Critical Raw Materials: A first European step BUT it lacks a credible implementation and a real technological and scientific offensive

The #EuropeanCommission is expected to unveil its draft regulation on critical raw materials, the “#CriticalMaterialsAct”, next Thursday, March 16. The aim is to increase and diversify Europe's supplies of #lithium, #cobalt, #nickel, #manganese or #graphite: by diversifying European supply chains around the world, by strengthening the circularity of materials - by increasing their recycling rate - and by supporting research and innovation.?

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Europe consumes a lot of these #criticalrawmaterials but produces few. The Commission is notably expected to settle objectives by 2030: 10% of 'strategic' materials used to come from the EU, and 15% of each 'strategic' material used to come from recycling. For truly 'critical' raw materials, the EU is expected to propose that each year 40% of European consumption have to be refined within the EU. The implementation of these targets would be coordinated by a 'European Critical Raw Materials Board'.?

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The situation is indeed urgent, and Europe is waking up late, as it did with the IRA. China's first #rareearth embargo on Japan dates back to 2010. And these #rawmaterials, rare or not, are fundamental for our economies and the energy transition, while the world is missing out on the COP21 targets. There are two strategic reasons for this:?

• We need secure and resilient #supplychains, to control the costs, execution and therefore the impact of our #energytransition.?
• The European Green Deal must NOT lead us into a new dependency on authoritarian countries. An example: China concentrates more than 97% of permanent magnets, which are notably used in electric vehicle engines and offshore wind turbines.?

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This first step by the Commission is therefore to be welcomed, but it is late and insufficient. Not in terms of vision, but in terms of anticipation, implementation, and ambition.?

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On such a sensitive subject, we can NOT depend on mechanisms whose effectiveness has not yet been demonstrated - such as the IPCEIs, the Important Projects of Common European Interest – or on a hypothetical European sovereignty fund.?

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We need :?

• A determined and massive support for research and innovation to (1) replace some materials and (2) develop alternative #technologies
• To be very lucid - how can we imagine, in 2023, that the EU will produce 10% of these critical raw materials in 2030, when it takes between 10 and 15 years to launch a mine??
• A very regular monitoring and a real evaluation of the impact of the IPCEI - a 'catch-all' solution, but the concrete results are rarely mentioned except in terms of allocated budgets
• To massively strengthen the #EU's #foresight mechanisms. As was the case with the IRA (already in Joe Biden's electoral programme), we cannot afford to in #Europe to 'discover' strategic topics which China and the US have long anticipated.?

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Here are some examples on which the Joint European Disruptive Initiative (JEDI) is working, and on which we call for a significant R&D effort, with a results-oriented methodology:?

• Decrease the recycling cost of #batteries by 3
• Develop electric motors and offshore #windturbines without #permanentmagnets
• Develop a #fuelcell without rare earths/critical materials
• Develop new #electrolyser membranes for #hydrogen.?

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Critical raw materials are at the heart of our societies’ energy transition: we need to dare to innovate, we need breakthrough innovation.?

#Science #Technology #Innovation #BreakthroughInnovation

#JEDI #TheEuropeanARPA