Italy responds to CRM Act: re-starting from strategic projects

The European Commission has launched the CRM Act in spring 2024 and adopted the Regulation 2024/1252 in 1 year record time. With a similar fast-track process, the EC has recognized 47 strategic projects for the EU, in March 2025 through the Commission Decision C (2025) 1904 final.
These are signals that secure and sustainable access to critical raw materials (CRM) for green and digital transitions are not anymore just a concern but are being turned into structured planning & concrete actions. This session, organized by the ECOMONDO Scientific Committee, the University of Torino, and the European Commission JRC, brings together key players, including the government, the geological survey, research bodies and industry to discuss key elements of an Italian response to the CRM Act. The session equally builds on a necessary dialogue and synergies at EU and international level, without which single-nation efforts or un-balanced national strategies are unlikely to reach the critical mass and obtain meaningful results.

Session Chairs

Gian Andrea Blengini, University of Turin
Serenella Sala, JRC

Programme

14.30 Introduction by the Chairs

14.40 The National Fund in support of CRM projects.
Current activities in response to the Europe’s Critical Raw Materials Act. Strategic projects and the Italian way forward
Francesco Tenuta or Alberto Castronovo, Italian Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT)

15.00 Current state of implementation of Europe’s Critical Raw Materials Act.
Focus on Strategic Projects (round 1 and launch of round 2). A high-level keynote to frame the role of EO within the EU’s strategic vision for raw materials, highlighting synergies with the Green Deal Industrial Plan and the Net-Zero Industry Act
Gerardo Herrera, European Commission - DG GROW

15.20 The EC’s Raw Materials Information System (RMIS):
understanding key drivers of supply risks and solutions related to circularity and advanced materials Serenella Sala, European Commission - JRC

15.30 Panel discussion: major developments in Italy in response to the CRM Act
Coordination among major players. Industry perspectives. The EU and international dimension. The role of science, R&D and science for policy of strategic projects to enhance circularity and control environmental impacts.

Panelists:
Francesca Salvemini, Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security
Key contribution: strategic projects for the EU (4 in Italy on recycling, out of 10 in the EU)

Fiorenzo Fumanti, ISPRA
Key contribution: the National Exploration Programme (PNE) and the mapping of extractive waste (URBES)

Erika Ingvald Griffith, UNECE
Key contribution: application and benefits of the United Nations Framework Classification (UNFC) to extractive or recycling projects in Italy

Nello Li Pira, Stellantis
Key contribution: Strategies for a secure and sustainable supply of CRMs for the automotive sector

Eugenio Salvaia, Imerys
Key contribution: projects in the pipeline in Italy for the production of silica sand (silicon metal grade), feldspar and natural graphite, as well as lithium in France

Claudia Baranzelli, OECD
Key contribution: Geospatial data to map and handle internal/external constraints to the uptake of strategic projects (tecnological, social, financial, etc.).

16.20 Wrap-up by the Chairs