Europe is increasingly shifting its critical raw materials strategy away from greenfield mining toward industrial upgrading of existing metallurgical and chemical platforms—a model exemplified by the Metlen gallium project in Greece. Several recent EU- and EIB-backed initiatives follow this logic, focusing on by-product recovery, midstream processing, or refinery expansions embedded within operating industrial complexes.
One of the closest parallels to Metlen’s gallium project is the Jervois Finland cobalt refinery expansion. The facility upgraded an existing cobalt refinery to produce battery-grade cobalt sulfate, leveraging Finland’s established metallurgical infrastructure instead of opening a new mine. With a total investment exceeding €100 million and strong policy-bank and state support, the refinery anchors cobalt refining and value capture in the EU, directly reducing European dependence on Asian cobalt sulfate imports.
The logic mirrors Metlen’s approach: no new mine, no new permitting footprint, but secure material supply through processing control.
The Terrafame Sotkamo complex applies the same philosophy at a larger scale. Originally developed as a nickel mine, it has evolved into an integrated producer of nickel sulfate and mixed hydroxide precipitate, with cumulative investment exceeding €2 billion. Public-sector involvement, including Finnish state ownership and EU-aligned financing, stabilized the asset after early operational challenges.
Annual battery chemical output exceeds 80,000 tonnes, supplying European cathode and battery manufacturers. The critical factor, as with Metlen, is conversion capacity embedded in an existing industrial ecosystem, with access to power, water, and logistics already in place.
Umicore Hoboken Metals and Battery Recycling Platform – Belgium
While focused on recycling rather than primary refining, Umicore’s Hoboken complex follows the same EU strategic logic. The site recovers cobalt, nickel, copper, and precious metals from complex residues and end-of-life materials. Continuous investment programs, indirectly supported by EU policy and national frameworks, have positioned Hoboken as one of Europe’s most advanced secondary raw-materials hubs.
Like Metlen, Hoboken extracts critical metals as by-products of existing industrial flows rather than relying on standalone mining projects.
In southern Europe, the Atlantic Copper CircuLar project integrates recycling and advanced processing into an existing copper smelter. This allows the recovery of strategic metals while reducing EU import dependence. Explicitly aligned with EU circular-economy and critical-materials objectives, the project benefits from policy-linked financing, demonstrating the same pattern: incremental CAPEX, faster execution, and strategic metal recovery within existing industrial assets.
Boliden Odda Zinc Smelter Expansion – Norway
Although outside the EU, the Boliden Odda zinc smelter expansion is highly relevant to European supply chains. The project upgraded an existing smelter to become one of the most energy-efficient zinc facilities globally, increasing capacity while reducing emissions per tonne. Zinc smelting serves as a gateway for by-product recovery of critical metals such as indium and germanium, vital for electronics and photovoltaics. Public financing and alignment with European industrial policy justified the high-CAPEX upgrade over offshoring production.
Across multiple European sites, Nyrstar has invested in upgrading zinc refining capacity to improve recovery of by-products like indium, germanium, and specialty alloys. These smaller-scale investments follow the same logic: Europe retains control over refining steps that generate critical materials as secondary outputs, strengthening supply security across industrial ecosystems.
Why These Projects Mirror Metlen’s Gallium Investment
All these initiatives share four defining characteristics now dominating Europe’s critical-materials strategy:
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Utilize existing industrial assets, reducing permitting, social, and execution risk.
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Focus on processing and by-product recovery, where Europe has strategic leverage.
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Attract policy-bank or state-aligned financing, recognizing critical materials as infrastructure.
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Deliver measurable supply impact within 2–5 years, rather than post-2030.
Metlen’s €90 million EIB-financed gallium project fits squarely into this emerging template. It is not an isolated case but part of a repeatable industrial model now deployed across aluminium, zinc, copper, cobalt, and battery-materials value chains.
