The Strategic Projects backed by EIT RawMaterials

The European Commission has approved the first 47 strategic projects within the EU under the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), marking an important milestone in strengthening Europe’s raw materials resilience. Many of these projects have been supported by EIT RawMaterials, reflecting our role in moving the CRMA from legislative ambition to practical delivery.

Designated as technically feasible, sustainable, and timely, these projects are set to make a substantial contribution to securing the EU’s supply of critical raw materials. Recognised as being of public interest, they address one of the EU’s most pressing vulnerabilities: reliable access to the raw materials essential for its economy and green transition.

From boosting extraction and processing to scaling up recycling and diversifying supply chains beyond third countries, these projects are central to building a stronger and more secure raw materials ecosystem in Europe.

Strategic Projects supported by EIT RawMaterials include:

• Eramet’s Ageli project, which included support for EUGELI with a total value of €4 million.
• Savannah Resources' Barroso Lithium project: EIT RawMaterials played a key role in advancing through two innovation projects: LiRef – Multi-feed Lithium Technology (2019–2022) and CERA – Certification of Raw Materials (2017–2021).
• The Caremag SAS Caremag project participated in the RareGreen initiative, with total funding exceeding €8 million.
• Atlantic Copper’s CirCular project is linked to 20 EIT RawMaterials-supported initiatives since 2016, including the RENEW project, which focuses on validating technologies to separate plastics from metals found in PCBs from WEEE.
• UpCatalyst’s CO₂ Graphite project benefitted from several EIT RawMaterials programmes including the Jumpstarter, Accelerator phases 1 through 3, CO2Carbon (2022–2024), and the upcoming UPGraphite (2025–2026).
• Imerys' Emili project received operational readiness support from EIT RawMaterials.
• Umicore’s GePETO and ReGAIN projects exemplify long-standing collaboration, with more than 20 projects focused on CRM metals recycling.
• Orano Batteries has been a partner in several hydrometallurgy projects, with combined support totaling over €7 million.
• Keliber Technology Oy’s Keliber Lithium Project was supported through the Morecovery project, with EIT RawMaterials contributing €18,000.
• Itelyum Regeneration SpA’s LIFE22-ENV/IT/INSPIREE project, realised through the New-RE project, delivered the first industrial-scale plant for recycling permanent magnets from end-of-life hard disk drives and electric motors.
• Rock Tech Guben GmbH’s Lithium Hydroxide Converter Guben project also received support, with a total project cost of €2 million.
• PCC Thorion participated in the ProHiPerSi project, a high-impact effort valued at approximately €10 million.
• Circular Materials received a booster award for its Recover-IT project and is currently participating in the upscaling initiative MeGasWEEE with EIT RawMaterials.
• Viridian Lithium received direct investment from EIT RawMaterials to support its development and integration into the European raw materials ecosystem.