EU names 46 new critical raw materials projects

The European Commission has selected 46 new strategic projects under the Critical Raw Materials Act, bringing its EU portfolio to 93 projects as of 9 October 2026. For retail traders and newer investors, the practical point is that the bloc is trying to build more of the metals and minerals used in batteries, defence, aerospace, wind turbines and electric motors inside Europe.

Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné said the Commission had received 171 applications. The new projects are spread across Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Romania and Sweden.

The Commission said the 46 projects cover extraction, transformation, recycling and integrated projects that span more than one step in the supply chain. It said 8 relate to extraction, 11 to processing, 19 to recycling and 8 are integrated projects.

Séjourné said the new projects concern 15 of the 17 strategic raw materials identified by the EU. He said they include eight projects on lithium, 12 on nickel, 10 on cobalt, five on manganese and four on graphite for batteries, as well as projects on magnesium and tungsten for defence and aerospace industries.

The Commission said the projects chosen in 2025 and 2026 could allow the EU to meet its extraction target for lithium, nickel, rare earths, magnesium and tungsten, and its processing target for lithium and rare earths. It also said they could help meet the bloc’s recycling target for lithium, cobalt and rare earths.

Séjourné said the EU wants by 2030 to extract at least 10% of what it consumes, process 40%, recycle 25% and avoid relying on any single non-EU country for more than 65% of a strategic raw material. He also said the Commission plans further projects outside the EU and will present a diversification instrument later in the year.