components and cells.

A European lithium mine – the first integrated mine in Europe, located in Finland, began mining operations in February – does not automatically lead to a European battery supply chain.

Similarly, recovering nickel from an old EV battery only makes strategic sense if that nickel can be refined, sold, and reintroduced into the production process at a competitive cost. The new projects address some of these challenges.