The Commission has approved the first list of 13 Strategic Projects for strategic raw materials outside the EU. These projects diversify the EUs sources of supply and enhance economic security while promoting local value creation in third countries.
This initiative complements the list of 47 Strategic Projects within the EU, approved on 25 March 2025. In total, all 60 projects will contribute to the competitiveness of the EUs industry, particularly in sectors such as electromobility, renewable energy, defense, and aerospace. These projects are the first results of the implementation of the Critical Raw Materials Act, which came into force in May 2024.
Overview of the selected projects
Among the 13 Strategic Projects, seven are located in Canada, Greenland, Kazakhstan, Norway, Serbia, Ukraine, and Zambia, countries with which the EU has a strategic partnership on raw materials value chains. Two projects are located in an overseas country or territory, namely Greenland and New Caledonia. The remaining projects are located in Brazil, Madagascar, Malawi, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.
Ten of these projects concern strategic raw materials essential for electric vehicles, batteries, and storage, such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite. Two projects involve the extraction of rare earth elements, which play a crucial role in producing high-performance magnets for wind turbines and electric motors for renewable energy technologies and electromobility. Combined with the three projects in the EU that involve the processing of rare earths, these additional projects will enhance the EUs security of supply of rare earths. Strategic Projects also cover copper, used in power grids to microelectronics, tungsten, and boron, used in the automotive, renewable energy, aerospace, and defense sectors.
Selection process
The selected Strategic Projects were assessed by independent experts to ensure they meet the criteria established in the Critical Raw Materials Act, notably regarding environmental, social, and governance standards as well as technical feasibility. Additionally, the projects must be mutually beneficial and bring benefits both to the EU and the concerned third countries. The projects had to demonstrate the prospects of contributing to EU supply security, for instance, through concluding off-take agreements with European downstream industries.
Benefits for the selected projects
The selected Strategic Projects will benefit from coordinated support by the Commission, Member States, and financial institutions in the form of facilitating access to finance and contacts with relevant off-takers. It is estimated that the 13 projects outside the EU need a total capital investment of €5.5 billion to become operational.
The Commission will also reinforce cooperation with the concerned third countries to ensure the development of these projects, especially through the Strategic Partnerships already concluded with some of these countries on raw materials value chains.
Background
The Critical Raw Materials Act entered into force on 23 May 2024. On the same day, the Commission published a call for submission of proposals for recognition of projects as Strategic Projects with a cut-off date on 22 August 2024. Applications considered complete were assessed by the Commission with the support of external experts to check whether the projects meet relevant criteria. Based on this assessment, the Commission identified a list of projects for the extraction, processing, recycling, or substitution of strategic raw materials. The Commission consulted the Critical Raw Materials Board, composed of Member States, and the European Parliament as an observer, to discuss and adopt an opinion on the list of Strategic Projects on 20 February 2025 and on 12 March 2025.
The Commission adopted a decision on a first list of Strategic Projects in the EU on 25 March 2025.
For more information
List of Selected Projects in third countries and OTC
Selected Strategic Projects under the Critical Raw Materials Act