News item | 09-12-2022 | 3:30 pm
The government wants more certainty about the availability of raw materials and semi-finished products for the Dutch and European industry. In addition to an economic dimension, control over these raw materials is increasingly taking on a geopolitical dimension. Countries such as China are increasingly willing to use economic influence as a geopolitical weapon.
Critical raw materials are needed for batteries, semiconductors, medical devices, hydrogen production, solar panels and LED lighting, for example. With the national raw materials strategy, the government is committed to sufficient availability of critical minerals and metals, circularity, finding less scarce alternatives and reducing the impact on people and the environment. The Council of Ministers has approved this approach in the national raw materials strategy on the proposal of Minister Adriaansens of Economic Affairs and Climate, Minister Schreinemacher for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation and State Secretary Heijnen of Infrastructure and Water Management.
Building the Dutch position in critical raw material chains
Digitization and sustainability are the basis for a strong Dutch economy in the future. To be able to focus on this, it is important to tackle the risks of new dependencies on raw materials and semi-finished products at an EU level. The Netherlands is currently one of the most competitive economies. The Dutch industry, logistics sector and related companies have already built up a strong position worldwide in traditional raw material chains such as oil and steel. The government also sees opportunities to build up a good position in the critical raw material chains so that the Netherlands and the EU are less dependent.
The Dutch soil itself contains hardly any critical raw materials: these are mainly found in other parts of the world and under the seabed. However, raw materials such as lithium and cobalt are potentially available elsewhere in the EU. Building up more refining, processing, assembly and transport capacity in the Netherlands and the EU and better cooperation with other resource-rich countries in this respect reduces vulnerability in the event of shortages, for example.
Focus on less scarce alternatives
We can make more use of the knowledge and innovative capacity of our companies and knowledge institutions for the smart design of products, the recovery of critical raw materials and the reduction of negative effects on the environment. That is why, in its innovation policy, the government will be making a sharper choice for key technologies that contribute to digitisation, circularity and sustainability.
By innovating, companies can, for example, choose raw materials that are more widely available. For example, hydrogen production via electrolysis – the use of electricity to split water – often requires a lot of the critical raw material iridium in the electrodes. Other methods contain less critical metals, but are sometimes still less efficient. Further development of these non-scarce alternatives will eventually reduce dependence on other countries.
In addition, the Netherlands is also committed to finding alternative suppliers. This can be done by entering into partnerships in an EU context with both developed and developing countries in Latin America and Africa, among others.
Exploiting circularity
Circular strategies are also an important part of the national raw materials strategy to increase the security of supply of raw materials and reduce the negative environmental impact. The implementation of the raw materials strategy therefore also contributes to the government’s ambition to work towards a fully circular economy by 2050.
For example, the government plans to stimulate innovation by including circular requirements in tenders. This will make it easier for us to recover critical raw materials from our wind farms in the future. The government sees opportunities to extend this to other tenders, for example for defence, telecommunications or construction. As a result, we create circular products that the government purchases itself, from which critical raw materials can be recovered.
The national raw materials strategy also forms the basis for the Dutch effort in the EU on the upcoming European Critical Raw Materials Act.