EU Regulation 2024/1252 (Critical Raw Materials Act, CRMA) entered into force on May 23, 2024. The CRMA establishes a framework to ensure the EU's access to a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials (CRMs) and strategic raw materials (SRMs).
Critical and Strategic Raw Materials
The CRMA identifies 34 Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) and 17 Strategic Raw Materials (SRMs). SRMs are a subset of CRMs that are particularly important for clean energy, digital, defence, and space technologies. SRMs include: lithium; cobalt; nickel; manganese; graphite; rare earth elements; silicon metal; boron; germanium; and others.
2030 Benchmarks
The CRMA sets three 2030 benchmarks for SRMs: at least 10% of annual EU consumption to be extracted within the EU; at least 40% of annual EU consumption to be processed within the EU; at least 25% of annual EU consumption to come from recycling; and no more than 65% of annual EU consumption of any SRM to come from a single third country.
Large Companies Obligations
Large companies using SRMs in their products must conduct supply chain due diligence and report on their SRM supply chains. The specific due diligence requirements are to be developed through delegated acts. Companies in strategic sectors (clean energy, digital, defence, space) face enhanced due diligence requirements.