In the first ever overview on the state of access to raw materials in the EU, experts label a selection of 14 raw materials as “critical” out of 41 minerals and metals analysed.

The growing demand for raw materials is driven by the growth of developing economies and new emerging technologies. The list was established in the framework of the 2008 EU Raw Materials Initiative  in close cooperation with Member States and stakeholders. The results of the report will be used for the drafting of a forthcoming communication on strategies to ensure access to raw materials which the Commission will publish in autumn 2010.

The list of critical raw materials at EU level (in alphabetical order) is: Antimony Beryllium Cobalt Fluorspar Gallium Germanium Graphite Indium Magnesium Niobium, Platinum group metals (platinum, palladium, iridium, rhodium, ruthenium and osmium), Rare earth (yttrium, scandium, lanthanum, the so-called lanthanides: cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, rebium, thulium, ytterbium and lutetium), Tantalum, and Tungsten.

The main driving emerging technologies for the critical raw materials are: antimony tin oxide and micro capacitors for Antimony, Lithium-ion batteries and synthetic fuels for Cobalt, thin layer photovoltaics, IC, WLED for Gallium, fibre optic cable for and IR optical technologies for Germanium, displays and thin layer photovoltaics for Indium, fuel cells and catalysts for, Platinum (PGM), catalysts and seawater desalination for Palladium (PGM), micro capacitors and ferroalloys for Niobium, permanent magnets and laser technology for Neodymium (rare earth), and micro capacitors and medical technology for Tantalum.

European Commission VP Antonio Tajani (right) in charge of Industry and Entrepreneurship, said: "Today’s report provides very valuable input for our efforts to ensure that access to raw materials for enterprises will not be hampered.

"We need fair play on external markets, a good framework to foster sustainable raw materials supply from EU sources as well as improved resource efficiency and more use of recycling. It is our aim to make sure that Europe’s industry will be able to continue to play a leading role in new technologies and innovation and we have to ensure that we have the necessary elements to do so."

The study identified a key factor behind the shortages is that production of these materials is concentrated in just four countries: China, Russia, Congo and Brazil, and underlined that the markets for such materials could be highly volatile because the “rapid diffusion of new technologies can drastically change the demand for critical raw materials.”

Demand for gallium in emerging technologies could be 603t by 2030 compared with total current production of 152t, while neodymium demand, a rare earth found in China, could be 27,900t by 2030 compared with current production of 16,800 tons according to the study.

To overcome current problems, the Group recommends:
• update critical materials list 5 yearly, focus on criticality assessment
• policy actions to improve access to primary resources
• policy actions recycle of raw materials/products efficiently
• encouraging critical substitution by promoting research on substitutes
• improving overall material efficiency of critical raw materials.