What is the policy for critical raw materials?

The Netherlands, along with the European Union (EU), depends on other countries for the supply of critical raw materials. This makes us vulnerable to geopolitical pressures and disruptions, such as conflicts and natural disasters. The EU Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) was therefore drawn up at European level to improve supply security, among other things. The Netherlands has drawn up a National Raw Materials Strategy (NGS).

CRMA en NGS

The Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) and National Raw Materials Strategy (NGS) have several common goals, such as improving the resilience of value chains and the use of raw materials. The NGS focuses more on the Dutch situation, such as greater insight into the Dutch manufacturing industry and greater resilience. The CRMA focuses on Europe and particularly on modernising and accelerating the development or re-development of the European mining industry.

EU Critical Raw Materials Act

The Netherlands’ access to critical raw materials from other countries depends on geopolitical relations. Whether or not a raw material is considered critical is determined by the risk to the supply of the material. At European level, Member States therefore signed the EU Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) in spring 2024. The agreements reached by European countries aim to significantly reduce dependence on supplies of raw materials from outside the European Union (EU). The European Commission envisions that the EU Act will provide more data, insight, and control over critical raw material flows in all of the Member States, which has been lacking in the EU for the past decade.

Under the Act, all EU Member States are required to contribute to:

  1. established benchmarks for the European Union's strategic raw material extraction capacity, processing capacity, and recycling capacity
  2. diversifying European Union imports of strategic raw materials
  3. promoting technological progress and resource efficiency to reduce the expected increase in consumption of critical raw materials in the European Union, and
  4. establishing a national exploration programme.

To this end, Member States must report annually on aspects such as:

  1. progress of national exploration programmes aimed at critical raw materials
  2. projects and economic operators in value chains related to critical raw materials in their national territories
  3. any holdings of strategic or other stocks of strategic raw materials, and
  4. recovery of critical raw materials from waste streams.

The benchmarks currently included in the CRMA are as follows:

  • Union extraction capacity is able to produce at least 10% of the Union's annual consumption of all critical raw materials
  • Union processing capacity is able to produce at least 40% of the Union's annual consumption of all critical raw materials
  • Union recycling capacity is able to produce at least 25% of the Union's annual consumption of all critical raw materials
  • the Union is not dependent on a single third country for more than 65% of its supply of any raw material.

National Raw Materials Strategy

The Netherlands also plays a role and must contribute to the EU Critical Raw Materials Act. It produced a National Raw Materials Strategy (NGS) in 2022 with the aim of improving medium-term supply security of critical raw materials. The strategy should deliver benefits in areas including safety, health, and energy security.

To achieve this, five courses of action are being pursued:

  • knowledge building and monitoring
  • sustainable European mining and refining
  • circularity and innovation
  • diversification
  • improving the sustainability of international supply chains.