EIT Raw Materials

EIT Raw Materials' mission is to secure a sustainable supply of raw materials for Europe, close materials loops, and drive innovation, education, and entrepreneurship across the entire raw materials value chain.

This is crucial for Europe’s green and digital transition, strategic autonomy, and re-industrialisation of key sectors, as the EU currently produces only a small fraction of its most critical raw materials.

Strategic Objectives

• Securing raw materials supply for European industry, especially critical and strategic materials needed for clean energy, digital, and defense sectors.

• Designing materials solutions to support new products and technologies.

• Closing materials loops through circular economy approaches, including recycling, substitution, and innovation in processing and mining.

Support and Benefits

• Access to funding, expert guidance, and Europe’s largest network of raw materials industry leaders.
• Value-added services to help scale innovations and reach key project milestones.
• EIT Raw Materials acts as an impact investor, leveraging public and private funds for maximum impact.

Activities and Impact

• Investment and Funding: EIT RawMaterials acts as a major impact investor, providing direct funding and support for start-ups, scale-ups, SMEs, and advanced mining, processing, and recycling projects. Investment tickets can reach up to €2.5 million per project, with a total deployment of €16–30 million for initiatives like the ERMA Booster Call.

• Innovation Network: It connects over 300 partners from industry, academia, research, and investment, and manages the European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA), which has over 750 members and a project pipeline exceeding €25 billion in potential investments.

• Education: Through the EIT RawMaterials Academy, it invests in developing deep tech talent, offering education from school level to professional upskilling, and supporting entrepreneurship.

• Business Support: Offers access to finance, mentoring, strategic guidance, and integration into Europe’s largest raw materials industry network, helping innovators scale and commercialize their solutions.

Role in Europe’s Raw Materials Strategy

EIT RawMaterials is a key actor in implementing the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), which sets ambitious targets for 2030: extract 10%, process 40%, and recycle 25% of the EU’s annual strategic raw materials consumption, while reducing dependency on any single third country to below 65% at any supply chain stage. Its activities directly support these targets by accelerating innovation, mobilizing investment, and building a resilient, homegrown supply chain for Europe’s most strategic industries.