The EIT Raw Materials, which is the Innovation Community established in 2015 and co-funded by the European Commission to promote Europe's transition to a sustainable economy, had is Summit from 15th to 17th of May at The Egg in Brussels.

Highlight of the Summit's programme was the recent publication of the CRMA - Critical Raw Materials Act, i.e. the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and the Council establishing a framework to ensure a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials. There were many speakers from the worlds of business, research, education and innovation, as well as the European Commission, who intervened to root the need for joint action at European level to improve national capacities and to diversify supply chains of raw materials.

So what to do in practice? Public and private actors shared many hypotheses, strategies and some solutions came up during the Summit. Among the many speeches, Maria Wetterstrand CEO of Miltton Europe focused on the still too weak communication between public and private actors on the problem of raw material procurement. Joaquim Nunes De Almeida DG of the Aluminium Association outlined the urgency of a supply shortage that is becoming a priority for action in production systems. Michele Bologna, European Affairs of the Enel Group, highlighted the importance of improving the Raw Materials value chain by becoming aware of the impacts on product costs. 

The panel dedicated to 'Skills for the Critical Raw Materials and Net Zero Industry Agendas' saw speeches by Costantine Karayannopoulos CEO of Neo Performance Materials, Egbert Holthuis from the European Commission's DG Employment, and Saeed Chelgani from the Swedish School of Mines. Witness how the education system in Europe, including the VET (Vocational Education and Training) system, has a high potential for upgrading and enhancing STEM pathways to support the Raw Materials sector.    

Which are our takeawasys from this summit?

• the geo-political impacts that the Raw materials issue will bring to Europe should be explored. New alliances with Latin America and other continents richer than Europe in raw materials could be strengthened;
• "train, train, train": uspkilling, reskilling are the priorities to accelerate the insertion of specific skills, capable of handling a wide variety of waste and by-products (batteries, plastics, etc.);
• engineering, Physics, Mathematics, Materials Technology: these are some of the main STEM skill areas to focus on to improve the quality of the raw materials processing sector in the EU;
• will a microchip produced in Europe cost more than one produced in other continents? Probably yes. ESG and raw materials value chain development must lead to the recognition of supply chain quality as a competitive differentiator;
• if we do not have raw materials, the enhancement of material recovery processes will be an important factor for competitiveness. Circular economy, industrial symbiosis models can be strengthened in their implementation, provided the European waste legislation is amended.

In 2023 Sweden and Spain, both countries particularly sensitive to the topic of Competitiveness and Green and Energy Transition, will lead the European Council Presidency decisions to see how the Critical Raw Material Act can be implemented.