In the coming years, the European Union faces significant policy challenges related to research and innovation (R&I) in critical raw materials (CRM). These challenges revolve around three central concerns that have garnered the attention of European policymakers: (1) maintaining open strategic autonomy, (2) enhancing international competitiveness, and (3) ensuring sustainability and adherence to values.
Firstly, the EU aims to maintain a strategically independent position and avoid unilateral dependence on other nations. While raw material extraction is constrained by geological factors, the EU’s strengths in R&I should mitigate such dependency. There is no inherent reason for the EU to suffer from a lack of strategic autonomy in R&I, given its existing capabilities.
Secondly, to uphold its ambition as a leading provider of advanced technological solutions for global mining and processing operations, the EU must invest in improving its businesses’ positions within global value chains. This includes upgrading technological capacities and supporting global operations through political means. The EU has the potential to lead in areas like environmentally sustainable and socially acceptable extraction, processing, recycling, and substitution, but this will require targeted investments.
In addition to these objectives aimed at preserving societal well-being and value creation, the EU also champions a broader normative agenda focused on sustainability and ethical values. Research and innovation in CRM must align with these principles, ensuring that large-scale projects, both domestically and internationally, are ethically defensible. Social sciences and humanities play a crucial role in this process, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of R&I impacts.
To achieve its goals, the EU must enhance its intelligence, analysis, and monitoring capabilities. This study aims to clarify Europe’s current capacities in this strategically important area. Investments should be made to strengthen R&I in both areas of current weakness (to ensure autonomy) and areas of strength (to reinforce sovereignty). Strategic, large-scale investments should be considered to match those in other key enabling technologies.
Public outreach and citizen engagement are also critical. Experience in the EU shows that new extraction and processing sites can generate controversy if not managed properly. Embedding public consultation and conflict resolution into raw material development projects—beyond legal requirements—could help address these concerns.
As Europe transitions, it must balance justified public concerns with the need to make challenging decisions to remain globally competitive. The following table outlines R&I options to enhance Europe’s global competitiveness and assert its autonomy, while also considering the societal costs associated with expanding mining, processing, and recycling activities.
