Raw Material Gaps Threaten Europe’s Clean Energy Targets
The European Union is at growing risk of running short of the raw materials needed to build its clean energy system, according to a new report from the European Court of Auditors.
Lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper and rare earth elements are essential for solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, electric vehicles and grid infrastructure. Yet the EU still depends heavily on a small number of non-EU countries — particularly China — for most of these materials, creating vulnerabilities that could slow the energy transition.
To address this, the EU adopted the Critical Raw Materials Act in 2024, aiming to diversify imports, expand domestic mining and processing, and scale up recycling. But auditors say progress across all three areas is limited and securing supply by 2030 now looks unlikely.
Import diversification has delivered few concrete results. Although the EU has signed 14 strategic raw material partnerships in recent years, imports from partner countries have fallen for around half of the materials examined, while some major trade negotiations remain stalled.
Domestic production is also lagging. Exploration activity is weak, and new mining projects can take up to two decades to become operational — far beyond the timeline needed to support near-term climate targets. Processing capacity faces similar challenges, with high energy costs forcing some European facilities to scale back or close.
Recycling, often seen as Europe’s biggest long-term opportunity, remains at an early stage. Many critical materials are barely recycled at all, and current targets are too broad to drive recovery of harder-to-extract elements used in clean technologies.
The auditors warn that without faster action, shortages of critical raw materials could become a bottleneck for renewable deployment itself. In practical terms, this means Europe’s ability to build wind farms, roll out solar, expand battery storage and electrify transport may increasingly depend not just on policy ambition, but on whether enough materials can be secured in time.