The proposal for a new regulation aims to ensure the EU’s supply of critical raw materials. The proposal foresees important R&I and education contributions.
On 16 March 2023, the European Commission (EC) presented its proposal for a Critical Raw Materials Act (CRM Act). The proposed regulation, which aims to support the EU’s 2030 climate and digital objectives, includes a comprehensive set of actions to ensure EU access to a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials. With the CRM Act, the EU hopes to become more independent when it comes to the supply of strategic raw materials by strengthening its self-sufficiency along the entire value chain.
The CRM Act would expand the EC’s list of critical raw materials and create a list on strategic raw materials, set targets for production, aim to reduce administrative burdens for strategic projects, and also prioritise investments in research, innovation and skills. The EC identifies strategic raw materials as those of strategic importance for the green and digital transition, as well as defence and space applications, taking into account the amount of strategic technologies using the raw material as an input, the amount of raw material needed and the expected global demand for relevant strategic technologies. The list of critical raw materials includes all strategic raw materials and additionally encompasses raw materials that are of economic importance. The actions under the Act are proposed in line with the findings of the JRC Science for Policy Report, which was also published on 16 March 2023 and contributes scientific evidence to underpin the proposal for a CRM Act. The study assesses supply chain dependencies and predicts materials demand until 2050, thus providing a forward-looking basis to help identify strategic raw materials and bottlenecks, and pinpoint where the supply chain needs reinforcement.
Under the Horizon Europe Work Programme (2021-2024), the CRM Act foresees a budget of up to €470 million for projects in the fields of exploration, extraction, processing and reuse, recycling, and recovery. The funds are drawn from the existing budgets, with no shifts intended. Existing and emerging research and innovation (R&I) breakthroughs will be promoted further through the European Innovation Council and the European Institute for Innovation and Technology (EIT) in line with the New European Innovation Agenda (see SwissCore article). Also running under the EIT, in its Raw Materials Knowledge and Innovation Community, is the implementation of a Raw Materials Academy to provide training and education programmes to re- or upskill relevant professionals.
The EC embraces the need to equip the workforce with the right skills, by drawing on the 2020 Skills Agenda. The CRM Act intends to complement this agenda with sector-specific policies, including the use of existing funding instruments like the European Social Fund Plus, the European Regional Development Fund and the Just Transition Mechanism to support the education and training of skilled workers in the raw material value chain. To this end, the EC also plans to establish a large-scale partnership with stakeholders and public institutions under the EU Pact for Skills. This facilitation of education and training activities will receive further visibility under the European Year of Skills 2023.
Additionally, the EC will present a Coordinated Action Plan with Member States on advanced materials, including on the substitution of critical raw materials, in order to secure sufficient R&I investment levels to combat the challenge. Finally, relevant stakeholders can guide R&I priorities in the coming years through a Strategic Implementation Plan via the existing stakeholder community.
In the next steps, the proposed CRM Act enters the legislative process. It will be discussed by the Council of the EU and the European Parliament in view of the adoption of the new regulation.