Critical raw materials act
The CRM Act sets out a group of measures aimed at ensuring a secure, diversified, affordable and sustainable supply of critical raw materials.
To accomplish this, the Regulation establishes five guidelines:
(i) Setting priorities for action
In addition to an updated list of critical raw materials for the whole EU economy, it lists strategic raw materials, which are those most crucial for strategic technologies used for the green, digital, defence and aerospace applications.
The CRM Act also sets out benchmarks along the strategic raw materials value chain and for the diversification of the EU supplies
- at least 10% of the EU’s annual consumption for extraction
- at least 40% of the EU’s annual consumption for processing
- at least 25% of the EU’s annual consumption for recycling
- no more than 65% of the EU’s annual consumption from a single third country
(ii) Build European capacities
The EU must strengthen its raw materials value chain, from extraction to refining, processing and recycling. This requires stepping up domestic exploration, streamlining permitting procedures and facilitating access to finance in the EU while ensuring that we keep high social and environmental protection.
To facilitate this, critical raw materials projects, including strategic projects, can engage with a single point of contact in each EU country, that is responsible for coordinating the permitting process. In addition, selected strategic projects will benefit from support for access to finance and shorter permitting timeframes (27 months for extraction permits and 15 months for processing and recycling permits). EU countries will also have to develop national programmes for exploring geological resources.
(iii) Supply risk preparedness and mitigation
To ensure supply chain resilience, the Act creates critical raw materials supply chain monitoring and stress-testing, coordinates strategic stocks and sets risk preparedness obligation on large companies producing strategic technologies.
(iv) Invest in research, innovation and skills in the raw materials sector
(v) Improving sustainability and circularity of critical raw materials on the EU market
EU countries will take measures to improve the collection of critical raw material-rich waste and ensure its recycling into secondary critical raw materials. EU countries and private operators will have to investigate the potential for recovery of critical raw materials from extractive waste. To incentivise large-scale recycling of permanent magnets, the Act sets requirements on recyclability and recycled content. The Act empowers the Commission to establish rules for the environmental footprint of critical raw materials subject to various safeguards. This will help to increase the circularity and sustainability of critical raw materials placed on the EU market, allowing customers to make informed choices about products containing critical raw materials.
RESourceEU Action Plan
The EU is still heavily dependent on imports, often coming from one single supplier. The potential consequences of this dependency have become further evident with the recent announcement of export restrictions on CRMs such as graphite, gallium, germanium and rare earths, as well as on batteries and key processing technologies.
To address such dependencies, the Commission has proposed a new RESourceEU Action Plan to speed up the diversification of supply through concrete financing, market monitoring, and risk mitigation tools:
(i) Promote critical raw materials projects
The Commission will accelerate EU-relevant projects by mobilising financial de-risking tools and removing regulatory bottlenecks to fast-track Strategic Projects with the potential to reduce dependencies by up to 50% by 2029 for the battery, rare earths and defence raw materials value chain.
(ii) Protect EU industry from geopolitical and price shocks
The Commission will set up a European Critical Raw Materials Centre to provide market intelligence, steer and finance strategic projects using tailored instruments with private and public partners, and act as portfolio manager for diversified and resilient supply chains, including through joint purchasing and stockpiling.
The Commission will also incentivise large companies to undertake CRM stress tests & mitigating measures.
To protect the Single Market and bolster supply chain resilience, the Action Plan foresees monitoring, crisis coordination and defence against hostile interference.
(iii) Partner with like-minded countries for strong and diversified supply chains
The EU will deepen cooperation with like-minded partners to diversify supply and accelerate industrial cooperation, building on the existing 15 Strategic Partnerships signed with resource-rich countries.
(iv) Additional measures to enhance materials circularity and innovative solutions for substitution
Introduce measures concerning exports of permanent magnet waste and scrap and aluminium scrap, potentially extending them to copper scrap, with a view to supporting recycling in Europe; streamline legislation on e-waste and waste shipments; and support research and innovation aimed at material substitution.
Links:
Strategic projects under the CRMA
Questions and answers on the RESourceEU Action Plan
