The European Commission has selected 46 new Strategic Projects across 16 EU member states to strengthen critical raw material supply chains, ramp up domestic production and reduce dependence on external suppliers.

 

The projects are expected to help the bloc meet key targets under the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), which aims to ensure that by 2030 the EU can extract at least 10% of its annual consumption of strategic raw materials, process 40% and recycle 25%.

 

The move is designed to bolster Europe's industrial competitiveness, improve supply chain resilience and reduce its reliance on any single supplier for materials vital to strategic industries.

 

The projects span Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden. They were selected from 102 applications submitted in a call that concluded earlier this year.

 

The 46 projects cover 15 of the 17 strategic raw materials identified under the CRMA, spanning extraction, processing and recycling.

 

Of the selected projects, eight focus on extraction, 11 on processing and 19 on recycling. Another eight are integrated projects, including three combining extraction and processing and five linking processing with recycling.

 

The portfolio targets materials critical to Europe's battery, defence, aerospace and permanent magnet industries.

 

Seven projects focus on lithium, 12 on nickel, 10 on cobalt, five on manganese and four on graphite — all key materials for the EU battery value chain.

 

Two projects target magnesium and three focus on tungsten, both important for defence and aerospace applications. Four projects on rare earth elements aim to strengthen the supply chain for permanent magnets.

 

The latest selections add to the 47 Strategic Projects already chosen within the EU and 13 projects selected in third countries in March and June last year, respectively.

 

Together, the initiatives are expected to make a significant contribution to the EU's efforts to diversify critical raw material supplies and reduce strategic vulnerabilities.

 

The 46 newly selected projects could fully meet the bloc's extraction benchmarks for lithium, nickel, rare earth elements, magnesium and tungsten. They could also fully meet the processing benchmarks for lithium and rare earth elements.

 

For cobalt, the projects could cover 89% of the EU's processing benchmark, while their potential contribution would reach 57% for tungsten and 51% for magnesium. They could also fully meet the recycling benchmarks for lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements.

 

The EU's first wave of Strategic Projects, selected in 2025, is already advancing towards operation.

 

So far, 25 projects have completed their environmental impact assessments and 17 have secured construction permits. The Commission said Single Points of Contact established in member states are helping accelerate permitting procedures.

 

Brussels is also stepping up financial backing and efforts to connect raw material suppliers with industrial buyers.

 

Under the RESourceEU communication launched in December last year, Team Europe has mobilised more than €2 billion in committed financial support through the Innovation Fund, State aid and the European Investment Bank.

 

Several projects have also made significant progress towards securing offtake agreements, which help guarantee buyers for future production.

 

Meanwhile, the Raw Materials Mechanism, established to bring together supply and demand and identify potential buyers, has generated more than 30 matches across 10 materials.

 

The Commission's latest selections mark another step in its push to build a more integrated European raw materials value chain, expand domestic capacity and reduce the bloc's exposure to disruptions in global supply.