EU Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen last year in her State of the Union address addressed the challenges the EU faces in relation to being able to secure the supply chain for, among other things, batteries and critical raw materials for use in the green transition. This was the result of the regulation Critical Raw Materials Act. Today, the EU Parliament has supported the EU Commission's proposal and voted to increase the target so that 50 percent of the refining and processing of critical raw materials such as nickel, lithium, copper and rare earths must take place in the EU and that 15 percent must be recycled. In addition, the EU itself must extract 10 percent of the critical raw materials in 2030 and the EU must source a maximum of 65 percent of a specific raw material from another country. It must ensure diversification and thereby better security of supply within the EU.

"It makes sense that the EU will not outsource important parts of the value chain for battery production, but will instead secure and develop expertise in the field and ensure that production is made more sustainable. This also makes us less dependent on e.g. China and get greater certainty that we have the necessary resources for the green transition," says Daria Rivin, adviser on climate and transport at the Green Transition Denmark.

She emphasizes that it is particularly important to preserve the EU's environmental rules for water quality, waste sorting, biodiversity and the involvement of local communities, while it should be simpler and faster to get the permits in place for the extraction and processing of the necessary critical metals.

"It can only be a green transition if we can ensure a sustainable supply of the critical metals that we need. It is therefore crucial that the EU maintains a high level of environmental protection and e.g. don't blindly trust dubious certification systems,” says Daria Rivin.

Although she believes that the goals in the regulation are absolutely crucial, she emphasizes that there is still a lack of funding to develop the area and meet the goals. The national support schemes that exist are not enough to compete with China and the US. Therefore, a number of organizations have proposed that the EU's innovation fund be transformed into a green industrial bank that will invest in the best projects in the value chain for batteries.

The regulation must now be finalized with the EU member states.