EU Adds 46 Projects to Grow Domestic Critical Materials Supply Chain

The European Commission has approved 46 new strategic projects across 16 countries, raising the total number of supported critical raw materials initiatives to 106, including ventures outside EU borders. Selected from 102 submitted applications, the projects span mining, processing, and recycling — part of the bloc’s broader effort to reduce dependence on external suppliers.

Under the Critical Raw Materials Act, the EU has set binding 2030 benchmarks: domestic mining must deliver no less than 10% of the bloc’s consumption, internal processing should reach 40%, and recycling must meet a quarter of market demand.

The new round includes a mining initiative by AMG Critical Materials — the Zinnwald Lithium project in Saxony, Germany, near the Czech border, paired with construction of a processing plant. Two geothermal entries were also added, bringing the total number of lithium-from-brine projects on the list to four: Lithium de France in Alsace, targeting 27,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium per year, and Neptune Energy Innovations’ ALE project in Germany. The Alsace site plans to extract both lithium and heat from the same geothermal source, aiming for up to 2 TWh of thermal output annually.

Nineteen recycling projects were approved covering copper, aluminium, and battery-chain materials. Facilities in Germany and the Netherlands joined the list alongside Romania’s Eco Life Style complex in Rekari, which targets recovery of cobalt, lithium, manganese, nickel, and graphite.

According to Balkan Green Energy News, citing the European Commission, brine-based lithium extraction causes significantly less environmental harm than open-cast mining. Combining it with geothermal energy production could lift the economic viability of both and cut market reliance on outside suppliers.

Source: Balkan Green Energy News