As part of the Critical Raw Materials Act, the mechanism is intended to help companies secure more reliable access to critical raw materials and energy products.
In May 2024, the European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) came into force. With this legislative package, the EU aims to strengthen its raw material supply chains amid growing geopolitical uncertainty. In addition to setting targets for domestic mining and recycling, the CRMA is designed to facilitate joint procurement of critical materials by companies. The European Commission has now announced that the corresponding platform will officially launch next week, on July 2.
The platform will cover not only rare earth elements, lithium, and other key minerals, but also energy products such as hydrogen and natural gas. According to the EU, the system is designed to match supply and demand declarations from participating companies and will provide support services for joint purchasing and brokerage.
Earlier this year, the European Commission awarded contracts for the development of the platform to PricewaterhouseCoopers and a Slovak software company. The system builds on the experience of AggregateEU, a joint gas purchasing platform launched in spring 2023 in response to the energy crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, the European Court of Auditors later criticized certain aspects of AggregateEU, raising questions about its effectiveness in achieving its stated goals.
Mixed Reactions to Joint Raw Material Procurement
The joint procurement mechanism under the CRMA has received a mixed reception since its announcement. Proponents argue that it could give the EU greater leverage on the global market. Camille Defard, head of the energy center at the Jacques Delors Institute, told Euractiv that the platform could strengthen the EU’s negotiating power. Similarly, André Wolf, a senior economist at the Centre for European Policy, suggested it could serve as a counterbalance to the opaque and China-dominated rare earth market.
However, industry voices have raised concerns. Benedikt Sobotka, then-CEO of Eurasian Resources Group, told the Financial Times that procurement needs vary significantly between companies, making a one-size-fits-all platform difficult to implement. He also pointed out that most mineral processing currently takes place outside Europe, posing a structural challenge to the initiative. Other executives, according to the Financial Times (Paywall), argued that the EU should focus first on expanding recycling and circular economy solutions before introducing more raw materials into the supply chain.
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