The European Commission has released an updated version of the 2023 list of Critical Raw Materials (CRMs), which includes six additional materials. Arsenic, feldspar, helium, manganese, copper, and nickel are the critical raw materials that the European Commission has included in its updated list. Indium and natural rubber were removed from the 2023 list due to lower supply risk. The other raw materials on the list are aluminium/bauxite, antimony, baryte, beryllium, bismuth, borate, cobalt, coking coal, fluorspar, gallium, germanium, hafnium, HREE, lithium, LREE, magnesium, natural graphite, niobium, phosphate rock, phosphorus, PGM, scandium, silicon metal, strontium, tantalum, titanium metal, tungsten, and vanadium.
The European Union has initiated a technical assessment of Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) as part of its Raw Materials Initiative (RMI) of 2008. The objective is to secure a sustainable supply of CRMs for the EU, which are essential for high-tech industries like electronics, renewable energy, and electric vehicles.
The CRM Act, which will result from this assessment, will provide the list of CRMs for the EU, and the GREENCAP project will closely follow this legislation. CRMs are often sourced from outside the EU, so the assessment will evaluate the supply and demand of various materials, considering factors such as their economic importance, the environmental and social impacts of their extraction, and their substitutability.
This information will help determine which materials are considered “critical” and require special attention. The GREENCAP project aims to develop green and sustainable technologies for the extraction and processing of CRMs. By promoting sustainable practices in the extraction and processing of CRMs, the project seeks to contribute to a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly future.
