CRM Alliance Quarterly Newsletter - Summer Edition 2022 |
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CRM Alliance Updates
- The CRM Alliance publishes CRM Charter
- Beta Technology launches new project for recycling niobium
- BeST hosts webinar on working safely with Beryllium
- Cobalt Institute hosts webinar on global chemicals management
- ECGA announces new members
- Euroalliages participates in Raw Materials Summit
- i2A to host Antimony Day in Brussels
- Indium Corporation presents its products at conference
- ILiA announces networking event in Arizona, USA
- IMA opens registration for IMA world conference
- JSW participates in European Financial Congress
- MMTA will host anniversary dinner
- Verde Magnesium participates in magnesium expert panel at the Raw Materials Summit
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News
- CRM Alliance attends EU Raw Materials Summit in Berlin
- European Parliament rejects ETS file and postpones CBAM vote
- European Commission launches REPowerEU
- Second EU-US Trade and Technology Council takes place in Paris
- Regulation on Ecodesign for Sustainable Products (ESPR) published
- Council and Parliament start negotiations on Batteries Regulation
- European Commission presents framework for safe and sustainable by design chemicals
- Competitiveness Council outcomes
Public Consultations
- Sustainable Products Initiative
- Industrial Emissions - EU rules updated
- Environmental impact of waste management – revision of EU waste framework
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The CRM Alliance publishes CRM Charter
The CRM Alliance published its updated CRM Charter outlining core actions to be implemented by policymakers when addressing CRMs.
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Beta Technology launches new project for recycling niobium
Beta Technology has launched Circular Niobium, a new recycling project to mitigate niobium supply risks and develop more sustainable products.
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BeST hosts webinar on working safely with Beryllium
BeST hosted a webinar on how to safely work with Beryllium on 21 June. The webinar was held in French.
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Cobalt Institute hosts webinar on global chemicals management
On 16 June, the Cobalt Institute hosted a webinar on the differences and similarities of the several REACH schemes around the world, on 16 June.
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ECGA announces new members
ECGA announced two new members joining the association: Vianode and Beowulf Mining Plc.
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Euroalliages participates in Raw Materials Summit
Euroalliages’ Secretary-General, Inès Van Lierde joined a panel of experts to discuss how to address the geopolitical and sustainability challenges in the raw material supply chain at the EIT RawMaterials Summit in Berlin on 24 May.
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i2A to host Antimony Day in Brussels
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Indium Corporation presents its products at conference |
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ILiA announces networking event in Arizona, USA |
ILiA is organising a networking event which will take place on Tuesday 28 June at the Arizona Grand Resort & Spa, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
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IMA opens registration for IMA world conference |
IMA opened registration for its upcoming IMA World Conference which will be held from 29 to 31 August in Barcelona, Spain.
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JSW participates in European Financial Congress
JSW hosted a panel explaining the important role of Coking Coal for the EU decarbonisation strategy at the European Financial Congress.
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MMTA will host anniversary dinner
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Verde Magnesium participates in magnesium expert panel at the Raw Materials Summit
Verde Magnesium’s Chairman, Dr. Bernd Martens, participated in an expert panel on magnesium at the Raw Materials Summit, which also included CRM-A President Martin Tauber.
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The CRM Alliance attends EU Raw Materials Summit in Berlin
The CRM-A and several of its Members attended the EU Raw Materials Summit organised by the European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA) from 23 to 25 May in Berlin. The purpose of the Summit was to provide a general and holistic view of the raw materials ecosystem both at a European and international level.
The event hosted a wide range of industry stakeholders that presented the latest innovations and discussed the most relevant topics from across the raw materials value chain. It was an occasion for policymakers to discuss the crucial role of CRMs in present and future EU challenges, together with representatives from the industry.
European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton announced the Commission's intention to draft a legislative file for raw materials within the RePowerEU plan. With the proposal, the EU aims to develop strategic partnerships, implement circular economy practices, develop a market in Europe for primary and secondary raw materials, de-risk projects, and address the social acceptance challenge when it comes to mining.
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European Parliament rejects ETS file and postpones CBAM vote
On 8 June, the European Parliament failed to adopt a common position on three crucial files of the Fit for 55 package. Indeed, the proposed reform of the EU Emission Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) was rejected by a clear majority and referred back to the Environmental Committee together with the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and the Social Climate Fund proposals.
The missed agreement was caused by a divergence between the political parties on the emissions reduction targets in sectors covered by the ETS until 2030, emerged after the plenary amended the original text.
The Environment Committee will now go back to the drawing board and identify possible solutions to overcome the impasse created and that consider the feedback of MEPs, industry and civil society.
Key industry players had already expressed their concerns on the overambitious reforms proposed, arguing that they risked undermining European competitiveness with unrealistic benchmarks and legal unpredictability.
The CRM Alliance has issued a statement on the ETS available here.
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European Commission launches REPowerEU
On 18 May, the European Commission published its REPowerEU Plan to reduce the EU’s dependency on Russian energy. The plan aims at saving energy and reducing fossil fuel consumption, while accelerating the rollout of renewables and promoting smart investments.
Among all the provisions, the plan aims to (i) increase the Energy Efficiency Target - Member States will be asked to introduce additional tax reliefs to encourage energy savings, (ii) Incentivise the use of the new EU Energy Platform for gas, LNG, and hydrogen purchases, (iii) Provide additional funding under the Innovation Fund to foster the transport and industry green transition, (IV) Introduce a critical raw materials legislative proposal, which will be announced later on.
