Berlin, 08 January 2024: EIT RawMaterials, supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, today announced the release of a pivotal policy paper calling for an urgent investment commitment under the European Union’s upcoming Framework Programme 10 (FP10) to strengthen Europe’s supply chain resilience for critical and strategic raw materials (CRMs and SRMs). 

Bernd Schäfer, CEO, Managing Director, EIT RawMaterials highlighted the urgency of the paper’s recommendations: “The crucial role of raw materials in Europe’s future has never been more apparent. The Draghi Report on European Competitiveness, which will form the foundation for the newEuropean Commission’s flagship Competitiveness Compass, ranks raw materials as the second most critical issue for Europe, closely following energy security. This policy paper outlines a pathway to build a resilient and sustainable raw materials supply chain — essential for Europe’s competitiveness and industrial future. Framework Programme 10 presents a unique opportunity to unlock large-scale private sector investment, accelerating innovation and industrialisation.” 

Schäfer added: “It is vital to build upon the investments made under the Horizon and Horizon Europe programmes over the past decade and the strong foundation of the raw materials knowledge and innovation community established as part of the EIT ecosystem.” 

With global demand for raw materials accelerating, particularly those critical to the energy transition, the European Union faces a pressing need to diversify supply sources, enhance sustainable recycling and circularity, and reduce reliance on single-country suppliers to achieve its climate and digital goals. In response to these challenges, the European Union adopted the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), setting ambitious targets including: 

• Expanding Europe’s domestic raw materials production to 10%, 
• Increasing processing capacity to 40%, and 
• Recycling rates to 25% by 2030. 

The CRMA underscores the critical importance of a robust European raw materials sector, stating: “Critical raw materials are indispensable for the EU economy and necessary for a wide range of technologies in strategic sectors such as renewable energy, digital, aerospace, and defence.” 

However, Europe’s raw materials sector faces complex challenges, primarily due to its heavy reliance on imports from international suppliers, which produce over 70% of raw materials for batteries and clean technologies. As global demand rises, ensuring sustainable and reliable supplies has become crucial to Europe's strategic autonomy and industrial competitiveness. 

Amid these challenges lies a transformative opportunity: a recent European Commission report highlights the potential for the raw materials sector to generate over €2 trillion in value and support 32 million jobs by 2030, underscoring the immense economic potential from strategic investment in this field. 

Recognising both the challenges and opportunities, EIT RawMaterials is calling for a commitment of €4 billion under Framework Programme 10 to deliver targeted, high-impact investments in research, innovation, and education across the raw materials value chain. This funding is essential to address Europe’s urgent priorities and strengthen its raw materials ecosystem. EIT RawMaterials’ proposed investment aligns directly with the objectives of the CRMA by advancing sustainable mining, driving research into advanced materials, and promoting circular economy practices. These efforts will enable Europe to establish a secure, self-sustaining supply chain for critical raw materials, positioning the continent as a global leader in the green and digital transitions, fostering economic growth, and ensuring Europe’s industrial resilience. 

To achieve these goals, EIT RawMaterials will collaborate closely with its partners — the largest and most active Knowledge and Innovation Community in the raw materials sector, European and MemberState institutions, stakeholders, investors, researchers, and academic institutions. Together, these efforts will attract significant private investment, develop breakthrough technologies, and cultivate the skilled workforce needed to secure Europe’s raw materials future. 

EIT RawMaterials is supported by the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT). EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities have built Europe’s largest innovation network, bringing together more than 2,400 key organisations in business, education, and research with activities in each EU Member State, strategic partner nations and beyond. The EIT ecosystem has achieved strong performance on key indicators, training over 800,000 direct learners, and powering more than 10,000 start-ups collectively valued at approximately €72 billion at the end of 2023. EIT supported ventures have attracted investments of over €9.2 billion. Read the full paper here: EIT RawMaterials Position on Framework Programme 10: Securing Europe’s competitiveness through innovation and education in raw materials. 

Read the full paper here: EIT RawMaterials Position on Framework Programme 10: Securing Europe’s competitiveness through innovation and education in raw materials