CRM Alliance Quarterly Newsletter - Spring Edition 2022 |
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CRM Alliance Updates
- The CRM Alliance holds CRM Day
- Beta Technology will hold a stakeholder forum on obesity
- BeST hosts webinar on security at work
- Cobalt Institute publishes article on Due Diligence
- ECGA sends letter to EU institutions
- Indium Corporation to participate at SEMI-THER
- ILiA announces collaboration with TDi Sustainability
- IMA opens submissions for World Magnesium Conference
- JSWA tests VR goggles effectiveness in training
- MMTA will hold International Minor Metals Conference
- T.I.C. announces General Assembly details
- VANITEC will hold annual meeting in Salzburg
- Verde Magnesium to host event on European Magnesium Industry
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News
- CRM Alliance hosts CRM Day & General Assembly
- Commissioner Breton announces two new industrial alliances
- Public consultation on REACH Revision published
- European Parliament and Council adopt their position for New Batteries Regulation negotiations
- European Commission publishes Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence proposal
- Sustainable Products Initiative to be launched
- European Commission presents New Standardisation Strategy
- European Commission proposes Chips Act
- ECHA appoints new Acting Executive Director
- European Commission high-level Magnesium working group launched
Public Consultations
- Hazardous substances - review on the restriction of the use of hazardous substances in electronics
- Chemicals - making the best use of EU agencies to streamline scientific assessments
- Chemical legislation - revision of REACH Regulation to help achieve a toxic-free environment
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The CRM Alliance holds CRM Day
The CRM Alliance held its CRM Day on 23 March 2022 addressing the Sustainable Products Initiative and its potential impact on CRM value chains.
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Beta Technology will hold stakeholder forum
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BeST hosts webinar on security at work
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Cobalt Institute publishes article on Due Diligence
The Cobalt Institute published an article explaining how the revised Cobalt Refinery Supply Chain Due Diligence Standard can support due diligence and responsible production and sourcing efforts by companies.
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ECGA sends letter to EU Institutions
ECGA sent a letter to the main EU institutions, calling EU level and Member States decision-makers to address the current electricity price emergency and take the necessary measures.
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Indium Corporation to participate at SEMI-THER |
Indium Corporation’s Product Specialist Miloš Lazić will share his industry knowledge on metal thermal interface materials (TIMs) in high-performance applications at SEMI-THER, March 21-25, San Jose, California, U.S.
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ILiA announces collaboration with TDi Sustainability |
ILiA announced an innovative collaboration with TDi Sustainability to drive global standards and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues in the lithium industry.
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IMA opens submissions for World Magnesium Conference |
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JSWA tests VR goggles effectiveness in training
JSWA is testing together with the Central Mining Institute the potential effectiveness and length of training in VR goggles.
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MMTA will hold International Minor Metals Conference
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T.I.C. announces General Assembly details
The Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center (T.I.C.) has announced its 63rd General Assembly, which will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, October 16th-19th 2022.
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VANITEC will hold annual meeting in Salzburg
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Verde Magnesium to host event on European Magnesium Industry
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CRM Alliance hosts CRM Day & General Assembly
On 22nd March, the CRM Alliance hosted their General Assembly and CRM Day, both of which were held virtually.
At the General Assembly, the CRM-A welcomed the International Lithium Association (ILiA), as a new member. Members discussed 2022 priorities, including reviews of the main EU policy initiative and the current geopolitical context.
Regarding the CRM Day, the CRM-A hosted its bi-annual event virtually. The topic of the webinar was the Sustainable Products Initiative and its potential impact on CRM value chains. The event was divided into two panels.
The first panel included MEP Iuliu Winkler, Vice-Chair of INTA Committee, Emmanuel Katrakis, Secretary-General of EuRIC, Christer Forsgren, Environmental & Technical Director at Stena Recycling International, and Louise Bünemann, Chair of the Environmental Sustainability Working Group at Orgalim. The second panel included Carolina Vigo from BusinessEurope, Kamila Slupek from Eurometaux, and Cecilia Mattea from Transport and Environment.
The full report of the CRM Day will be posted on our website, stay tuned!
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Commissioner Breton announces two new industrial alliances
On 13th January 2022 during the conference “A stronger industry for a more autonomous Europe”, the Commissioner for the Internal Market, Mr. Thierry Breton, announced two new industrial alliances: one on space launchers and one on zero-emission aircrafts. The decision came after the positive achievements of the previous alliances on batteries, raw materials, hydrogen, and more recently on semiconductors and data.
The new industrial alliances aim to make European value chains more resilient, ensure the global competitiveness of our industry, support a successful transition to a carbon-neutral continent by 2050, and make Europe fit for the digital age. In the desire to strengthen European strategic autonomy, Mr. Breton also addressed the current dependences on raw materials that are critical for the transition of European industries, such as lithium or synthetic graphite, which are vital for the production of electric batteries.
For this reason, he announced the EU has signed initial partnerships with Ukraine and Canada, while closely working with Norway, Serbia, Africa, and Latin American countries, to rebalance global value chains and enhance the diversification of EU sources of supply.
