Policy Brief “Crossroads of Innovation: Shared Challenges and Joint Solutions in Raw Materials”
Unlocking Critical Raw Materials in Europe: START Project Contributes to the Newly Released Joint Policy Brief
A collaborative effort among 11 Horizon Europe projects outlines strategic recommendations to bridge the gap between CRMA targets and industrial delivery
Following the intensive discussions and stakeholder insights gathered during the Raw Materials Week 2025 side event “Crossroads of Innovation: Shared Challenges and Joint Solutions in Raw Materials” a comprehensive Policy Brief and accompanying Policy Paper have been officially released. This landmark publication represents a major collaborative milestone, co-authored by eleven European Union-funded Horizon Europe research and innovation projects: START, REESOURCE (acting as deliverable lead), AVANTIS, BLOOM, PERMANET, PERSEPHONE, REEPRODUCE, REMHub, REPTIS, RESQTOOL, and SUPREEMO.
The newly published brief, titled “Unlocking Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) in Europe: From CRMA Targets to Industrial Delivery,” addresses the structural bottlenecks currently impeding the operational deployment of the EU Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) benchmarks for 2030.
Key Insights
Evidence from a broad cross-section of the European CRM ecosystem (including industry leaders, research organisations, academia, and civil society) indicates that the primary risks to achieving the 2030 targets are not rooted in geological resource scarcity, but in implementation bottlenecks, delayed industrial scale-up, and investment uncertainty.
With fewer than five years remaining to meet the CRMA mandates (10% extraction, 40% processing, and 25% recycling within the EU), the joint document outlines actionable policy recommendations structured across six strategic axes:
- De-risking industrial scale-Up: Combining public grants, guarantees, and offtake-linked support to help pilot and first-of-a-kind (FOAK) plants bridge the financial “valley of death” amid market volatility.
- Harmonising regulatory frameworks: Clarifying waste definitions and cross-border transport rules to unblock circular value chains without requiring full legislative overhauls.
- Improving traceability: Introducing mandatory product-level information requirements for permanent magnets, aligned with Digital Product Passport initiatives.
- Operationalising fast-track permitting: Enhancing administrative capacity within Member States to provide predictable timelines and restore investor confidence.
- Standardising waste data: Encouraging large waste-producing entities to systematically share standardized data on tailings and industrial residues to feed advanced recycling.
- Reducing perceived community risk: Embedding early, transparent, and equitable local engagement into primary extraction project designs to ensure long-term societal alignment.
As a proud contributor to this collective effort, START reinforces its commitment to advancing pioneering technological and strategic solutions that support Europe’s twin green and digital transitions, while securing industrial competitiveness and strategic autonomy.
The full Policy Brief and Policy Paper are now available for download below from Zenodo.
Policy Paper :
Policy Brief:
Unlocking Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) in Europe: From CRMA Targets to Industrial Delivery
