The New EU Industrial Landscape and Greece's Position
At the heart of the European strategy for autonomy now lies secure access to Critical and Strategic Minerals (CSMs). The Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) sets ambitious targets for 2030: mining at least 10%, processing 40%, and recycling 25% of the EU's annual consumption. Greece, with its unique geological background and significant metallogenic potential, emerges as a key pillar in the European effort. Already, from the first round of CRMA Strategic Projects (2025), 47 projects in 13 member states were approved, with total investments of €22.5 billion. METLEN's investment in gallium production is a pivotal example, covering almost the entirety of European needs.
The RESourceEU Action Plan: Shielding Against Geopolitical Shocks
Recognizing the need for rapid action, the European Commission presented the RESourceEU Action Plan. Its goal is to reduce dependence on third countries, such as China, by up to 50% by 2029 for the battery value chains, magnets/rare earths, and "defense" CSMs. Indicatively, EU dependence on gallium is expected to drop from 71% to 17%, while for germanium, dependence is projected to be eliminated.
The Action Plan is structured around four pillars:
1. Promoting projects through de-risking and faster permitting. The new Financing Hub will activate nearly €3 billion within the next 12 months, drawing resources from the European Investment Bank, InvestEU, the Innovation Fund, the Battery Initiative, and the European Defence Programme. Simultaneously, simplifications to the regulatory framework are being promoted for faster approval of strategic projects, and the utilization of national resources through Cohesion Funds, STEP, and national investments is encouraged.
2. Protection against geopolitical crises. The new European Critical Raw Materials Centre will manage market monitoring tools and price support mechanisms. The pilot Stockpiling pilot, the demand-supply matching mechanism (connecting buyers with investors), and measures to counter third-country interventions (limiting participation in research programs, screening foreign investments) will shield European industry.
3. Enhancing circularity and substitution. Measures to limit exports of scrap from permanent magnets and aluminium (and possibly copper), rationalizing legislation on electronic waste, and supporting research into substitute materials.
4. International strategic partnerships. Leveraging the 15 existing partnerships (with Australia, Canada, Ukraine, etc.) through technical assistance and guarantees, initiating negotiations with Brazil, integrating value chains with the Western Balkans and Ukraine, and strengthening cooperation and utilizing G7 and G20 platforms.
Strengthening European Value Chains: Vertical Integration for Batteries and Magnets
Strengthening European value chains, i.e., the vertical integration of mining production, is the cornerstone of the EU's autonomy strategy. The objective is not simply mining, but the creation of a complete ecosystem covering all stages: from mining and processing to recycling and integration into end-use products. This is particularly true for two critical technological chains: lithium batteries and permanent magnets.
This strategy is implemented through the CRMA, which sets clear, measurable targets for 2030:
• 10% of the annual consumption of strategic raw materials to be covered by mining within the EU.
• 40% to be covered by processing within the EU.
• 25% to be covered by recycling within the EU.
RESourceEU Action Plan
For lithium batteries, RESourceEU strengthens the integration of the value chain through the Financing Hub, mobilizing approximately €3 billion from various European funds. These include the Battery Booster (€1.8 billion), specifically targeting cathode and anode materials (lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, graphite), and the Innovation Fund (€1 billion) for clean technology. Concurrently, the EU is investing in research through Horizon Europe (e.g., the STREAMS project) and promoting a demand-supply matching platform to ensure stable demand for European projects.
For permanent magnets, essential for electric motors and wind turbines, the EU acknowledges its enormous external dependence (less than 1% of rare earths are currently recycled in the EU). RESourceEU includes specific actions:
• Scrap Export Restriction: A ban on exporting permanent magnet waste is being promoted, so these valuable materials remain in Europe for recycling.
• Innovative Projects: Projects such as SICAPERMA, developing a fully circular value chain for magnet recycling, and SUPREEMO, aiming to create the first pre-commercial production chain for rare earths from European raw materials, are being funded.
Despite the momentum, the path is not without obstacles. A major issue remains the speed of permitting, although Strategic Projects now benefit from faster procedures (up to 27 months for mining and 15 for processing). At the same time, RESourceEU emphasizes circularity, with measures like the ban on exporting "black mass" from batteries to non-OECD countries from September 2026 to boost domestic recycling.
First Round of Strategic Projects
In the first round (2025), the 47 Strategic Projects cover 14 of the 17 strategic raw materials and all stages of the value chain, with an emphasis on batteries (22 projects for lithium, 12 for nickel, 11 for graphite).
