Since the launch of the European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA) on 29 September 2020, over 50 new industrial and non-industrial partners have joined and endorsed the Alliance.
ERMA network consists now of more than 200 partners from over 30 countries from and outside of Europe across the entire raw materials value chain, covering primary raw materials extraction, processing, advanced materials and product design, as well as recycling. A full value chain perspective is needed to identify the most sustainable approaches to increase resilience of raw materials supply chains.
Lately, the Alliance has also been supported by North Sweden European Office, which is the Brussels representation of Norrbotten, Västerbotten, Jämtland Härjedalen and Västernorrland, the four northernmost counties of Sweden with a significant share of Europe’s most critical mineral and metals deposits. While welcoming the Alliance, North Sweden also calls for EU to include the need for sustainable base metals in the EU Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials and to give the business and research community a central role in ERMA to ensure a multi-sectorial and a multi-level governance approach.
Regions should also be involved through the Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) platform so that investments can be tailored to fit the specific needs of each territory. North Sweden also emphasizes the need to enhance innovative and sustainable efforts to optimize the early stages of the value chain including resource efficiency and improvements of processes in both exploration and extraction.
