The European Union is expanding investment in critical raw-material processing and recycling, with recycling accounting for the largest category of projects selected in the European Commission’s latest round under the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA).
The Commission selected 46 new Strategic Projects in October, comprising 19 recycling projects, 11 processing projects, eight extraction projects and eight integrated projects covering multiple stages of the value chain.
The selection reflects an approach that extends beyond mineral extraction to include refining, material recovery and the reprocessing of products at the end of their useful lives. Access to mineral resources alone does not guarantee supply security if materials must be exported for refining or Europe lacks the infrastructure to recover metals from waste.
Recycling and processing projects expand across Europe
The latest portfolio includes battery recycling, copper recycling, electronic-waste processing, aluminium recovery and rare-earth magnet recycling.
The Netherlands received Strategic Project status for four recycling projects covering batteries, copper, aluminium and printed circuit boards. Germany’s selected projects include recycling alongside mining and refining investments.
AMG also received strategic designation for its European Lithium Refining and Recycling Hub in Bitterfeld, while Poland’s KGHM plans to convert its Legnica copper operation into an integrated recycling metallurgical facility. These investments expand the focus of European raw-material policy towards the infrastructure needed to process extracted minerals and recover materials already circulating in industrial supply chains.
CRMA establishes targets for extraction, processing and recycling
The EU’s targets for 2030 specify minimum capacity levels across three stages of the strategic raw-material value chain. Under the CRMA, EU capacity should be sufficient to extract at least 10% of annual strategic raw-material consumption, process at least 40% and recycle at least 25%.
The legislation also aims to limit dependence on any single non-EU country to no more than 65% of annual EU consumption of an individual strategic raw material at the relevant processing stage. These benchmarks are influencing investment priorities by positioning recycling and processing facilities as strategic industrial infrastructure, alongside conventional mining projects.
Project designation does not remove commercial risks
Strategic status can strengthen the policy case for projects and potentially broaden their financing options, allowing banks, industrial investors, EU institutions and governments to assess investments in terms of both commodity-market returns and supply-security benefits.
Selected projects must still address technology and construction risks, commodity-price exposure and competition for feedstock. Securing bankable supply contracts and establishing viable operating economics remain important requirements for development. The expanded project portfolio therefore places greater emphasis on building an integrated European supply chain spanning extraction, processing and recycling, rather than relying on new mines alone.
