Regulation (EU) 2024/1252: Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA)

The Critical Raw Materials Act, adopted in April 2024, is the EU’s primary legislative instrument for securing the mineral supply chains underpinning clean energy, digital technology, and defence. It establishes binding benchmarks (10% of annual consumption extracted, 40% processed, and 15% recycled domestically within the EU by 2035) and creates a list of strategic raw materials subject to accelerated permitting, monitoring, and strategic stock requirements. The act’s practical reach is constrained by the criticality methodology it inherits: materials systematically excluded by the supply risk formula receive none of its protections, regardless of how foundational they are to the industrial processes the transition depends on.