The move aims to cut reliance on dominant producer China and give more power to regional buyers
1-MIN READ1-MIN ListenReutersPublished: 12:45am, 14 Apr 2026The European Union on Monday launched the critical minerals section of its energy and materials procurement platform, which aims to give more power to regional buyers and cut dependence on dominant producer China by aggregating their purchases.
The platform connects buyers with suppliers, but leaves the two sides to finalise trades.
The first round of connections between buyers and sellers will start on April 13, the spokesperson said, and will focus on “immediately and soon-to-be-available rare earths, battery and defence raw materials”. The results will be announced in September.
Last year, the EU chose PriceWaterhouseCoopers and a Slovak software company to develop its €9 million platform, which has separate mechanisms for strategic raw materials, hydrogen, and energy products such as natural gas and biomethane.
