It’s not just China. The Asian giant, which is the undisputed world champion in the extraction and processing of rare earth elements, is not included in the list of countries on which the EU is dependent on raw materials. So far, dependency has not created major problems for Europe, which prefers to devote itself only to the consumption of certain goods and relinquishes production to other continents, where the cost of extracting and refining raw materials is decidedly lower. But the music has changed.
increase in demand
In fact, market forecasts for the next few years speak of a significant increase in demand for certain raw materials, from cars to currently prevalent technologies, which could cause severe disruptions to supply chains, with obvious effects on the final price of the affected goods. an integral part of our daily life. Therefore, Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market of the European Commission, who presented the Commission’s Critical Raw Materials Law, which yesterday presented the Commission’s ‘proposition to guarantee Europe’s autonomy’, said: “The mastery of raw materials is over, let’s act now.” EU from third countries, starting with China, on the supply of key raw materials for ‘green’ transformation and digitalisation.
From Congo to Turkey
The EU is heavily dependent on third countries for these materials, both for the supply of raw products and for their processing. For example, 63% of the cobalt used in batteries in the world is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo and 60% is refined in China. Even more pronounced is the dependence on rare earth elements, which are used to make permanent magnets, components for wind turbine engines and are globally 100% refined in China. However, according to Breton, “we have European resources for 30-40% of almost all minerals needed for the EU’s domestic needs” and “apparently it’s time to give us ways to extract them and accept no more than European “it is enough to consume itself and leave production to others”. Therefore, the new Commission proposal includes two lists of raw materials – strategic and critical – that may also become scarce in the coming years as global demand grows and supply channels need to be multiplied.
raw materials of electric car
According to Commission estimates, EU demand for rare earth metals used in both wind turbines and electric vehicles will increase five to six times by 2030. And again: Turkey meets 98% of the EU’s borate needs, while South Africa meets 71% of the EU’s platinum group metal needs. Brussels is also concerned about the demand for lithium, cobalt and nickel used in battery production, which will increase twelvefold by 2030 due to the proliferation of electric vehicles and new energy storage needs.
back to the mines
Hence the EU manager’s choice to include all three in the critical raw materials list and strategic raw materials list – where ‘clubs’ are envisioned to be formed from trusted suppliers from various third countries. For the second category, the Commission proposes to set four minimum targets by 2030: extraction of at least 10% of domestic needs in the EU, processing of at least 40% of consumption in the EU, recycling of at least 15% and a the ceiling is 65% of EU annual consumption from a single third country.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
