Just after the EU unveiled a highly anticipated list of 47 strategic raw material projects this week, a senior EU official overseeing the strategy visited a strategic metals base in central Greece on Thursday.
It is reported that Stéphane Séjourné, Executive Vice President of the European Commission in charge of industrial strategy, visited an aluminum plant that is about to start gallium extraction that day.
Gallium is a silvery metal with a crustal abundance of only 0.0015%, and does not exist in pure metallic form. It is usually obtained as a by-product of aluminum extraction from bauxite or zinc extraction from zinc ore. Gallium has irreplaceable uses in many defense-related applications and is widely used in advanced semiconductors, 5G antennas, solar panels, and military radar systems. China accounts for over 90% of global gallium production.
In an online article published after his visit to Greece, Séjourné wrote, "This base is one of the 47 strategic projects we have selected, aiming to increase our production of critical raw materials and reduce dependence on third countries."
European officials said the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine war, and recent trade disputes have all exposed the fragility of global supply chains.
Greece's gallium project is the only such project on the list of 47 strategic raw material projects announced by the EU this week. It will utilize Greece's domestic bauxite resources and integrate mining with the country's existing aluminum infrastructure.
According to EU and Greek officials, the plant, operated by Greece's Metlen Energy & Metals, is expected to start production in 2027 with an annual output of 50 mt, enough to meet most of Europe's projected demand.
Greek Development Minister Takis Theodorikakos said this is a strategically significant investment directly related to the autonomy and security of Greece and the entire European continent.
Europe Seeks Strategic Raw Material Autonomy
At a project presentation in Brussels earlier this week, Séjourné said he hopes to gain public support for the mining industry in EU countries.
Séjourné pointed out, "Raw materials are the starting point of our most strategic supply chains. They are also indispensable for the decarbonization of the continent, but many of the raw materials Europe needs most are currently dependent on third countries. We must increase our own production, diversify external supplies, and build up reserves."
"We have identified 47 new strategic projects that will, for the first time, help us secure domestic raw material supplies. This is a landmark moment for European sovereignty as an industrial power," said Séjourné, who is responsible for formulating the project.
According to an announcement released by the European Commission earlier this week, the EU Commission approved a list of 47 strategic projects to increase its strategic raw material capacity. The EU is expected to invest a total of 22.5 billion euros in these 47 projects. These projects are distributed across 13 EU member states, including Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and Sweden, involving the extraction, processing, recycling, and substitution of critical raw materials.
These strategic projects mark an important step in the implementation of the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) passed by the EU last year, which aims to achieve by 2030 that Europe's domestic extraction, processing, and recycling capacities for strategic raw materials meet 10%, 40%, and 25% of EU demand, respectively.
It is reported that the latest finalized 47 strategic projects specifically cover 14 of the 17 strategic raw materials listed in the Critical Raw Materials Act, including lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, graphite, magnesium, and tungsten, to promote Europe's green and digital transformation and support the defense and aerospace industries. Among them, lithium has received special attention, with as many as 22 projects involved, in addition to 12 nickel projects, 10 cobalt projects, 7 manganese projects, and 11 graphite projects (1 project may involve multiple raw materials). These projects are crucial to the EU's battery raw material value chain.
