EU Energy ministers discuss alternatives for Russian gas
“Graphite, the largest mineral component used in batteries, is of particular concern. There is no EU-mined supply of manganese ore or coke, the precursor to synthetic graphite.”
The EU Critical Raw Materials Act has set various ambitious goals to improve the resilience of its critical mineral supply chains. The act includes non-binding targets to develop enough mining capacity within the EU to meet 10% of its critical mineral demand. In May 2024 the law came into effect.
The act also sets a target to meet 40% of the demand by processing within the EU and 25% through recycling. The table below shows the scale of the challenge the EU faces. This data of July 2024is from the Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Synthetic graphite is not included in this data.

Except for nickel, none of the battery minerals deemed strategic by the EU are on track to meet these goals. Graphite, the largest mineral component in batteries, is particularly concerning. There is no EU-mined supply of manganese ore or coke, the precursor to synthetic graphite.
By 2030, the European Union is expected to supply 16,000 tons of ‘flake graphite’ locally, compared to a domestic mining target of 45,000 tons. The region is forecasted to produce 29,000 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), compared to a target of 46,000 tons. In terms of mineral processing, the EU is expected to process 25% of its lithium requirements, 76% of nickel, 51% of cobalt, 36% of manganese, and 20% of flake graphite.
It is forecasted that the EU will recycle only 22% of its lithium needs, 25% of nickel, 26% of cobalt, and 14% of manganese. Graphite is not yet recycled on a commercial scale. A visualization of the total cobalt supply from the top 10 producers in 2030 is provided here.