European Commission selects 46 new strategic critical mineral projects
2026-10-10 10:55:16 [Print]
The European Commission has selected 46 strategic raw material projects to benefit from faster permitting and assistance in bidding for public and private funding, as the bloc races to diversify supply chains and reduce reliance on China, it said on Friday.
Progress on the projects picked last year has been slow, and some have struggled to move forward. The Commission said it has already mobilised more than €2 billion ($2.24 billion) in public funding, but developers warned in August that more projects could fail without urgent funding.
The Commission hopes prioritising projects will help the bloc meet targets set out in its 2024 Critical Raw Materials Act, under which the EU aims to mine 10%, process 40% and recycle 25% of its annual needs by 2030.
The projects are spread across 16 EU countries and cover 15 of the EU's list of 17 strategic raw materials, including copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, graphite, rare earths, magnesium and tungsten.
"The 46 new projects are expected to require around €21.1 billion ($23.7 billion) in capital investment, mobilised from a combination of public and private sources," the Commission said.
Notable projects include the Zinnwald Lithium project in Germany, the Skouries mine in Greece, Arctial's planned aluminium smelter in Finland and the Viscaria copper project in Sweden, as well as projects backed by major European industrial groups including Umicore, Aurubis and Leonardo.
The latest set of projects follows 60 announced last year, including 13 outside the EU in countries such as Brazil, Greenland and Kazakhstan.
Progress on the projects picked last year has been slow, and some have struggled to move forward. The Commission said it has already mobilised more than €2 billion ($2.24 billion) in public funding, but developers warned in August that more projects could fail without urgent funding.
The Commission hopes prioritising projects will help the bloc meet targets set out in its 2024 Critical Raw Materials Act, under which the EU aims to mine 10%, process 40% and recycle 25% of its annual needs by 2030.
The projects are spread across 16 EU countries and cover 15 of the EU's list of 17 strategic raw materials, including copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, graphite, rare earths, magnesium and tungsten.
"The 46 new projects are expected to require around €21.1 billion ($23.7 billion) in capital investment, mobilised from a combination of public and private sources," the Commission said.
Notable projects include the Zinnwald Lithium project in Germany, the Skouries mine in Greece, Arctial's planned aluminium smelter in Finland and the Viscaria copper project in Sweden, as well as projects backed by major European industrial groups including Umicore, Aurubis and Leonardo.
The latest set of projects follows 60 announced last year, including 13 outside the EU in countries such as Brazil, Greenland and Kazakhstan.