Second Round of Strategic Projects
The second submission round for Strategic Projects under the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) is currently in full swing. It concluded with the submission of more than 160 applications, confirming the industry's undiminished interest in this status.
Below are the key features of the current process:
• Timeline & Stage: Applications were submitted by January 15, 2026. They are now all undergoing thorough evaluation by independent experts. The selection is expected to be finalized in consultation with member states, with the final announcement postponed until Autumn 2026.
• Composition of Applications: Analysis of the proposals reveals the EU's key priorities:
o Battery Chain: Dominates with 75 projects supporting the production and recycling of materials for electric vehicles.
o Permanent Magnets & Rare Earths: 21 projects focus on materials vital for wind turbines and electric motors.
o Defense: Various applications relate to the defense sector, highlighting the strategic dimension of the initiative.
• Geographical Origin: Applications originate from both within and outside the EU:
o 95 projects from EU member states.
o 66 projects from third countries, of which 40 are from countries with strategic cooperation with the EU in the field of CRMs (e.g., Australia, Canada, Ukraine).
This second phase demonstrates that the CRMA and RESourceEU are acting as catalysts, attracting investments and accelerating the development of European value chains in critical raw materials. Greece has an active presence in this round as well, leveraging its unique geological and mineral-deposit advantages.
The Dynamics of Nickel Demand: Global and European Outlook
The importance of developing European nickel production is clear from the scale of demand. In 2020, global nickel demand stood at 92,000 tonnes, while for 2040, explosive growth to 2.6 million tonnes is forecast, driven by the rapid development of electromobility. In the EU, corresponding demand in 2020 was 17,000 tonnes, with the forecast for 2040 reaching 543,000 tonnes.
Until 2022, Greece was a significant supplier, covering approximately 5,000-6,000 tonnes annually in 2020. The cessation of Greek production left a gap that the EU must fill, with everyone anticipating its restart under new, sustainable conditions.
The Nordic Example of Vertical Integration – and the Greek Challenge
A characteristic example of successful vertical resource-efficient value chain integration of mining production at national, cross-border, and pan-European levels is the cooperation between Finland, Sweden, and Norway. The Swedish company BOLIDEN operates five smelting units: Rönnskär (Cu, Pb, Zn, Au, Ag) and Bergsöe (lead battery recycling) in Sweden, Odda (Zn) in Norway, and Kokkola (Zn) and Harjavalta (Cu, Ni, Au, Pd) in Finland.
This network allows for the seamless flow of concentrates:
• Chalcopyrite concentrate (Cu, Au, Ag) from the Aitik mine (Sweden) goes to the Rönnskär smelter.
• Polymetallic concentrates (Zn, Cu, Pb, Au, Ag, Te) from the Skellefteå mines also end up at Rönnskär.
• Sphalerite (Zn) and galena (Pb, Ag) concentrate from Garpenberg are directed to Rönnskär, Odda, and Kokkola.
• Finnish nickel concentrate (Ni, Cu, Co, PGE) is processed at Rönnskär and Harjavalta.
At the pan-European level, sphalerite concentrate from the Irish Tara deposit is transported to Kokkola and Odda, while concentrates (Zn, Cu) from Neves Corvo (Portugal) are processed at Kokkola and Harjavalta. This ensures the European character of the value chains, as required by the CRMA.
Sweden, meanwhile, exemplifies a dynamic mining sector, with 800 active applications for Exploration Licenses. Each year, 150-160 new applications are submitted, while 167 cases of mining right concessions are in progress at an advanced stage, with approximately 10 in the final stage before the start of mining activity.
The Greek Challenge: Olympias and Skouries Concentrates
In our country, the dominant challenge and dynamic target for CRM recovery are the galena and arsenopyrite concentrates produced at the Olympias mine, as well as the chalcopyrite concentrate soon to be produced at Skouries.
The commercial value of the galena concentrate is currently limited exclusively to the metallurgical exploitation of its 50-55% Pb and 0.11-1.83% Ag content, while the antimony (9.9% Sb) – a critical raw material – remains untapped. Similarly, the arsenopyrite concentrate is exploited only for its gold (8-30 g/t) and silver (125-164 g/t), while 14-20% arsenic (also a critical mineral) is lost. Not only are antimony and arsenic not recovered, but Hellas Gold is forced to pay penalties due to their presence in the concentrates it produces and trades.
