Europe is seeking to reduce its dependence on China for critical raw materials, yet it has still not created the demand and mechanisms needed to achieve this goal, as Evangelos Mytilineos, Executive Chairman of METLEN, warned in an interview with the Financial Times. At the center of the interview is gallium, for which METLEN is planning an annual production of up to 50 tonnes.
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Mytilineos tells Financial Times: The EU has yet to put the necessary mechanisms in place
Production is expected to begin as early as next year. As noted, METLEN’s competitive advantage lies in its exceptionally low production cost, which currently stands below $300 per kilogram — at a time when the European market price exceeds $3,000 per kilogram. The company’s target is to further reduce costs to $100 per kilogram.
Mytilineos pointed out that the EU has yet to establish the necessary financing mechanisms, demand frameworks, and commercial commitments that would allow European-produced gallium to remain within the European market. He stressed that European businesses continue to prefer Chinese-sourced product over locally produced alternatives.
The international market, however, appears far more ready to absorb METLEN’s output. Approximately 25% of the planned production has already been sold to an American technology company, with two additional agreements currently under negotiation. According to the Financial Times, gallium is a strategically significant material, and METLEN’s case highlights a broader European challenge: Europe has the capacity to competitively produce critical raw materials, but it must create the right conditions to translate that production capacity into genuine strategic autonomy.
