With Serbia off-limits, Moon slated for mining – Driven by critical resource anxieties, Europe looking skyward

A merciless fight for energy resources on a global level has been going on for some time now, and Europe, which feels like it’s lagging behind in that race, is trying to turn to new energy sources - in space, no less.

The most recent EC’s Strategic Foresight report for 2025 says that the intensifying global competition for critical resources could foster new alliances between state and private actors aimed at establishing OPEC-style dominance of specific resources or technologies, which may restrict access to essential materials.

– The Union’s reliance on imports of these materials, combined with the often high concentration of supply in a few countries along the value chain (both in extraction and processing), poses serious economic and security risks, especially given that the export restrictions on industrial raw materials have seen a more than five-fold increase since 2009 – the report says.

The EC sees a solution in “innovation in circular economy practices and advanced mining technologies including space mining, starting with the Moon.”

The Commission points out that, since the first Strategic Foresight report in 2020, “the global order has been shaken tremendously,” and that “it is time to step up both on preparedness and resilience to preserve and re-establish the EU as a strong player in this changing world.”

In the part pertaining to energy security, the report cites that, in 2023, the EU imported 58% of its energy.

Fearing Russian and Chinese domination in the field of energy sources and technology, Europe, according to this document, is not giving up on “clean energy,” and says that by investing in home-grown clean energy and energy efficiency, the EU reinforces its autonomy and builds a more resilient low-cost energy system for the future.

– Accelerating the clean energy transition is therefore not only vital for achieving climate goals but also a strategic imperative to reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports and shield the EU from geopolitical shocks, such as those that it has faced from Russia’s weaponization of energy. By strengthening energy security, the EU could reduce fossil fuel import spending by EUR 2.8 trillion between 2031 and 2050, compared with the 2011–2020 average – the report says.

Politico sums it up well when it writes that geopolitical instability is clearly forcing Europe to look to space to ensure its energy security in a collapsing world order, knowing that metals such as lithium, copper, nickel and rare earth elements are key to renewable energy sources and electric vehicles, and that very little of them is mined within the EU.

It also reminds that in June this year the Commission published its Vision for the European Space Economy, in which it estimates that the so-called space resources could be worth up to 170 billion euros between 2018 and 2045.

And when it comes to “earthly” resources, with a special focus on copper and lithium as key minerals, Politico states that in the next 25 years, in accordance with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, the world will have to mine as much copper as has been mined in total throughout human history, and the situation is similar with lithium.

– The European Commission expects EU demand for lithium for batteries to be 12 times higher in 2030 than in 2020, and 21 times higher in 2050. But the EU currently produces no lithium at all. The EU’s small and densely populated territory, strong environmental protections, and active civil society make it a difficult environment for mines to open, even when resources are discovered. People don’t want mines in their backyards, as evidenced by the failure of mining giant Rio Tinto to open a lithium mine in Serbia – writes Politico.

Incidentally, Europe has been planning to mine the Moon since 2019, when it was announced that the European Space Agency would begin exploring the extraction of lunar regolith (Moon rock) by 2025 at the latest, which has apparently not happened yet.

Down on Earth, at least when it comes to Serbia, the situation is no more certain: Rio Tinto had previously planned to complete the construction of an underground lithium mine in western Serbia in 2026 and start production in 2027, but this was thwarted by protests from environmental groups.

The Serbian government halted the project in 2023, only for the Constitutional Court to declare the government’s decision unconstitutional last summer. Just a few days later, Serbia signed a Memorandum of Strategic Partnership on Sustainable Raw Materials with the EU, and in June this year, the European Commission included Jadar among its strategic projects outside the EU.

Recently, Chad Blewitt, Rio Tinto’s Jadar Project Managing Director, stated that the company was working to secure approval for an environmental impact assessment study and other permits, including a license for an exploitation field, to proceed with the Jadar lithium project, while the latest information about the project came from Milan Nic, an expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), who claims to have reliable information based on which he is certain that nothing will come of Jadar.

B. P.

European Commission

Rio Tinto

Jadar

Moon mining

lithium

copper

critical raw materials