EU outlines plans to ensure bloc is base for advanced materials

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission unveiled on Tuesday proposals designed to ensure EU industrial leadership in advanced materials needed for the green and digital transitions, such as metallic nano-particles in solar panels and elastomers found in smart devices.

The European Union has just passed legislation setting targets for domestic extraction, processing and recycling of critical minerals, such as lithium and nickel, for much of which it is reliant on China.

The proposals published on Tuesday cover engineered materials with innovative properties and are designed to align research and innovation priorities in the bloc.

The Commission said it had identified problems, including fragmented research, low investment, insufficient digitalisation, lack of standards, of skills and of a joint policy on international cooperation.

The EU executive aims initially to assess the research and investment needs in energy, transport, construction and electronics for materials such as bio-based insulation and thermochromic microcapsules that absorb and reflect light.

The Commission wants to see 500 million euros ($540 million) of investments in 2025-2027 in a partnership with industry under its flagship science research programme Horizon Europe.

It will also encourage public procuring bodies to increase their use of advanced materials, invest in skills and set up a Technology Council comprising ministers and industry and research representatives, including from Horizon Europe associated countries such as Britain.

The council would aim to coordinate research and investment and a strategy on international cooperation.

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(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop, editing by Ed Osmond)