Italy minister sees recycling, innovation as key to ensuring raw material supplies

By Angelo Amante

ROME (Reuters) - Innovation and a more circular economy will help Italy ensure supplies of critical raw materials as part of a European-wide bid to reduce reliance on foreign imports, the energy minister said on Wednesday.

Earlier this year, the European Union unveiled a strategy to make sure the bloc can access raw materials it needs for the green transition, partly by raising its recycling capacity.

Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said Italy, one of the bloc's main industrial powers, was focused on research and innovation and had a strong recycling record on electronic waste, but more was needed to face current challenges.

"It is necessary to rethink supply chains, right from the design stage, to search for substitute materials," he told parliament during a Q&A session.

Pichetto Fratin said Italy recycled more than 35% of electronic materials related to vehicles, batteries and other energy systems, against a world average of 17.4%.

"The percentage of non-recycled products is a challenge but at the same time an opportunity to generate jobs, reduce emissions and strengthen our country's energy security," he said.

The comments came as Italy is stuck in a dispute with Swiss miner Glencore Plc, which said it may build a hub to recycle batteries elsewhere in Europe after the region of Sardinia rejected a fast-track approval for its pilot project.

EU efforts to avoid foreign dependency have intensified since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which highlighted the risks of being reliant on a single country for essential supplies.

"Even before the conflict in Ukraine, Italy had already begun working to strengthen knowledge and governance on the issue, with the establishment of the National Table of Critical Raw Materials," the minister said.

He reiterated a pledge to cover around 40% of the country's gross energy consumption through renewables by 2030, and said the government was considering offering incentives to regions linked to them meeting renewable capacity targets.

(Reporting by Angelo Amante and Francesca Landini, editing by Gavin Jones and Sharon Singleton)