The potential geochemical presence of germanium and gallium in the Olympias sphalerite concentrate is also of interest. The Skouries chalcopyrite concentrate will be sold for its copper (21-26%) and gold (22-25 g/t); however, the elevated concentration of palladium at 2.4-10 g/t – when the cut-off grade in similar deposit types ranges from 0.8 to 1.8 g/t – is of exceptional interest. The prospect of its recovery represents a critical challenge requiring further investigation.
It follows, then, that the lack of vertical integration removes the potential for metallurgical exploitation of the associated minerals antimony, arsenic, and palladium. This prospect could be explored through their inclusion in Strategic Projects in order to examine cross-border and/or pan-European metallurgical processing possibilities that may exist.
The Greek Opportunity: Lateritic Nickel and Hydrometallurgy
Greece holds a unique position in the EU as the only member state with significant nickel laterite deposits. Their historical exploitation by LARCO through energy-intensive pyrometallurgical methods became economically unsustainable with the decline in ore grade, leading to the cessation of production in 2022.
Hydrometallurgy changes the game. Restarting Greek production based on hydrometallurgical methods will increase the reserve potential, as other deposits with grades of approximately 1% nickel and 0.06% cobalt become exploitable – especially when the relevant cut-off grade ranges from 0.5-1.3% for Ni and 0.005-0.1% for Co. A characteristic example is the laterites of Vermio in Northern Greece, which contain up to 1.8% nickel.
Technologies such as High-Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL) and heap leaching allow:
• The economic exploitation of lower-grade ores increases exploitable reserves.
• The efficient hydrometallurgical recovery of by-product metals, such as cobalt (Co) and manganese (Mn), is critical for batteries.
According to estimates, a developed Greek production could yield approximately 17,000 tonnes of nickel and 1,500 tonnes of cobalt annually, covering 10% of Europe's battery material needs. This scale is sufficient to substantially reduce the EU's dependence on imports from outside the Union.
This prospect is already supported by Horizon research projects, such as ENICON (developing hydrometallurgical technologies) and HEPHAESTUS (utilizing secondary flows from LARCO). The acid leaching of rotary kiln residues shows excellent recovery rates (up to ~95% for Ni and ~65% for Co). These projects include data from LARCO, ensuring knowledge flow and synergies, connecting research with application.
The Strategic Gap: Mineral Exploration Excluded from Strategic Projects
Questions that emphasize the Central "Gap" are: Why Mineral Exploration Is Missing from the CSM Strategy? Why Europe's CRM Strategy Must Start with Geological Knowledge?
Despite the progress, the plan presents a significant structural weakness: the complete omission of mineral exploration from the CRMA's "Strategic Projects". The EU currently considers that the mineral value chain begins with mining (Fig. 1). This approach, however, ignores a fundamental reality: the greatest investment risk in the mining industry lies not in metallurgy or permitting, but in the uncertainty surrounding subsurface geology. Without modern mineral exploration, investments in processing are often based on outdated geological data. The EU calls for diversification but does not fund the "geological knowledge" that underpins it.
It is encouraging that the Commission has included exploration in the Horizon Europe program, through the call HORIZON-CL4-2024-RESILIENCE-01-01 (Exploration of critical raw materials in deep land deposits - RIA), where project proposals are in the final evaluation stage. This call aims to develop new exploration technologies, supporting National Mineral Exploration Programs and National Geological Surveys.
However, this model creates a paradoxical and inefficient condition: research and innovation are encouraged to run parallel to application, but there is no clear interface mechanism allowing innovative research results to "jump" faster into the Strategic Projects framework once a deposit is confirmed. Exploration is essentially treated as a "public good" and a national, rather than European, industrial priority. Member states are called upon to "run" the exploration, but the EU does not provide them with the mechanism to do so at the speed required by the strategic goal of autonomy.
This gap becomes even more critical considering the polymetallic nature of European deposits. The development of specialized mineral exploration methods is the key to identifying and estimating reserves of "by-product" minerals (such as gallium, germanium, antimony, palladium) that are currently lost in concentrates, as exploration focuses on the primary metallic minerals. The systematic metallurgical exploitation of by-product minerals is not a luxury but a one-way street for achieving the CRMA targets (e.g., 40% domestic processing by 2030).
Fig. 1: The EU's Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) defines mineral value chains as starting from mining, excluding mineral exploration as a distinct, eligible stage.
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