As the EU seeks to secure access to critical raw materials amid growing trade uncertainty, new research published today finds Europe can reduce its need for new battery metals while still accelerating the shift to clean road transport and strategic autonomy (1). Recycling alone could lower Europe’s need for newly mined lithium and nickel by up to 50% and cobalt by up to 70% by 2040. 40 organisations are now calling on the EU to swiftly act on these findings (2). 

The results of the study (3) – conducted by Öko-Institut and commissioned by EU Raw Materials Coalition members SOMO, Seas At Risk and PowerShift – come as the EU is preparing a series of important decisions that will shape Europe’s approach to raw materials, transport and industrial policy (4) such as the Circular Economy Act.  

Alejandro González, Senior Climate Justice Researcher at SOMO, said: “Europe needs a strategy not only for where its critical raw materials come from, but also for how much it actually needs in the first place. Reducing demand is essential for Europe’s resilience. Smaller, more efficient vehicles, more recycling and less car-dependent mobility all help reduce the need for raw materials, which limits exposure to concentrated supply chains, and eases pressure to open new extraction frontiers.”

The electrification of road transport, described by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as crucial for Europe’s competitiveness, has directed growing attention towards battery materials. Production of several of these materials is highly concentrated in a small number of countries (5). Diversifying supply chains is important for Europe’s resilience, but efforts to secure new sources have also led some actors to explore increasingly controversial sources of extraction with high environmental and social impact.

“Europe should not treat mining as the only way to secure the materials needed for the clean transition. Research shows that Europe can replace new mining through options that are already available and scalable today. That also helps reduce pressure to open new extraction frontiers, including the deep sea,” said Simon Granberg, Senior Deep-Sea Mining Policy Officer at Seas At Risk, adding: “Europe can choose this path now, before business-as-usual locks in a future of ever more extraction from vulnerable ecosystems and increasing disposal in landfills.” 

“The study clearly demonstrates that there is already massive potential for raw materials savings today, which must be supported by political measures, and the Circular Economy Act should serve as a leverage point,” Michael Reckordt, Head of Raw Materials Programme at PowerShift, emphasises, adding: “Lighter batteries and cars, together with alternative transport services, offer immense opportunities to reduce dependencies. The EU institutions must speed up their work to achieve a resource-efficient future.” 

ENDS

 

NOTES TO EDITOR 

  1. Decarbonising Road Transport Beyond Mining-Intensive Pathways was conducted by Öko-Institut Consult gGmbH on behalf of SOMO, Seas At Risk and PowerShift, as part of the EU Raw Materials Coalition, which is hosted by the European Environmental Bureau (EEB). The Coalition currently encompasses over 60 member organisations.  
  2. 40 organisations are calling on the EU to act on these findings in order to reduce Europe’s reliance on primary battery metals. 
  3. The report identifies five EU policy entry points: (A) Recycling: strengthen battery recycling and recycled-content targets under the Circular Economy Act, Batteries Regulation and Critical Raw Materials Act. (B) Smaller vehicles: the Automotive Omnibus and national incentives should support smaller, affordable and resource-efficient electric cars. (C) Energy efficiency: use the revision of CO₂ standards and the Car Labelling Directive to make vehicle energy efficiency a stronger policy criterion. (D) Alternatives to car use: make use of the 2028–2034 EU budget, TEN-T and Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans to strengthen investment in affordable public transport and active mobility. (E) Reducing unnecessary travel: the Quality Jobs Act, Social Climate Fund and ETS2 should support sustainable mobility and measures such as telework and more compact urban development. 
  4. Notable current EU policy processes in the making include the forthcoming Circular Economy Act, the Automotive Omnibus, the implementation and review of the Critical Raw Materials Act, and the EU’s 2028–2034 budget.
  5. In 2025, for example, the Democratic Republic of Congo accounted for around 74% of global cobalt production, while Indonesia accounted for around 67% of nickel production, according to the data compiled in the study (page 8).

Information about the organisations

PowerShift is a German nongovernmental organisation based in Berlin focused on trade and investment policy, climate and resource justice, energy policy, raw materials policy, and mobility. Its activities include policy analyses and background papers, conducting educational and informational work, engaging in public relations, and participating in civil society campaigns

Seas At Risk is an association of environmental organisations working together to ensure a healthy, thriving and climate-resilient ocean that supports all life. Its mission is to promote ambitious policies for marine protection and restoration at European and international level.  As a network of over 35 environmental organisations from across Europe, representing the majority of European countries, Seas At Risk speaks for millions of citizens that care deeply about the health of the ocean and wellbeing of all life. 

SOMO, the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations, investigates the impacts and enablers of unjustified corporate power. Independent, factual, and critical, we have a clear goal – a fair and sustainable world in which public interests outweigh corporate interests.

 

Posted on: 19 October 2026