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Public Consultation on REACH revision published
On 20 January, the European Commission launched the consultation on the revision of the Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). The revision will aim to align the EU chemical rules with the European Commission’s ambition for safe and sustainable chemicals and a high level of protection of health and the environment. The planned REACH revision is one of the actions announced in the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability.
The European Commission is requesting feedback on the revision of the registration requirements, the introduction of mixtures assessment factors, the simplification of communication in the supply chains, the revision of the provisions for dossier and substance evaluation, the reform of the authorization and restriction processes, including the extension of generic approaches to risk management and the introduction of the essential use concept and the revision of the provisions for control and enforcement.
The public consultation is open until 15 April.
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European Parliament and Council set their position for New Batteries Regulation negotiations
From the parliamentary side, on 10th March the text amended by the ENVI Committee was in plenary session and referred back to the Committee, setting the position for negotiations with the Council. The report adopted by ENVI Committee raised the level of ambition of the Commission proposal, by including batteries for light means of transport (LMT), such as e-bikes and e-scooters, into the scope of the proposed regulation.
On the other side, EU environment ministers adopted on 17th March a general approach for the EU batteries regulation centered on France’s compromise proposal, which had drawn all-around praise for being “balanced” and “ambitious”. The Council’s modified text includes significant changes, such as the extension of the text’s scope to include ready-to-use battery modules and batteries for all-electric vehicles, as well as member states’ right of initiative to restrict the use of hazardous chemicals in batteries.
The two European Institutions will now start negotiations on the final compromise text. The goal is to ensure the regulation is adopted by the end of 2022.
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European Commission publishes Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence proposal
The European Commission published on 23rd February 2022 its proposal for a Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence, aimed at imposing on companies of a certain size operating in the EU far-reaching due diligence obligations covering the adverse human rights and environmental impacts of their operations, and those of their subsidiaries and their upstream and downstream value chain.
Given the political sensitivity of the proposal and divergent views among Member States and EU institutions, intense negotiations on the proposal are expected.
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Sustainable Products Initiative to be launched
The initiative, which will revise the Ecodesign Directive and propose additional legislative measures as appropriate, aims to make products placed on the EU market more sustainable. The main objective is to provide products that are more durable, reusable, repairable, recyclable, and energy-efficient.
According to the European Commission, the initiative will also address the presence of harmful chemicals in products such as electronics & ICT equipment, textiles, furniture, steel, and cement.
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European Commission presents New Standardisation Strategy
The new Strategy proposes a series of actions aimed at ensuring European leadership in global standards and making standardisation a driver of European competitiveness and resilience in the frame of the green and digital transitions.
The European Commission has identified ‘standardisation urgencies’ to avoid strategic dependencies, including critical raw materials (CRMs) recycling.
The European standardisation system is based on a public-private partnership between the Commission and the standardisation community, which is structured in private non-for-profit organisations: the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN), the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (CENELEC), and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). European standards in support of EU legislation and policies are developed exclusively through one of them. Standardisation activities at these organisations are based on consensus-building among different actors, including industry, SMEs, trade organisations and other private, societal and public stakeholders.
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Commission proposes Chips Act to confront semiconductor shortages and strengthen Europe's technological leadership
On 8th February 2022, the European Commission officially proposed the Chips Act. It consists of a comprehensive set of measures to ensure the EU’s security of supply, resilience, and technological leadership in semiconductor technologies and applications. The European Chips Act aims to bolster Europe’s competitiveness, resilience and help achieve the double transition.
The initiative comes at a moment where the global semiconductor shortage has exposed the EU’s dependency on third countries as well as its vulnerability to third-country export restrictions, and further disruptions due to the present geopolitical context.
The proposed regulation is composed of three main pillars: the Chips for Europe Initiative, which will pool resources from the Union, Member States, third countries associated with already-existing Union programs, and private actors; a new framework, including a Chips Fund, to ensure the security of supply by attracting investments and enhancing production capacities; and a coordination mechanism between the Member States and the European Commission for strengthening the collaboration with and across the Member States.
A public consultation on the proposed Chips Act has been launched on 14th March 2022, and it will remain open until 9th May 2022.
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ECHA appoints new Acting Executive Director
On 19 January, ECHA appointed Mr. Shay O’Malley as Acting Executive Director as of 1 April 2022, until the new Head of the Agency starts in the role. Mr. O’Malley became ECHA’s Director of Resources in January 2015, where he has responsibility for ECHA’s finance, human resources, and corporate services functions.
Executive Director Bjorn Hansen will retire on 31 March 2022.
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European Commission high-level Magnesium working group launched
On 31 January and 1 February 2022, the French Presidency of the Council held a meeting of the EU ministers responsible for industry and the internal market to discuss strengthening European strategic autonomy.
The Commission highlighted the actions taken since summer 2020 regarding raw materials, including the publication of an Action Plan on Raw Materials and the establishment of ERMA. Moreover, the Commission recently launched a high-level working group on magnesium, with the goal of ensuring 15% of the European production takes place in Europe by 2030.
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Chemicals – making the best use of EU agencies to streamline scientific assessments (link here) – Deadline 12 April
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Chemicals legislation – revision of REACH Regulation to help achieve a toxic-free environment (link here) – Deadline 15 April
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Hazardous substances - Review on the restriction of the use of hazardous substances in electronics (link here) - Deadline 2 June
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