Raw Materials Week 2022

Raw Materials Week 2022: Industry representatives discussed current problems and future
trends

Increasing demand for raw materials and energy due to the European Green Deal poses
enormous challenges for the mineral raw materials industry.

From 14 to 17 November, the 7th edition of the European Commission's Raw Materials
Week took place in Brussels, where a wide range of stakeholders discussed raw materials
policies and initiatives. The focus of the Raw Materials Week 2022 was the 9th high-level
conference of the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) for raw materials, organised
jointly by EUMICON and the European Commission.

The world is changing at a rapid pace. The war in Ukraine and the rise in energy prices
have shown that both the green and digital transformation must be further accelerated.
The raw materials and metals industries are at the heart of these efforts and are the
backbone of the economy and thus the guarantor of our future prosperity.

"Enormously high energy prices, a dramatically increased demand for raw materials due to
the European Green Deal and securing the competitiveness of the extractive sector and
energy-intensive industry in Europe are just three factors for which we must prepare
ourselves as quickly as possible. The annual raw materials week offers the unique
opportunity to exchange ideas with leading stakeholders, to think of new solutions in order
to make the European raw material value chains more resilient", says EUMICON Director
General Roman Stiftner.

During the high-level discussion rounds, representatives from politics, business and science
addressed the following topics:

● Coping with the energy transition
● Securing the supply of raw materials
● Critical raw materials
● Trends in innovation and skills
● Partnerships with Ukraine
● Sustainable procurement of raw materials

Adding to the EU Raw Materials Week 2022, EUMICON also hosted a high-level dinner
debate on the future of European commodity value chains.

At the heart of the debate – which this year focused on "Green Deal Materials as enablers
of the twin transitions" – lied the question of what solutions raw materials can offer for the
current challenges of our time, including energy security, the increasing importance of the
concept of strategic autonomy, and the green and digital transformation.

Invited participants included MEPs from relevant parliamentary committees as well as
stakeholders from NGOs, trade unions and think tanks.

Photo gallery - Raw Materials Week 2022
Fotogallery Dinner Debate
EUMICON Folder 2022 (pdf)
Program 9th EIP High-Level Conference (pdf)
Video
Official Event-Homepage