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Europe requires way to rate critical minerals separately of China, group says

Europe requires a system to set rates for crucial minerals needed for the energy transition that is not depending on China, which controls much of the international sector, the head of an EUfunded group stated.

Oversupply and weak prices of products such as lithium, cobalt and unusual earths are moistening cash flows of Western start-ups, making it tough to take on China, business have actually said.

Europe must have an important products platform that has a. price-building system that shows the supply and need. scenario in Europe, Bernd Schaefer, CEO of EIT RawMaterials,. told .

Sometimes an administrative decision in China can turn the. prices needle, eroding all presumptions that someone has made. for buying basic materials. This must change, he stated in an. interview on the sidelines of last week's World Materials Online forum. in Paris.

Schaefer also required an exploration fund to boost mining. of crucial minerals in Europe.

This need to not be simply a number of million (euros), it. need to be a billion, it must be a huge number.

EIT RawMaterials leads an alliance of more than 300. companies, academics and others involved in the sector, assisting. to implement an EU strategy to supply raw materials required to satisfy. the bloc's target of net absolutely no greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The EU Important Raw Products Act, which participated in force. in May, sets targets for the bloc to mine, recycle and process. minerals including lithium and copper by 2030.

There was a danger that political unpredictability could delay. taking the next actions to fulfill those targets, Schaefer said.

This discussion is in limbo. We are in a duration of. transition within the Commission and within Europe, he said,. describing current elections in France and for the European. Parliament plus political instability in Germany.

We may be losing time, however we can not manage to lose. time.

As a neutral, non-political company, EIT RawMaterials could. play a key role in helping to drive the changes that are needed,. Schaefer added.

(source: Reuters)