The Critical Raw Materials Facility: Building global partnerships for Europe's critical raw materials future

The CRMF delegation with partners at the EU-Zambia Lobito Corridor Business Forum in Lusaka, November 2025 

Location: Global

Supported by: European Commission, managed by EIT RawMaterials in partnership with InnoEnergy

As Europe works to secure the critical raw materials needed for the green and digital transitions, building strong international partnerships has become essential. Managed by EIT RawMaterials, the Critical Raw Materials Facility (CRMF) helps strengthen Europe's supply chains by identifying strategic projects, connecting governments, industry, investors and project developers, and supporting cooperation with resource-rich partner countries.  

Through strategic studies, project assessments, field missions and business matchmaking, the CRMF helps translate international partnerships into practical opportunities that improve Europe's long-term supply security. Building on its experience to date, the CRMF is increasingly aligning this work with Europe's future demand for critical raw materials, helping identify the projects and partnerships needed to address future supply gaps.

Following more than 20 months of implementation, the consortium is now in advanced discussions with the European Commission on extending the CRMF until October 2029.

Impact highlights:

• Strengthening strategic partnerships through business missions and field visits in countries including Chile, Argentina, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Zambia, South Africa and Namibia, connecting European stakeholders with high-potential critical raw materials projects
• Bringing together industry, investors and governments through dedicated sessions on strategic materials including copper, nickel and rare earth elements at the EIT RawMaterials Summit and Raw Materials Week
• Supporting smarter investment decisions through strategic studies, including new analysis forecasting a 32% increase in EU copper demand by 2040 and identifying priority international partnerships to help strengthen supply security. These studies will serve to calculate investment decisions through strategic CRM studies that will calculate future supply gaps, discuss the role of CRM-projects in partner countries to meet these gaps, and how to prioritize strategic investments into these projects'
• Turning partnerships into action through business matchmaking, investor engagement and upcoming missions to strategic partner countries, including Argentina

Website: https://crmfacility.eu/