Study on the review of the list of critical raw materials : criticality assessments ; final report

This study presents the results of a third assessment of critical raw materials for the EU. The criticality assessment is carried out since 2011 and is renewed every three years to reflect production, market and technological developments. A refined methodology developed by the European Commission was used to assess the criticality of 78 raw materials in scope (58 individual and 3 grouped materials: heavy rare earth elements, light rare earth elements, platinum group metals). The final report of the study provides a detailed discussion of the assessment's outcome, including a comparison of its results with the previous assessments (2011, 2014). It is accompanied by 75 qualitative factsheets for all the raw materials assessed, which present key facts and figures about these materials, i.a. on their supply (resources, production, trade, recycling), demand (consumption, applications, prices) and substitution. The study serves as a basis for identifying raw materials included in the updated 2017 list of critical raw materials for the EU established by the European Commission. The identification of critical raw materials at EU level is an important cross-cutting action of the EU's raw materials strategy