Critical Raw Materials Act

Since 2011 the European Commission has assessed every 3 years a list of Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) for the EU economy within its Raw Materials Initiative. To date, 14 CRMs were identified in 2011, 20 in 2014, 27 in 2017 and 30 in 2020.[1] These materials are mainly used in energy transition and digital technologies.[1] Then in March 2023 Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed the Critical Raw Materials Act,[2] "for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the European Council establishing a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials".[3] At the time, Europe depended on China for 98% of its rare-earth needs, 97% of its lithium supply and 93% of its magnesium supply.[4]

In the U.S., critical minerals that are at risk of shortage or supply chain disruption are assessed by the United States Geological Survey and by the National Science and Technology Council.[5][6][7][8]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference eur-lex was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Critical Raw Materials: ensuring secure and sustainable supply chains for EU's green and digital future". European Commission. 16 March 2023.
  3. ^ "PROPOSAL FOR A REGULATION European Critical Raw Materials Act". European Commission. 16 March 2023.
  4. ^ "Speech by President von der Leyen on EU-China relations to the Mercator Institute for China Studies and the European Policy Centre". European Commission. 30 March 2023.
  5. ^ Nassar, Nedal T.; Brainard, Jamie; Gulley, Andrew (2020). "Evaluating the mineral commodity supply risk of the U.S. manufacturing sector". Science Advances. 6 (8): eaay8647. Bibcode:2020SciA....6.8647N. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aay8647. ISSN 2375-2548. PMC 7035000. PMID 32128413.
  6. ^ Nassar, Nedal T.; Fortier, Steven M. (2021), "Methodology and technical input for the 2021 review and revision of the U.S. Critical Minerals List", Open-File Report, US Geological Survey, doi:10.3133/ofr20211045, ISSN 2331-1258, S2CID 235867435
  7. ^ "National Minerals Information Center - U.S. Geological Survey". 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  8. ^ U.S. National Science and Technology Council,Subcommittee on Critical and Strategic Mineral Supply Chains (2016). "Assessment of Critical Minerals: Screening Methodology and Initial Application" (PDF). Retrieved 30 January 2022.