News item | 02-02-2023 | 11:30
With the so-called Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) does the EU intend to achieve sufficient availability of critical raw materials such as lithium and cobalt. Critical raw materials are needed for batteries, wind turbines, semiconductors, medical devices, hydrogen production, solar panels and LED lighting, for example. The Dutch cabinet has also stated that it will tackle the risks of new dependencies. For some of these critical raw materials, we are currently dependent on third countries that own 90% of the world’s production. In a proposal, Minister Micky Adriaansens (Economic Affairs and Climate) argues that in addition to raw materials, semi-finished products should also be part of the CRMA.
Moreover, when building up more refining, processing, assembly, recycling and transport capacity in the Netherlands and the EU, it is preferable to cooperate with other resource-rich countries instead of building up stocks alone. The so-called non-paper of the Netherlands is a proposal to fill in this future legislation. The European Commission expects to present the CRMA in March 2023.
Minister Micky Adriaansens (EZK): “Increasingly, control over critical raw materials can also be used as a geopolitical weapon in addition to economic influence. That is why it is good to make agreements on this at national and EU level. That must be effective and future-proof. For example, by also including semi-finished products that largely consist of one or more critical raw materials. Moreover, it is important that there are always up-to-date analyzes of which raw materials and semi-finished products are critical and what our future needs are.”
The minister continues: “It is therefore not a wise starting point for the government to build up stocks at national or European level. The supply chain is the expertise of companies themselves. However, the CRMA is a means of arranging coordination as well as insight. For example, in spreading risks by focusing on less scarce alternatives, circularity and alternative suppliers through innovation. This can be done by entering into partnerships in an EU context with countries in Latin America and Africa. After all, it will not be possible to be completely self-sufficient.”
Building position in new raw material chains
In December, the Council of Ministers approved the national raw materials strategy to address risks of new dependencies on raw materials and semi-finished products. 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 are potentially available elsewhere in the EU and the Netherlands is committed to making them available.