General Chat / Discussion, page-4785

https://www.mrw.co.uk/news/ec-presents-critical-raw-materials-act-17-03-2023/

EC presents Critical Raw Materials Act
17 MARCH, 2023

Note: Recycling.

The European Commission (EC) has revealed details of its Critical Raw Materials Act that aims to reduce the European Union’s dependence on “quasi-monopolistic” suppliers.

EC president Ursula von der Leyen said the act would bring the EU closer to its climate ambitions.

“It will significantly improve the refining, processing and recycling of critical raw materials here in Europe. Raw materials are vital for manufacturing key technologies for our twin [green and digital] transition – like wind power generation, hydrogen storage or batteries.”

The EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act will have to be agreed by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union before taking effect.

It will include a 15% benchmark for recycling by 2030 for critical raw materials. Member states will need to adopt measures to improve the collection and recycling of waste rich in these materials.

The UK has recently launched its first critical minerals strategy last year, while the Government is helping to funding both the country’s first large-scale lithium refinery on Teesside and a £145m magnets refinery in East Yorkshire.

An EC press release said that demand for such materials was expected to “increase drastically”, noting that the EU is heavily reliant on “quasi-monopolistic third country suppliers”.

The Commission acknowledged that the EU would never be self-sufficient in such materials and plans to diversify imports.

Valdis Dombrovskis, executive vice president and commissioner for trade, pledged to “create a global Critical Raw Materials Club with reliable partners that are keen to develop their own critical raw materials industries”.

Under the regulation, EU member states and private operators will have to investigate the potential for recovery from historical mining sites and will be encouraged to retrieve critical materials from end-of-life vehicles, WEEE, battery and wind turbine waste streams.

The regulation will also mobilise up to €200m (£175m) for 10 more circularity hubs to increase recovery and recycling of raw materials.

The Commission said it would establish circularity requirements for permanent magnets, which contain rare earth metals, as at present less than 1% of rare earths consumed in the EU are recycled.

Permanent magnets recyclability “is technically feasible but remains very limited”, the commission said.