Critical Raw Materials

The European Union has identified a number of raw materials that are crucial to Europe’s economy and might be at risk from supply disruptions. The critical raw materials are essential for the development of innovative and green technologies.

 

In this context, elements such as rare earth elements (REEs), P, Co, In, Ga, Ge, and W are not only elements critical to modern society (e.g. solar panels, mobile phones), but research on these elements also presents significant opportunities for scientific discoveries.

The LoCoSu project will address this deficiency by bringing together a team of collaborators specifically focused on critical raw material resources granting innovative research to increase the discovery and development of mineral resources in Subsaharan economies.

Critical Raw Materials (European Commission (2017) Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the regions on the 2017 list of Critical Raw Materials for the EU, COM(217) 490 final. European Commission, Brussels.)