April 25, 2025: The European Commission has, for the first time, adopted a list of 47 key projects aimed at supercharging EU battery material supply capabilities at an expected total capital investment of €22.5 billion ($26 billion).

The Commission said on March 25 the so-called strategic projects will strengthen the European raw materials value chain and diversify sources of supply.

The projects cover 14 of the 17 strategic raw materials listed in the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), which came into force last May, including lithium (22 projects), nickel (12 projects), cobalt (10 projects), manganese (7 projects) and graphite (11 projects).

EU member states included in the strategic projects list include Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Estonia, Czech Republic, Greece, Sweden, Finland, Portugal, Poland and Romania.

The Commission said all projects could benefit from financial support from a variety of institutions as well as expedited permit processing.

In line with the CRMA, the permit-granting process would not exceed 27 months for extraction projects and 15 months for others, the Commission said. Currently, permitting processes can take from five to 10 years.

The Commission revealed last year that the EU supplies 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.