The European Commission designated Abenójar Tungsten’s proposed Puertollano ammonium paratungstate plant an EU Strategic Project in October 2026, extending the Critical Raw Materials Act framework from mining into processing. The facility remains a development proposition, not an operating plant. Strategic Project status can improve its position in permitting, financing and industrial coordination.
Abenójar Tungsten S.A. is developing the proposed plant in Puertollano, Spain, as well as the El Moto tungsten mine in Spain. El Moto received EU Strategic Project status in March 2025. Once operational, the mine is expected to increase European tungsten supply by up to roughly 20%.
The proposed facility is intended to produce ammonium paratungstate (APT), a key tungsten intermediate used to make tungsten oxide, powders, carbides and other products. These materials are used in advanced manufacturing, tooling, energy, aerospace and defence. Tungsten is difficult to substitute in many industrial and defence applications because of its high-temperature performance, hardness and density.
Mining tungsten concentrate does not itself produce the chemical or refined intermediate required by industrial users. The Puertollano project is intended to add domestic processing capability and could process some of El Moto’s concentrate into a higher-value European product chain. The projects therefore cover different stages of the tungsten supply chain.
Europe’s exposure to critical-material supply can lie in processing: exporting mine concentrate for treatment elsewhere can leave the region dependent on external chemical conversion, refining and powder production. Linking extraction with an APT plant could retain more industrial value and technical know-how in Europe and support security of supply.
The Critical Raw Materials Act is the EU framework under which both the mine and the proposed processing plant received Strategic Project status. If the Spanish projects proceed together, they could exemplify the Act’s intended model of domestic resources, domestic processing and a more direct route to European industrial consumers.
EIT RawMaterials and the European Raw Materials Alliance have supported Abenójar Tungsten since 2022. Their support has included technical expertise, access to financing and work around potential offtake. The company is assessing the Puertollano facility and discussing technical partnerships.
