Brussels:The European Commission has announced the selection of 46 new Strategic Projects across 16 EU Member States aimed at strengthening supply chains and diversifying sources of critical raw materials. These projects, part of the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), seek to ensure that by 2030, at least 10% of the EU's annual consumption for extraction, 40% for processing, and 25% for recycling of strategic raw materials is met within the EU. This initiative is targeted at enhancing competitiveness, increasing resilience, and reducing dependency on single suppliers.

Accourding to European Commission, the selected projects span various stages of the raw materials value chain, including eight focusing on extraction, 11 on processing, and 19 on recycling. Additionally, eight integrated projects combine extraction and processing or processing and recycling. The projects cover 15 of the 17 strategic raw materials identified in the CRMA and are located in Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, and Sweden.

These projects are crucial for strengthening European value chains in key industries such as batteries, defense, aerospace, and permanent magnets. Specific projects include seven on lithium, 12 on nickel, 10 on cobalt, five on manganese, and four on graphite, all supporting the EU battery value chain. Projects on magnesium and tungsten will contribute to defense and aerospace, while rare earth elements projects will bolster the permanent magnet value chain.

The newly selected projects join 47 Strategic Projects within the EU and 13 in third countries from earlier selections. Collectively, they are expected to significantly advance the EU's goals for derisking and diversification in the raw materials sector. The projects are poised to meet extraction benchmarks for lithium, nickel, rare earth elements, magnesium, and tungsten, and to fulfill processing and recycling benchmarks for various materials.

The European Commission also highlighted progress in Strategic Projects selected in 2025, noting that many have completed environmental assessments and obtained construction permits. Through the RESourceEU initiative, the EU has committed over £2 billion in financial support to accelerate these projects. The Raw Materials Mechanism has also facilitated more than 30 potential offtake agreements for 10 materials, further supporting the EU's strategic objectives in raw materials.