Background and scope
Europe’s technological sovereignty and capacity to deliver on the twin green and digital transitions is contingent on access to Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) along all stages of the value chain. A subset of these CRMs also classified as “strategic raw materials”due to their use in strategic technologies and strong projected demand growth. Secure access to such materials will reduce Europe’s dependence on unreliable suppliers and integrating circularity is crucial to making the most of the EU’s limited resources. Actions foreseen under the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) adopted in 2024 aim to strengthen the supply security of CRMs by:
- Setting benchmarks by 2030 for domestic capacities of strategic raw materials
- Creating secure and resilient supply chains
- Enhancing supply risk preparedness and mitigation
- Improving sustainability and circularity of critical raw materials on the EU market
- Diversifying suppliers of raw materials imported in the EU.
Deep tech start-ups and scale-ups can make an important contribution to achieving the 2030 EU benchmarks defined in the CRMA, in particular, those companies driving forward Strategic Projects under the CRMA. Start-ups and SMEs could contribute to developing and commercialising new deep tech innovations that address the entire spectrum of activity from exploration via extraction and refining to the recycling of CRMs with a view to:
- Strengthening the supply of primary critical and strategic raw materials in the EU
- Increasing the recovery rate of critical and strategic raw materials as set out in the CRMA, and
- Improving the competitiveness of secondary raw materials production by ensuring cost effectiveness and also enhancing sustainability in terms of energy, resource and water use, waste and emissions (including Green House Gases and air pollutants) footprint.
Specific objectives
The start-ups and SMEs to be supported under this Challenge must look to develop and deploy deep-tech innovations that contribute to the CRMA and European domestic capacity in one or more of the following areas:
- Exploration of critical and strategic raw materials: this includes precision drilling, remote sensing, and the use of AI and big data to access and assess previously sub-economic resources, retired mines, and re-assess mine tailings and post-processing waste heaps, whilst reducing costs and waste.
- Extraction, processing and metallurgy refining for the supply of primary critical and strategic raw materials: this includes approaches such as hydrometallurgical, bioleaching, phytomining and nano-filtration. A holistic approach to economical and sustainable mining operations is essential for the ambitions of the CRMA. Deep tech innovations that enable electrified autonomous operation of mining equipment are within scope.
- Recycling from end-of-life products for the supply of secondary critical and strategic raw materials: this includes urban mining and the use of battery black mass and electronic waste as CRM feedstock.
The deep tech innovations must improve the sustainability of the EU’s sources for critical and strategic raw materials in line with the EU principles for sustainable raw materials and must clearly justify the relevance and business case for all targeted minerals and metals.
The environmental footprint of the proposed innovations should also be measured with a life-cycle analysis that includes an evaluation of the cost and social impact. Applicants are encouraged to consider the potential impact of emerging environmental markets on their business, and to explore the strategic opportunities these markets may unlock when paired with innovative business models.
Deep-sea mining does not fall within the scope of this call.
Expected outcomes and impacts
By targeting breakthrough innovations, the Challenge is expected to contribute to the secure supply of sustainably produced primary and secondary critical and strategic raw materials for EU industrial value chains and strategic sectors and help strengthen the EU mining value chain.
EIC Work Programme 2026
The EIC Challenges are extensively described in the EIC Work Programme. For more information about this challenge, please go to the corresponding section of the EIC Work Programme.