Europe has moved beyond debating whether metals are strategically important. The next challenge is turning that recognition into competitive mines, refineries, smelters and recycling capacity. Copper, aluminium, zinc, nickel, lithium, gallium, rare earths and other critical raw materials are essential to electricity grids, renewable energy, batteries, semiconductors, data centres, transport and defence. As a result, Europe’s metals policy is increasingly being shaped by economic security, industrial resilience and strategic autonomy.
That shift was highlighted by Evangelos Mytilineos, executive chairman of METLEN Energy & Metals, during his final period as president of the industry association formerly known as Eurometaux and renamed European Metals in 2026. From July 1, 2026, Inge Hofkens, chief operating officer for multimetal recycling at Aurubis, took over the presidency. The message from the industry is increasingly clear: policy recognition alone does not keep a smelter operating or make a new mining project financially viable.
Energy remains Europe’s biggest competitiveness challenge
The European metals industry has already experienced the consequences of high energy costs. During the energy crisis following the disruption of Russian gas supplies, around half of Europe’s primary aluminium capacity was curtailed or taken offline, with more than 900,000 tonnes of production halted or reduced.
Although wholesale energy prices have stabilised, industrial electricity and gas prices remain significantly higher than those faced by many of Europe’s international competitors. For energy-intensive metals production, electricity is a fundamental production input. Aluminium smelting requires continuous power, while copper and zinc refining and modern recycling facilities also depend on reliable and competitively priced electricity. Once production is shut down, skilled workers leave and customers establish alternative supply chains, restarting capacity can become considerably more difficult.
Critical Raw Materials Act creates a framework
The EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act, which entered into force in May 2024, established 2030 targets for Europe to extract 10% of its annual strategic raw-material consumption, process 40% and obtain 25% from recycling. The EU also aims to prevent excessive dependence on individual foreign suppliers, with a target that no more than 65% of annual consumption of a strategic raw material at a relevant processing stage should come from one third country.
The Commission selected 47 Strategic Projects inside the EU and another 13 projects outside the bloc during 2025, covering mining, processing, refining, recycling and material substitution. A second selection process followed in 2026. These measures now operate alongside the Clean Industrial Deal, Steel and Metals Action Plan, Affordable Energy Action Plan, RESourceEU and the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework. The challenge is increasingly one of execution rather than policy design.
Strategic status does not guarantee investment
A project can receive strategic status and still lack competitive electricity, construction financing, infrastructure, feedstock or long-term customers. That is why Europe’s metals policy needs to bring several instruments together at project level. Permitting reform must be supported by credible engineering and environmental studies. Public finance needs to attract commercial lenders and industrial buyers. Renewable-power contracts need to be combined with grid capacity, storage and balancing solutions.
METLEN’s €295.5 million investment programme in Greece illustrates this integrated approach. The project links bauxite mining, alumina refining and gallium production at an existing industrial complex.
The programme is designed to raise annual alumina capacity to 1.265 million tonnes, support approximately 2 million tonnes of bauxite production and establish annual gallium capacity of 50 tonnes. Gallium is particularly important because it is used in semiconductors, telecommunications, advanced electronics, renewable-energy equipment and defence. On July 29, 2026, METLEN announced a long-term agreement covering approximately 25% of planned gallium output with a US technology customer. The combination of existing infrastructure, processing expertise, strategic material production and customer demand strengthens the project’s investment case.
Existing smelters are also strategic assets
Europe’s strategy is not only about new mines and processing plants. In Slovakia, Slovalco plans to invest €100 million to restore 75,000 tonnes of curtailed aluminium capacity and support more than 200 jobs. Production is expected to resume in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to European Commission approval of Slovakia’s revised compensation scheme for indirect carbon costs.
The project demonstrates why preserving existing industrial capacity can sometimes be faster and less expensive than developing entirely new facilities. But long-term competitiveness depends on whether European producers can manage electricity and carbon costs that are higher than those faced by international competitors.
Recycling must become a core industrial activity
Europe also sees recycling as an important way to reduce dependence on imported raw materials. Aurubis has invested €190 million in its Complex Recycling Hamburg facility, while the European Investment Bank provided a €200 million loan in 2025 to support recycling and copper-production investments.
Such facilities demonstrate that recycling is not simply a waste-management activity. It is an increasingly important part of Europe’s metallurgical industry and raw-material security. Recycling cannot replace primary production overnight. Large quantities of metals remain locked in buildings, vehicles and infrastructure for decades, while demand for grids, data centres, electric transport, renewable energy and defence continues to grow. Europe therefore needs both responsible primary production and stronger recycling capacity.
Competitive power and carbon policy will decide the outcome
Energy remains the common challenge across mining, refining, smelting and recycling. The EU is promoting renewable PPAs, improved network tariffs, faster renewable deployment and stronger electricity interconnections. The European Investment Bank has also introduced a €500 million counter-guarantee facility to support industrial power-purchase agreements.
For metals producers, however, renewable electricity must be reliable as well as low-carbon. Industrial facilities require power around the clock, meaning PPAs may need to be combined with storage, balancing services, interconnection and other firming solutions. Carbon policy presents another challenge. CBAM entered its definitive phase on January 1, 2026, covering imports including iron and steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, hydrogen and electricity. EU ETS free allocation for covered products is being phased out between 2026 and 2034. CBAM can protect European producers from some import competition, but it does not fully address the problem of European companies competing in overseas markets where comparable carbon costs may not exist.
Europe now needs industrial delivery
The EU has built a substantial policy framework for critical raw materials and industrial decarbonisation. The next question is whether those policies can produce commercially viable projects. Public support should focus on projects with credible long-term competitiveness, strategic products, realistic decarbonisation plans, existing infrastructure and measurable contributions to European supply security.
Environmental standards must remain part of that process. Faster permitting should not mean weaker assessment of water, biodiversity, waste, land use or community impacts. Better project preparation can reduce delays without lowering standards.
Ultimately, Europe’s metals strategy will not be judged by the number of strategies adopted in Brussels. It will be measured in restarted furnaces, new mines, expanded refining capacity, commissioned recycling plants, long-term offtake agreements and competitive industrial power contracts. Europe has recognised that metals are fundamental to its economic and technological future. The next stage is turning that recognition into tonnes of copper, aluminium, zinc, nickel, lithium, gallium and other critical raw materials produced within resilient European value chains.
