Europe’s push to rebuild its defence capabilities is no longer just a question of budgets, factories, or military procurement. It is increasingly a question of critical minerals supply chains. The same raw materials that power electric vehicles, wind turbines, and batteries are also essential for producing ammunition, drones, missiles, radar systems, aircraft, satellites, and electronic warfare technologies.
As Europe accelerates its rearmament cycle, mining, metallurgy, and defence procurement are converging into a single strategic system: an industrial-security complex built on critical raw materials.
Rearmament Turns Critical Minerals into a Strategic Defence Issue
Under the ReArm Europe / Readiness 2030 framework, the EU plans to mobilize up to €800 billion in defence spending, supported by the SAFE instrument offering €150 billion in long-term loans for military procurement. While most attention focuses on tanks, air defence systems, drones, and missiles, the deeper constraint is often overlooked: Europe’s dependence on imported raw materials needed to manufacture them.
Modern defence systems are mineral-intensive. Key dependencies include:
- Tungsten for armour-piercing ammunition and high-heat components
- Rare earth elements for precision-guided weapons and drone motors
- Gallium and germanium for radar, infrared optics, and semiconductors
- Titanium for aircraft and missile structures
- Graphite and lithium for batteries and field power systems
- Platinum group metals, cobalt, manganese, aluminum, and beryllium for advanced defence engineering
These materials define Europe’s ability to scale military production—not just design it.
NATO Defines 12 Defence-Critical Raw Materials
In December 2024, NATO formalized its defence-critical raw materials list, including:
aluminium, beryllium, cobalt, gallium, germanium, graphite, lithium, manganese, platinum group metals, rare earths, titanium, and tungsten.
This list is significant because it:
- Aligns defence planning with industrial supply chains
- Highlights vulnerabilities in global sourcing
- Extends defence security into mining, refining, and recycling sectors
It also makes clear that defence production is no longer only about weapons manufacturers—it depends on an entire ecosystem of mines, smelters, chemical processors, recyclers, and stockpiles.
Ukraine War Exposes Europe’s Ammunition and Material Gaps
The war in Ukraine has sharply exposed Europe’s industrial limitations, particularly in ammunition production. Companies such as Rheinmetall, BAE Systems, KNDS, Nexter, Eurenco, and Nammo are rapidly expanding capacity for 155mm artillery shells, explosives, and propellants.
Rheinmetall alone aims to reach 1.5 million shells per year by 2027, including major investments such as a Lithuanian production facility expected to begin operations in 2026. Scaling ammunition output requires more than assembly lines. It depends on secure supplies of:
- Energetic chemicals
- Metal casings and alloys
- Precision components
- Critical minerals like tungsten and antimony
This is where Europe’s vulnerability becomes structural.
Tungsten: The Backbone of Europe’s Defence Metals Strategy
Among all defence-critical minerals, tungsten has become one of the most strategically important. Its properties—extreme density, hardness, and heat resistance—make it essential for:
- Armour-piercing ammunition
- Military-grade drilling and cutting tools
- Aerospace components
- High-performance engineering systems
Europe has limited tungsten production, and global supply is heavily concentrated. Chinese export restrictions have further tightened availability. The EU has therefore included tungsten in its first strategic raw materials stockpile initiative, alongside rare earths and gallium.
Key European Tungsten Projects
- Hemerdon Mine (UK, Devon) – operated by Tungsten West, considered one of the largest non-Chinese tungsten sources, with potential to supply a significant share of global output outside China
- Panasqueira Mine (Portugal) – one of Europe’s longest-running tungsten operations, managed by Almonty Industries
- Sangdong Project (South Korea) – a major allied supply source under development by Almonty, often viewed as critical for Western defence security
Smaller Iberian projects in Spain and Portugal further diversify supply, reinforcing a multi-source resilience strategy rather than reliance on a single producer.
