“For most critical raw materials, Europe heavily depends on importation” warns POINSSOT

As Europe confronts the hard truths of its mineral dependencies, few voices are as authoritative as Christophe Poinssot’s. Director-General Delegate of BRGM—the French geological survey and one of Europe’s leading earth science institutions—he brings a deep scientific perspective to the geopolitical scramble for critical raw materials. Ahead of the ESSEC Institute for Geopolitics & Business webinar “Securing Critical Minerals: Geopolitics, Economics, and Sustainability in a New Age of Resource Competition” (2 July), Poinssot lays out the scale of Europe’s challenge. From mining policy blind spots to the race for sovereignty, he warns: without industrial revival and public trust, Europe risks missing the moment.

Dr. Christophe POINSSOT, Director-General Delegate of BRGM

Europe is waking up to its mineral dependency. What’s the real scope of the challenge from a geological and strategic standpoint?

For roughly 30 critical raw materials (CRM), Europe depends on the importation from a single country (often China) for more than 66% of its needs. This situation is not related to European geology, but a result of the mines closure and de-industrialization in the European Union (EU) since the 80’s. However, the EU subsurface still contains CRM that should be explored and exploited for reducing dependencies and increasing our sovereignty. This should be accompanied by the development of refining and transformation industries to relocate value chains in the EU.

What blind spots still exist in European critical mineral policy? Is there a risk of confusing "supply diversification" with actual resilience?

The EU Critical Raw Material Act is very ambitious and very general, which means that it likely over-estimates the effort for some substances, and under-estimates for others. However, it shows us the ambitious and demanding pathway towards resilience and sovereignty. For the near-future, questions are mainly focused on the issue of funding (how to access sufficient investment despite the uncertainties), of acceptability (how to manage the social controversy) and of kinetics (race is already well engaged, and projects have to rapidly deliver) if the EU wants to keep in the race.

Can the EU realistically rebuild industrial capabilities in mining and refining—or should it focus on alliances and recycling?

Both! There is no single solution and it has to be discussed substance by substance, which explains part of the complexity of the overall issue. Developing mining and refining is meaningless if there is no European industry to use and transform the mineral into a product. And this is also true for recycling, which furthermore will not be sufficient to cover our needs. European and National policies should therefore focus on developing relevant and complete value chains. And as we will not be able to cover the whole spectrum, we should also rely on strategic partnership and alliances for completing our supply.

You lead one of Europe’s foremost geological agencies. What role does deep science play in reshaping political strategies for resource security?

Natural resources have been progressively forgotten in the EU since the 90’s and we lived in a dream world with no limitations, the global market being supposed to provide everything we need. However, this is definitely over and we need to integrate both the reality of the location and limitation of the mineral resources, and the time needed to access them while preserving the environment. Exploring subsurface, assessing the resource, developing safe, clean and efficient extraction processes, reducing the environmental footprint, developing mineral intelligence… a few examples of the numerous scientific challenges that we contribute to meet for securing the CRM supply.

Public resistance to mining remains strong in many democracies. What’s the path forward when sovereignty and social license clash? In a global race for access, how can France and the EU avoid simply becoming latecomers to a scramble already underway?

The social image of mining activities is rather linked to Germinal roman and Zola than innovation and digital, which is supported by our legacy and the former mining sites we have to manage in our old mining country. Acceptability is therefore a key issue and future mines will have to meet demanding and transparent criteria of low environmental footprint (water recycling, waste recycling, underground mine…), and high social acceptability (coconstruction with local communities), the so-called responsible mining. It still will have to be precisely defined, it will have to be independently auditable, and as it will increase the overall cost, we will have to protect against dumping by foreign suppliers.

ABOUT DR. CHRISTOPHE POINSSOT

Christophe POINSSOT is since 2020 the Delegate Director General of the French Geological Survey BRGM where he actively contributes defining the scientific strategy of BRGM: water and global warming, critical raw materials (CRM) and circular economy, subsurface energies, natural hazards, consolidation of the knowledge of French geology. He is highly active in the CRM field and was involved in the preparation of the Varin’s report in 2022, the launching in 2023 of the OFREMI for monitoring the CRM value chains and the launching in 2024 of the French national exploration program (IRM).

Before joining BRGM, Ch.Poinssot previously worked during 25y. in the French Atomic and Alternative Energy Commission (CEA) where he occupied several management positions while developing his scientific expertise. In particular, he directed from 2011 to 2018 the CEA research department in charge of developing the recycling technologies before being from 2018 to 2020, the Nuclear Counsellor at the French Embassy in China (Beijing).

He is an internationally recognised expert in nuclear and environmental chemistry, in particular in the field of nuclear fuel cycle (nuclear waste, environmental impact, recycling of nuclear materials). He authored more than 60 papers and 120 presentations in international conferences. He has been a member of the French Academy of Technology since 2024.

Christophe Poinssot is a former Student from the Ecole Normale Supérieure of Paris where he graduated in Earth Sciences and Materials Science. He got his PhD in Materials Science in 1997 from the Paris University and a Habilitation to Manage Research in 2007 in Chemistry from Saclay University.

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The ESSEC Institute for Geopolitics & Business was created in 2024 to help companies and leaders navigate a world of geopolitical disruption, economic fragmentation, and strategic uncertainty.

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