News of May 17, 2023

EU Parliamentarian Cornelia Ernst informs about critical raw materials at HIF

In mid-March, the European Commission published the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), which aims to strengthen all stages of the European value chain for critical raw materials. For the party Die Linke, EU Parliamentarian Cornelia Ernst will accompany the further process of the CRMA as shadow rapporteur. Therefore, she is currently dealing intensively with the various dimensions of raw materials policy and visited various stakeholders in Saxony, including the HIF, as part of her raw materials tour.

Dr. Simone Raatz (Adminsitrative Manager at HIF), Prof. Gerald van den Boogaart (Head of Department Modelling and Valuation) and Dr. Laura Tusa (Scientist at Exploration Department) informed Ms. Ernst about HIF's research and the significant challenges regarding the security of supply of critical raw materials. "For Europe to free itself from dependencies, a significant increase in recycling rates is needed. But for this to happen, end-of-life devices must stay within the EU and be recycled here. The industry must be held more accountable for this, for example by providing each device with a product passport that gives information about the materials used," says van den Boogart. But recycling alone will not ensure security of supply; primary raw materials are still needed. "We have deposits of important industrial metals in Europe, we have to take advantage of that. Unfortunately, domestic mining often lacks social acceptance, that´s politicians and scientists must work on," adds Dr. Tusa.

"With the CRMA, the EU is on the right track, but it is high time to stimulate a change in mindset regarding resources. Because only if the raw materials that are already in the EU are reused for new products and domestic, primary raw material deposits are used, Europe can make itself less dependent on raw material imports and thus on dependencies," concludes Dr. Raatz.