Rare Earth Magnets: The Hidden Core of Modern Weapons Systems
Rare earth elements—particularly neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium—are essential for high-performance permanent magnets used in:
- Drone motors
- Missile guidance systems
- Radar and sonar
- Electric actuators
- Electronic warfare platforms
Europe remains heavily dependent on imported Chinese magnets, creating a strategic vulnerability across both civilian and defence industries.
Europe’s Emerging Magnet Industry
- Neo Performance Materials (Estonia, Narva) – targeting up to 5,000 tonnes/year of magnet production
- VAC (Germany, Hanau) – long-established supplier for high-end defence applications
- Solvay (France, La Rochelle) – developing rare earth separation, including heavy rare earths
Together, these projects represent the foundation of a future European magnet supply chain, but capacity remains limited compared to global demand.
Recycling Becomes a Defence Resource Strategy
Recycling is increasingly part of Europe’s defence materials planning.
Key initiatives include:
- HyProMag (UK) – rare earth magnet recycling in Birmingham
- MagREEsource (France) – circular magnet production systems
- Carester (France, Lacq) – rare earth separation and processing
Recycling offers a strategic advantage: it converts end-of-life electronics, motors, and turbines into domestic raw material streams. Recycling alone cannot meet near-term military demand due to limited scrap availability.
Gallium and Germanium: The Semiconductor Battlefield
Gallium and germanium sit at the intersection of defence, aerospace, and advanced electronics.
They are essential for:
- Radar systems
- Infrared optics
- Satellite communications
- High-frequency semiconductors
- Power electronics
Europe’s Key Project
- METLEN (Greece) – supported by a €90 million European Investment Bank loan, targeting up to 50 tonnes/year of gallium by 2028
This makes METLEN one of Europe’s most important defence-linked by-product recovery projects, combining industrial metals with semiconductor supply security.
Antimony: The Overlooked Ammunition Risk
Although not officially on NATO’s critical list, antimony is vital for:
- Ammunition production
- Flame retardants
- Batteries
- Solar glass and electronics
China’s export restrictions have already disrupted global supply, with EU shipments reportedly halted and prices surging sharply. This highlights a key reality: some defence-critical materials cannot be easily substituted or quickly mined, making stockpiling and recycling essential.
Titanium: Aerospace and Missile Dependency
Titanium is essential for:
- Aircraft structures
- Missile systems
- Naval engineering
- Engine components
Europe’s aerospace giants—including Airbus, Dassault, Leonardo, BAE Systems, Saab, Thales, MBDA, and Safran—depend heavily on stable titanium supply chains. Geopolitical exposure to Russia and China in titanium processing further increases risk, making supply diversification a strategic priority.
Battery Metals Enter Defence Planning
Battery materials such as lithium, graphite, cobalt, manganese, and nickel are now part of defence logistics.
They power:
- Drones and loitering munitions
- Field communication systems
- Electric military vehicles
- Autonomous platforms
Key European projects include:
- Talga (Sweden, Vittangi) – active anode materials for batteries
- GreenRoc (Greenland, Amitsoq) – large-scale graphite supply for battery production
Battery autonomy is increasingly seen as a component of military operational independence.
Policy Shift: Europe Builds a Strategic Stockpile System
The EU is preparing its first coordinated critical minerals stockpile, focusing initially on:
- Tungsten
- Rare earth elements
- Gallium
Future additions may include graphite, magnesium, and germanium.
Potential storage hubs include:
- Rotterdam (logistics hub)
- Porto Marghera (Italy)
- Trieste (Italy)
This marks the beginning of a European defence materials reserve system.
G7 Expands Critical Minerals Security Strategy
At the June 2026 G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, leaders launched a critical minerals alliance, aiming to:
- Reduce dependency on single non-G7 suppliers
- Improve supply chain transparency
- Coordinate stockpiling strategies
- Strengthen market monitoring through the IEA
The long-term target: reduce reliance on any single external supplier for rare earths and magnets to below 50–60% by 2030.
