Europe is stepping up efforts to secure supplies of critical raw materials, with a strategic project portfolio requiring an estimated €21 billion in investment. Turning the expanding pipeline into commercially viable production remains a major challenge. The European Commission has selected 46 additional strategic projects, bringing the total to 106 projects — 93 within the EU and 13 in third countries. The portfolio covers 8 extraction projects, 11 processing projects, 19 recycling projects and 8 integrated projects, spanning 15 of the 17 raw materials classified as strategic under EU rules.
EU targets depend on investment and execution
Under the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), the EU aims to meet 10% of its annual extraction needs, 40% of processing demand and 25% of recycling demand from domestic capacity by 2030.
The wider RESourceEU initiative includes more than €2 billion in support, but financing alone will not guarantee that projects reach production. Developers must also secure customer agreements, demonstrate processing technology, obtain permits and manage energy costs.
Industrial projects advance
Aurubis is investing €120 million to expand copper cathode production at its Pirdop facility to 340,000 tonnes per year, with commissioning planned within the 2025/26 financial year. In Slovakia, Slovalco restarted operations, targeting its existing capacity of 75,000 tonnes per year following an investment of at least €100 million.
In Germany, HyProMag received a permit for a facility in Pforzheim capable of producing up to 750 tonnes per year of neodymium-iron-boron magnets and alloys. Initial output is expected to reach 100 tonnes annually, with potential to increase towards 350 tonnes. Zinnwald Lithium is planning initial production capacity of 18,000 tonnes per year of battery-grade lithium hydroxide, with a later expansion phase expected to raise capacity above 35,000 tonnes annually.
Permits and commercial viability remain key tests
The CRMA sets permitting benchmarks of 27 months for extraction projects and 15 months for processing and recycling projects. Of the strategic projects, 25 have completed environmental impact assessments, while 17 have obtained construction permits. Despite progress, the decisive test will be whether projects can secure financing, reliable offtake agreements and the technical and operational conditions required for sustained production. Europe’s expanding project pipeline is an important step towards supply-chain security, but announced capacity does not automatically translate into commercial output.
