CRMA: 46 new Strategic Projects approved in Europe. Spain and Portugal lose prominence in the second call.

The European Commission has kept the number of recognised projects broadly stable, but their geographical distribution and breakdown by raw material have changed significantly. Spain has gone from seven projects to two, while Portugal has dropped from four to one.

On 9 October 2026, the European Commission published the results of the second selection of Strategic Projects under the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), approving 46 new projects across 16 Member States, compared with the 47 projects recognised in March 2025.

The second call, which closed on 15 January 2026, received 102 applications for projects located in the EU, of which 92 were assessed. In the end, 46 projects were recognised, representing 50% of the applications evaluated.

With this second selection, the EU now has 93 recognised Strategic Projects within its territory, in addition to the 13 projects selected in third countries in 2025.

Spain and Portugal: a significant decline

One of the most striking results is the evolution of Spain and Portugal.

Spain has gone from 7 recognised projects in 2025 to 2 in 2026, a decrease of 71.4%. Portugal has fallen from 4 to 1, representing a 75% reduction.

By contrast, Germany has increased from 3 to 8 projects, while the Netherlands has gone from none to 4. France has decreased from 8 to 5 and Finland from 6 to 5.

[CHART 1. Comparison of recognised projects by country, 2025–2026]

These figures should be interpreted correctly: they reflect the new recognitions granted in each call, not the loss of strategic status of projects selected previously.

Nor do they allow us to conclude that Spain or Portugal submitted fewer applications, or that their success rates worsened, since the Commission has not published a breakdown of applications and assessments by country.

The three projects recognised in the Iberian Peninsula

Two projects have been added in Spain:

Cobre San Rafael Project, promoted by Cobre San Rafael S.L., corresponds to the Touro and O Pino copper extraction project in A Coruña.

EU APT Tungsten Plant, promoted by Abenójar Tungsten S.A., is a tungsten processing plant planned in Puertollano (Ciudad Real). It should be noted that the same company obtained strategic recognition in 2025 for the El Moto mining project, located in Abenójar.

In Portugal, the only new recognised project is the Borralha Mining Project, promoted by Minerália – Minas, Geotecnia e Construções, Lda. It is a tungsten extraction project in Montalegre, Vila Real district.

Portugal obtained four recognitions in the first call: Barroso Lithium Project, Romano Mine, Lift One, and the integrated project Lombador North Phase 2, Semblana and 3rd SILO.

Significant changes in raw materials

The analysis of the raw materials covered by the recognised projects also reveals important differences compared with 2025.

Copper has increased from 10 to 19 projects, while lithium has decreased from 18 to 7. There has also been a notable rise in projects related to bauxite, alumina and aluminium, increasing from 1 to 9.

Nickel has increased from 10 to 12 projects, while graphite has decreased from 11 to 4.

[CHART 2. Evolution by raw material, 2025–2026]

These figures should be interpreted bearing in mind that a single project may contribute to the supply of several raw materials. Therefore, the counts by material are not directly additive.

This evolution does not necessarily imply a lower strategic priority for lithium, but rather a different composition of the projects recognised in each selection.

Recycling gains particular prominence

Of the 46 new projects, 8 relate exclusively to extraction, 11 to processing and 19 to recycling. The remaining 8 are integrated projects: 3 combine extraction and processing, while 5 combine processing and recycling.

Therefore, 24 projects, more than half of those recognised, include recycling activities.

The selection covers 15 of the 17 strategic raw materials included in the CRMA, helping to strengthen European supply chains and reduce external dependence.

However, strategic recognition alone does not guarantee project financing or implementation. Permitting, economic viability, access to finance and execution capability remain determining factors.

Results for projects outside the EU are still pending

The Commission has not yet published the results for projects located outside the European Union under this second call.

The 13 Strategic Projects recognised in third countries and overseas territories correspond to the first selection, published in June 2025.

Therefore, the information currently available does not yet allow for a complete assessment of the international results of the second call.

Next call: end of 2026

The European Commission has announced that it expects to launch a new call for Strategic Projects towards the end of 2026, although the final dates and conditions have not yet been published.

Strategic recognition can facilitate permitting procedures and engagement with financial institutions, but it remains essential for projects to be technically robust, economically viable and sufficiently mature.

Ultimately, the true success of the CRMA will not be measured solely by the number of recognised projects, but by their ability to become real industrial operations and contribute to Europe’s supply security.

At Leapman, we work on studies, development and management of mining and raw materials projects, supporting project developers from project initiation through to closure.

Sources: European Commission. Decisions C(2025)1904 and C(2026)8051; official communication dated 9 October 2026.

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