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Second EU-US Trade and Technology Council takes place in Paris
On 16 May, the second meeting of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council took place in Paris. Launched in June 2021, the TTC serves as a forum for discussion between the United States and the European Union to coordinate on trade, economic, and technology issues.
Institutional leaders and the civil society of both sides exchanged views on the importance of securing supply chains and discussed how the TTC can facilitate the green and digital transition.
During the event, Russia dominated the talks, with both the EU and the US reaffirming their close cooperation to support information integrity in crisis situations, align deployment of export controls on advanced technologies to undermine Russia’s military ability, and advance the resilience of transatlantic supply chains, including CRMs.
The EU and US agreed to develop a common early warning and monitoring mechanism on semiconductor value chains, to increase awareness of and preparedness for supply disruptions, and information exchange to avoid a subsidy race.
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Regulation on Ecodesign for Sustainable Products (ESPR) published
On 30 March, the European Commission published its proposal on the Ecodesign for Sustainable ProductsRegulation (ESPR; previously known as the “Sustainable Products initiative”) which will set new eco-design requirements for a wide range of products. Only a few sectors, such as food, feed, and medical products remain outside the scope.
The aim of the new Regulation is to establish a framework for (i) the setting of ecodesign requirements that products will need to comply with to be placed on the market or put into service, (ii) the creation of an EU digital product Passport, and (iii) the prohibition of the destruction of unsold consumer products. It will do so via the adoption of delegated acts.
This regulation also aims at addressing the presence of substances of concern in products including, among others, substances classified as CMRs as well as having respiratory sensitisation and skin sensitisation properties. Consequently, CRMs that are classified as CMRs or have respiratory or skin sensitising properties will potentially fall in the scope of the Regulation.
According to the proposal, there will be direct benefits to the competitiveness of businesses, including from a shift of activity from the processing of primary towards secondary raw materials and from production of products to maintenance, re-use, refurbishment, repair and second-hand sales.
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Council and Parliament start negotiations on Batteries Regulation
On 17 March, the Council adopted a general approach on a proposal for a regulation on Batteries and Waste Batteries, after the European Parliament adopted their position in plenary on 10 March. The interinstitutional negotiations started on 20 April, but the first trilogue session did not bring any substantial agreement between the two institutions.
The proposal promotes the development of safe and sustainable battery production and creates a level-playing field in the internal market. The Council negotiating position keeps and strengthens the fundamentals of the Commission’s original proposal, including the “battery passport”, tight restrictions for hazardous substances, a carbon footprint for batteries, extended producer responsibility, and the obligation for new batteries to contain recycled materials and due diligence requirements for supply chains.
Moreover, the common agreement found within the Council called for a right to initiative for Member States to propose restrictions on the presence of hazardous substances in batteries at every step of their life cycle.
On the other side, the report adopted by the European Parliament enlarges the scope of the regulation, by including batteries for light means of transport. In addition, it strengthens the Commission’s due diligence requirements and sets higher collection targets for waste portable batteries.
CRMs like cobalt, graphite and lithium are pivotal substances for the production of batteries and play a key role in the decarbonisation strategy of the EU.
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European Commission presents framework for safe and sustainable by design chemicals
On 22 March, the Commission presented the draft framework on the safe and sustainable by design concept (SSbD) during a second stakeholder workshop. The framework comprises four assessment steps that try to evaluate the impact of a specific substance from a holistic point of view.
The most debated feature of the proposed framework is the cut-off criteria, which would require a substance with certain properties to be pulled from moving further along the assessment process.
In addition, according to the Joint Research Centre (JRC), a level differentiation among SSbD chemicals may be contemplated. In practice, this would mean that substances within a specific category under CLP would currently pass the cut-off criteria and directly enter the second step. However, it would receive a very low SSbD score, which would also be reflected in the final assessment score.
Key industry players had already expressed their views on the framework, highlighting their preference for a risk-based approach over the cut-off criteria, as well as the need to make the framework feasible and avoid unintended consequences.
The Commission will hold a final workshop on RoHS in Q3 2022, with the final publication of the proposal set for Q4 2022.
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Competitiveness Council outcomes
On 9 June the Internal Market configuration of the EU Council discussed the European Commission’s proposal for a Regulation on semiconductors; the European Chips Act. As reported by the Council, the EU Ministers welcomed the Act, which offers relevant levers to strengthen short- and long-term production capacities in Europe.
One of the broader aims of the proposal is to guarantee the EU’s future technological sovereignty in strategic industrial ecosystems after the semiconductor crunch and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have stressed the weaknesses of Europe.
Following this goal, the Ministers also welcomed the intention of the European Commission to propose specific legislation on raw materials, which are essential for the success of the green and digital transitions andhighlighted various potential tools, such as the development of strategic partnerships with third countries, the development of the circular economy, and the creation of a fair and sustainable investment framework.
The Council discussed specific actions to reduce strategic dependencies, in particular critical raw materials. In the context of the Commission’s preparation of a legislative initiative on raw materials, ministers stressed the importance of securing the EU’s supplies of these materials, which are essential for the success of the green and digital transitions.
They highlighted various levers, such as the development of strategic partnerships with third countries, the development of the circular economy, and the creation of a fair and sustainable investment framework, including from an environmental point of view.
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Environment – Sustainable products initiative (link here) – Deadline 22 June
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Environment – Industrial emissions – EU rules updated (link here) – Deadline 23 June
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Environment - Environmental impact of waste management – revision of EU waste framework (link here) – Deadline 16 August
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