The European Union is directing Horizon Europe funding toward technologies designed to improve how critical raw materials are explored, extracted, processed, recovered and tracked. Research projects are covering robotic drilling, digital twins, ore sorting, bioleaching, membrane separation, closed-loop water systems and mine-waste recovery.
The programme forms part of Europe’s wider effort to strengthen critical-raw-material supply while addressing the environmental and social impacts associated with mining and mineral processing. Rather than focusing solely on additional mineral resources, the projects seek to change production methods and improve the efficiency and monitoring of supply chains.
Horizon Europe projects are testing these approaches across Europe and at selected sites outside the bloc, including operations and case studies in Spain, Greece, Poland, Finland, Chile, Sweden, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Portugal, France, Norway and the Czech Republic.
Smart ore processing and lower-impact extraction
One of the larger initiatives is OPTIMINER, a project running from 2025 to 2028 with approximately €7.3 million in EU funding. The programme combines smart ore sorting, membrane-based hydrometallurgy, bioleaching, phytomining and digital modelling. Demonstration work is being carried out in Spain, Greece, Poland, Finland and Chile. Smart sorting can identify higher-value material before it enters more energy- and water-intensive stages such as crushing and chemical treatment. Removing lower-value material earlier can reduce processing requirements, water consumption, energy use and waste volumes.
OPTIMINER is also assessing environmental performance through life-cycle analysis covering energy, water, toxicity and waste generation. Metal-recovery improvements are therefore being evaluated alongside the additional energy and reagent requirements that may accompany individual processing routes. Another major initiative, ROTATE, is developing approaches to mineral extraction and mine-waste valorisation designed to achieve near-zero emissions and lower pollution. The project has approximately €11.4 million in EU support and is scheduled to conclude in August 2026. Its activities include recovering secondary products from mining residues and improving the environmental and social performance of extraction operations.
Recovering critical minerals from mining waste
Europe has thousands of active, inactive and historical mining-waste facilities. Some contain materials that were not economically recoverable when the original operations were developed but have since become strategically important. SCIMIN-CRM is assessing these facilities as potential sources of critical raw materials. The project receives approximately €7.2 million and includes case studies in Spain, Sweden, Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The recovery of materials from historical waste could reduce the requirement for additional primary extraction, but reprocessing also presents environmental challenges. Historical tailings can contain sulphides, heavy metals and unstable structures, requiring recovery operations to be integrated with remediation and long-term waste-management measures. SCIMIN-CRM combines resource assessment with recovery technologies and work addressing social acceptance. The project also seeks to reduce the time needed to establish whether mining-waste facilities contain commercially recoverable materials.
Robotics and artificial intelligence for exploration
Horizon Europe is also funding robotic and digital technologies aimed at reducing the physical disturbance and safety risks associated with mineral exploration. PERSEPHONE, backed by approximately €5 million, is developing autonomous systems for near-mine exploration and extraction of deep deposits. Its work includes the use of digital twins to simulate underground environments and operational decisions.
MINOTAUR, with close to €5 million in support, is developing miniaturised robotic drilling systems and artificial-intelligence tools. Smaller, targeted drilling equipment could reduce the physical footprint of exploration campaigns while generating more detailed geological information. The environmental benefits of digital and robotic technologies depend on measurable reductions in drilling, waste, energy use or worker exposure. The projects therefore focus on demonstrating operational improvements rather than the deployment of digital systems alone.
Lithium and rare-earth processing technologies
LITHOS is focused on producing battery-grade lithium hydroxide from European resources, with feedstocks and processing routes connected to Finland, Portugal and France. The project receives approximately €7.1 million in EU support. Its development programme includes closed-loop water systems and lower-carbon processing. The objective is to reduce the environmental footprint of supply chains in which European manufacturers source material that may pass through several countries for concentration, refining and conversion.
Another project, SUPREEMO, is developing a European rare-earth value chain based on material associated with Norway’s Fen deposit and residues from uranium processing in the Czech Republic. The project has €6.4 million in funding and includes life-cycle and cost analysis, rare-earth separation, and demonstration-scale production of rare-earth oxides and permanent magnets. The processing chain extends beyond the production of mixed rare-earth concentrates. SUPREEMO covers separation and downstream stages including rare-earth oxides and magnet production.
Battery recycling and mineral traceability
Two Horizon Europe projects completed in 2026 focused on recycling, circularity and supply-chain monitoring.
BATRAW, completed in April 2026, received approximately €9.8 million to develop systems for battery-pack dismantling, sorting, recycling and traceability. Its targeted materials included lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, graphite, aluminium and copper.
MaDiTraCe, completed in June 2026 with approximately €11 million in EU support, worked on digital, geochemical and artificial-material fingerprints. Its objective was to strengthen certification and traceability from mining operations through to final products, including the tracking of recycled inputs.
The technologies are intended to support responsible-sourcing verification and environmental claims by improving the ability to trace materials through the supply chain. Their credibility depends on digital records being supported by independent verification and physical testing.
Horizon Europe funding expands toward processing
The 2026 Horizon Europe raw-materials calls covered exploration, extraction, secondary materials and recycling, with combined published allocations of approximately €69.5 million.
The next major funding opportunity for processing is scheduled to open on 22 September 2026. The 2027 Horizon topic for innovative raw-materials processing has an indicative budget of €49 million, with approximately four projects expected to receive between €10 million and €12.5 million each. The funding programmes increasingly target pilot and demonstration technologies intended for integration into industrial operations rather than limiting support to laboratory research. The projects cover the development chain from exploration and extraction through mineral processing, recycling, waste recovery and traceability, with commercial deployment requiring customers, permits and long-term financing after the research programmes end.criticalminerals
