Member Article

The CRMA seeks to encourage Member States towards undertaking Strategic Mineral Projects, focusing on essential minerals like Copper, Titanium, Nickel (battery grade), Lithium (battery grade), and Rare Earth Elements for magnets.

The overarching objective is to enhance the EU’s extraction capacity and become less dependent on suppliers from outside the EU. By 2030, the aim for the EU’s extraction capacity is for the EU to have the capacity to extract 10 %, process 40 %, and recycle 25% of its annual consumption of strategic raw materials.

To achieve this, Strategic Procjects are identified and given priority status under the CRMA. For Strategic Projects in the EU, the duration of the permit granting process should not exceed 27 months projects involving extraction and should not exceed 15 months for Strategic Projects involving only processing or recycling.

Furthermore, the CRMA obligates member states to designate a national competent authority to act as a centralized «One-Stop Shop» or “Sigle Point of Contact” for facilitating and coordinating permit-granting processes for critical raw material projects. This designated authority will serve as the exclusive point of contact throughout the permit granting procedure, with set timelines, such as a maximum duration of 24 months for extraction-based Strategic Projects. This initiative is likely welcomed by many, including Norwegian stake holders having called for a more streamlined permit-granting process, hoping this could simplify and speed up the permit-granting process.

As a proactive measure aiming to identify vulnerabilities and mitigate potential disruptions in the supply of strategic raw materials, the CRMA places a duty on companies reliant on strategic raw materials, particularly in critical technologies like battery manufacturing, hydrogen production, and renewable energy, to conduct regular risk assessments on their supply chains.

While the CRMA has now been adopted in the EU, there are still steps to be taken before the Act, which is likely EEA-relevant, is adopted and can be enforced in Norway.

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