June 13, 2025: The European Commission revealed on June 4 it had adopted an additional 13 key projects to bolster the EU’s domestic battery material supplies — all of which will be in countries outside the bloc.
The Commission said the 13 ‘strategic projects’ complement an initial list of 47 related projects, which involved more than a dozen EU member states, unveiled earlier this year.
The new projects are design to secure lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite needed for EU battery production for EVs and BESS — but seven of the 13 projects will be spread across Canada, Greenland, Kazakhstan, Norway, Serbia, Ukraine and Zambia.
Of the remainder, projects will be in Brazil, Madagascar, Malawi, New Caledonia, South Africa and the UK — which left the EU five years ago.
The latest list comes after revelations, reported by Batteries International last year, that the EU can supply just 1% of its own needs for key battery raw materials — and needs a staggering €4.2 trillion of new investment by 2030 to achieve green energy ambitions.
However, greater reliance on international partners appears to be at odds with plans announced last March by Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, who presented an action plan designed to promote greater domestic production of battery raw materials and steer away from supply chain dependencies beyond Europe.
Commenting on the new project locations, the Commission stressed the EU has strategic raw materials partnerships with most nations involved.
According to the Commission, all projects were assessed by independent experts to ensure they comply with criteria in the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act, notably regarding environmental, social and governance standards as well as technical feasibility. All had to also demonstrate the prospects of contributing to EU supply security, such as concluding off-take agreements with “European downstream industries”
