The European Union (EU) will create strategic reserves to avoid interruptions in the supply of essential raw materials for the industry, such as rare earths and lithium, whose supply is controlled by China, the president of the European Commission announced on Wednesday.
“Today I am announcing the legislative act on essential raw materials,” said Ursula von der Leyen, in her third State of the EU speech, delivered at the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
“In the near future, lithium and rare earths will be more important than oil and gas”, considered the leader of the community executive, adding: “By 2030, our demand for rare earths will increase fivefold” and the demand for lithium increases as the EU economy becomes electrified, with the need for member states to secure supply to “avoid a return to dependency, as in the case of oil and gas”.
Ursula von der Leyen added, under the new legislation on essential raw materials, that Brussels will identify “strategic projects along the entire supply chain, from extraction to refining, from processing to recycling”, and create strategic reserves, in case of supply. risks
In this sense, the construction of the first ‘megafactory’ of ‘chips’ in the EU was announced for the coming months.
“Currently, China controls the global manufacturing industry, almost 90% of rare earths and 60% of lithium are processed in China,” he added.
Rare earths are a group of 17 chemical elements that can be used in television and computer screens, cell phone batteries, electric cars, and wind turbines.
In Portugal, a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), promoted by the General Directorate of Energy and Geology, reduced the areas with potential for lithium from eight to six in February, with popular opposition to mineral exploration.
Source: TSF
