CRMA — Critical Raw Materials Act
EU supply security for critical raw materials. Mandatory DPP for permanent magnets from May 2027, plus EU extraction, processing, and recycling targets for 2030.
Overview
The Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) — Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 — establishes a framework for securing the EU's supply of critical and strategic raw materials. It introduces mandatory DPP/labelling requirements for permanent magnets and sets ambitious 2030 supply chain targets.
Legal basis
- Proposed: 16 March 2023
- Adopted: 11 April 2024
- Entered into force: 23 May 2024
2030 supply targets
- 10% of EU annual consumption extracted within the EU
- 40% of EU annual consumption processed within the EU
- 25% of EU annual consumption recycled within the EU
- No single third country to supply >65% of any strategic raw material
Strategic raw materials
Key SRMs include: Lithium, Cobalt, Nickel, Graphite, Rare Earth Elements, Magnesium, Manganese, Titanium, Tungsten.
Permanent magnet DPP
Products containing permanent magnets >0.2 kg are subject to mandatory DPP/labelling:
Products covered:
- Wind turbines
- Electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles
- Washing machines and washer-dryers
- Industrial motors
- MRI devices
- Heat pumps
Required DPP/label data:
- Type of permanent magnet (neodymium, ferrite, etc.)
- Weight of magnets in the product
- Physical location within the product
- Chemical composition
- Share of recycled critical raw materials (post-consumer waste)
- Instructions for safe removal of magnets
Key dates
| Date | Milestone | |------|-----------| | 23 May 2024 | Entered into force | | November 2025 | Commission adopts permanent magnet labelling format | | 24 May 2027 | Permanent magnet DPP/label mandatory | | 24 May 2029 | Recyclability requirements for MRI devices and vehicles | | 2030 | EU supply targets: 10% extraction, 40% processing, 25% recycling |
Who is affected
- Extractors of critical and strategic raw materials within the EU
- Processors of raw materials (refining, smelting, chemical processing)
- Permanent magnet manufacturers (neodymium-iron-boron, ferrite, and other compositions)
- Product manufacturers incorporating permanent magnets above 0.2 kg (wind turbine, EV, industrial motor, MRI, heat pump, washing machine manufacturers)
- Member States obligated to identify large companies using strategic raw materials in specified technologies by 24 May 2025 (Article 18)
- Strategic project applicants seeking fast-track permitting under the CRMA framework
Penalties and enforcement
Article 47 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 establishes enforcement provisions. Specific penalty amounts are set by Member States and must be effective and proportionate to the nature of the infringement. No EU-wide harmonised fine ceiling is specified in the regulation text itself.
Key enforcement consequences include:
- Market access denial for non-compliant permanent magnet products from 24 May 2027
- Prohibition on placing products on the market if mandatory DPP/label requirements are not met
- National market surveillance authority enforcement, consistent with the EU market surveillance framework (Regulation (EU) 2019/1020)
Key articles
- Article 18: Identification of large companies using strategic raw materials
- Article 29: Supply chain risk assessments (every 3 years after identification)
- Articles 30–33: Permanent magnet labelling requirements
- Article 47: Enforcement provisions
- Annex I: List of 34 critical raw materials
- Annex II: List of 17 strategic raw materials