What does ‘criticality’ really mean and how is it determined?

“Criticality” does not necessarily refer to scarcity. Raw materials can be classified as “critical” by the EU based on three criteria:

• They have significant economic importance for EU’s key sectors and for a wide range of commercial and governmental applications: green technology, telecommunications, aerial imaging, aviation, medical devices, micro-electronics, transportation, defence, space exploration, and other high-technology products and services.
• They have a high-supply risk due to the very-high import dependence and high level of concentration in particular countries.
• There is a lack of (viable) substitutes, due to the unique and reliable properties of these materials.

As a result, EU industry, the environment, and our modern way of life is ‘critically’ reliant on access to these raw materials.