The European Commission has awarded strategic project status to another 46 raw materials initiatives, bringing the total to 106. The latest selection spans 16 EU countries and is expected to mobilise around €21.1 billion in public and private investment, according to the Commission.

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To strengthen EU supply chains and diversify sources of critical raw materials, the European Commission today announced that it has selected 46 new Strategic Projects across 16 Member States. The projects will contribute to the benchmarks set in the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) that by 2030 EU capacity meets at least 10% of the EU's annual consumption for extraction, 40% for processing, and 25% for recycling of strategic raw materials to enhance competitiveness, develop greater resilience and be less dependent on any single supplier.

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The projects will strengthen European value chains in batteries, defence and aerospace, and permanent magnets. They include seven projects on lithium, 12 on nickel, 10 on cobalt, five on manganese, and four on graphite, all of which support the EU battery value chain. The two projects on magnesium and three on tungsten will contribute to defence and aerospace, while the four projects on rare earth elements will support the permanent magnet value chain.

The 46 projects – combined with the 47 Strategic Projects in the EU and the 13 Strategic Projects in third countries that were selected in March and June last year respectively –are expected to make a significant contribution to achieving the EU's CRM derisking and diversification targets. They could fully meet the extraction benchmarks for lithium, nickel, rare earth elements, magnesium and tungsten, and the processing benchmarks for lithium and rare earth elements. They could also cover 89% of the processing benchmark for cobalt and 57% and 51% for tungsten and magnesium respectively, while fully meeting the recycling benchmarks for lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements.

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In a related report, EU Industry Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné said in the "we may face trade tensions that could also trigger a crisis in a number of sectors. We need to be prepared for that. And we’re getting ready right now.”

“Mines are opening, factories are being built, financing agreements are being signed, and a European value chain is emerging,” Séjourné added.

Amid some scepticism over the EU’s ability to meet its 2030 targets to reduce dependencies on China, Séjourné cited three “emblematic” projects which have previously been identified as strategic, earmarking them for accelerated permits.

These included a rare earths plant near Pau in south-western France. The Carester plant, which is expected to be up and running in late 2026, produces dysprosium and terbium, “two raw materials for which we are almost entirely dependent on China”, used in magnets for electric vehicles and offshore wind turbines.

“This single project could account for about 15% of global production of these oxides. That is no small feat,” Séjourné said.

He also name-checked a gallium plant in Greece which is already up and running.

The third, Keliber, a lithium extraction and processing plant in Finland, is also operational after €150m support from the European Investment Bank.

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Although the flagship status does not bring the projects direct funds, it enables accelerated permitting, and help in mobilising funds.

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Séjourné said member states had unlocked €1bn for six of the projects, with the European Investment Bank providing another €660m for eight projects so far.

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