Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Critical raw materials
Critical raw materials (CRM), also referred to as critical materials or critical minerals, are raw materials designated by governments as critical for their economies. There is no single list of such materials, as the list varies from country to country, as does the definition of "critical". Critical raw materials usually include technology-critical elements, rare-earth elements, and/or strategic materials. Demand has risen and prices have dropped for some critical minerals, due to the demand driven by the expansion of renewable energy technologies.
Analyzing the historical development of country approaches to critical materials, David Peck discusses the interplay between those that emphasize economic growth ("tech will fix it") and those that argue that finite resources will be exhausted ("limits to growth"). These two approaches are a feature of debate around critical materials and both are important, while countries also act in self-interest as well as responding to geopolitical tensions.
"Critical minerals" or "critical raw materials" are raw materials designated by governments as critical for their economies. There is no single list of such materials, as the list varies from country to country, as does the definition of "critical". They are often referred to as "CRMs".
For advanced industrial economies the commonly used terms "critical minerals" or "critical raw materials" refer to materials required for their strategic industries where there is a risk of interruption to supply. The Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) is a transnational association whose members seek to secure a stable supply of raw materials for their economies. On 5 April 2024, MSP partners launched the Minerals Security Partnership Forum to enhance cooperation in respect of CRM critical to "green and digital transitions".
According to the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF), criticality has no agreed definition, varies with time, and is specific to country and context.
The United States 2023 Final Critical Materials List includes critical materials for energy (sometimes known as the "electric 18") together with 50 critical minerals. The 2025 Critical Mineral List included ten new minerals.
Lists of CRMs were published by the European Commission in 2011, 2014, 2017, 2020, and 2023. The fifth list of 34 CRMs was published in Annex II of the Regulation proposal COM(2023). The Critical Raw Materials Act came into effect in the European Union on 23 May 2024. It specifies a list of 34 CRMs, including 17 raw materials considered strategic. The EU is mostly dependent on imports for these minerals: , 100% of its supply of heavy rare-earth elements (REEs) comes from China; 99% of its supply of boron from Turkiye; and South Africa provides 71% of its needs for platinum and an even greater percentage of iridium, rhodium, and ruthenium.
The Critical Minerals Strategy, Resilience for the Future was published in July 2022, updated in March 2023. As of December 2024, the UK does not produce any of the 18 identified highly critical CRM while a watchlist of increasingly critical materials includes Iridium, Manganese, Nickel, Phosphates and Ruthenium.
Hub AI
Critical raw materials AI simulator
(@Critical raw materials_simulator)
Critical raw materials
Critical raw materials (CRM), also referred to as critical materials or critical minerals, are raw materials designated by governments as critical for their economies. There is no single list of such materials, as the list varies from country to country, as does the definition of "critical". Critical raw materials usually include technology-critical elements, rare-earth elements, and/or strategic materials. Demand has risen and prices have dropped for some critical minerals, due to the demand driven by the expansion of renewable energy technologies.
Analyzing the historical development of country approaches to critical materials, David Peck discusses the interplay between those that emphasize economic growth ("tech will fix it") and those that argue that finite resources will be exhausted ("limits to growth"). These two approaches are a feature of debate around critical materials and both are important, while countries also act in self-interest as well as responding to geopolitical tensions.
"Critical minerals" or "critical raw materials" are raw materials designated by governments as critical for their economies. There is no single list of such materials, as the list varies from country to country, as does the definition of "critical". They are often referred to as "CRMs".
For advanced industrial economies the commonly used terms "critical minerals" or "critical raw materials" refer to materials required for their strategic industries where there is a risk of interruption to supply. The Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) is a transnational association whose members seek to secure a stable supply of raw materials for their economies. On 5 April 2024, MSP partners launched the Minerals Security Partnership Forum to enhance cooperation in respect of CRM critical to "green and digital transitions".
According to the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF), criticality has no agreed definition, varies with time, and is specific to country and context.
The United States 2023 Final Critical Materials List includes critical materials for energy (sometimes known as the "electric 18") together with 50 critical minerals. The 2025 Critical Mineral List included ten new minerals.
Lists of CRMs were published by the European Commission in 2011, 2014, 2017, 2020, and 2023. The fifth list of 34 CRMs was published in Annex II of the Regulation proposal COM(2023). The Critical Raw Materials Act came into effect in the European Union on 23 May 2024. It specifies a list of 34 CRMs, including 17 raw materials considered strategic. The EU is mostly dependent on imports for these minerals: , 100% of its supply of heavy rare-earth elements (REEs) comes from China; 99% of its supply of boron from Turkiye; and South Africa provides 71% of its needs for platinum and an even greater percentage of iridium, rhodium, and ruthenium.
The Critical Minerals Strategy, Resilience for the Future was published in July 2022, updated in March 2023. As of December 2024, the UK does not produce any of the 18 identified highly critical CRM while a watchlist of increasingly critical materials includes Iridium, Manganese, Nickel, Phosphates and Ruthenium.