Negotiators for European Union governments and lawmakers reached an agreement on the text for the Critical Raw Materials Act, the centerpiece of the EU’s strategy to compete with the United States and China in making clean tech products, reported Reuters.
Originally proposed in March, the act details targets for domestic supply of critical minerals such as lithium and nickel to reduce its reliance on third countries, principally China. The EU should extract 10%, recycle 25% and process 40% of its annual needs by 2030 for 18 “strategic raw materials.” Additionally, no third country should provide more than 65% of any strategic raw material, which includes cobalt, copper, magnesium, graphite and titanium.
The Critical Raw Materials Act also sets time limits on granting permits for strategic mining, recycling and processing projects, and requires large companies needing strategic materials in key technologies to do regular risk assessments of their supply chains.
It is anticipated that the act will become law in early 2024.
Source: Reuters