NMO recommends a national list of 17 critical raw materials

Critical raw materials are indispensable to the Dutch economy, security and the energy and digital transitions. They are used, amongst other things, in batteries, machinery, defence systems and high-tech applications. At the same time, their production and processing are highly concentrated globally, leading to dependencies on a limited number of countries. Geopolitical tensions, export restrictions and disruptions to trade routes highlight this vulnerability. It is therefore important to define more precisely which raw materials the Netherlands needs to monitor most urgently.

NMO analyses as a basis for national prioritization

The government is committed to accelerating the national raw materials strategy through a focused approach and a shift towards prioritisation. The NMO contributes to the knowledge base. Based on analyses of supply risks and economic relevance, a national list of 17 critical raw materials has been drawn up. This clarifies which raw materials from the European list are of the greatest urgency for the Netherlands to monitor and where efforts should be more strongly focused.

The aim of the Dutch list is to set more targeted priorities within the broader European framework and enables the government to better serve specific Dutch interests and industry. In addition, there remains scope to support projects, supply chains and companies in the Netherlands that focus on critical raw materials and related products outside this national list of critical raw materials.

The selection of 17 national critical raw materials is based on two criteria that influence supply risk. The first criterion is a high level of market concentration amongst global producing countries, expressed in terms of the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI). An HHI above 4225 is proposed as the threshold value, which corresponds to a situation where a single country holds a market share of more than 65 per cent.

The second criterion is that the dominant producing countries receive a low rating for governance quality from the World Bank, based on the World Governance Index. The World Governance Index score of the lowest-scoring EU country is proposed as the threshold for governance quality. The following therefore applies to the 17 national critical raw materials:

• An HHI above 4225
• And a weighted WGI of less than 0.05

The 17 raw materials on the national list

1. Bismuth
2. Germanium
3. Magnesium (metal)
4. Silicon (metal)
5. Coking coals
6. Natural graphite
7. Niobium
8. Vanadium
9. Fluorspar
10. Cobalt
11. Platinum group metals
12. Tungsten
13. Phosphorus
14. Lithium
15. Scandium
16. Rare earth elements
17. Gallium

The NMO looks beyond raw materials

Knowledge development also plays an important role. Through international cooperation and knowledge programmes, the Netherlands contributes to a better understanding of raw material flows and value chains. The NMO supports this through activities relating to knowledge exchange and research in South Africa, Chile, Vietnam and Canada.

Insight into critical raw material dependencies provides a basis for more targeted policy. The national list of critical raw materials helps to set priorities and better focus policy efforts, both nationally and internationally. Together with public and private sector partners, the NMO continues to monitor the security of supply of critical raw materials and to further map out underlying dependencies.