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We provide advice and assistance on critical raw materials projects, including information on what kinds of permits a project might require.
We also coordinate the overall permit-granting processes for strategic projects, for example by monitoring that applications are processed within the time limit.
You can contact us by email at [email protected].
Please note that we do not provide advice on financial or investment services.
Critical raw materials are economically important materials that are needed for purposes other than energy or agricultural use. They involve a high supply risk because their availability and production are mainly concentrated in a few countries.
The following raw materials are considered critical:
- in unprocessed form, at any stage of processing and when occurring as a by-product of other extraction, processing or recycling processes
The list was updated on 10 January 2025. The European Commission may amend the list. See EUR-Lex for up-to-date information.
EUR-Lex is linked at the bottom of this page.
A critical raw materials project refers to a project involving
Extraction means the extraction of ores, minerals and plant products from their original source as a main product or as a by-product.
Processing does not include working and further transforming metal into intermediate and final goods.
Recycling refers to the reprocessing of waste materials into products, materials or substances.
The Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) of the European Parliament and of the Council entered into force on 23 May 2024.
The purpose of this regulation is to ensure the sustainable supply of critical raw materials in the EU. The regulation supports the economy of EU countries and the reduction of the use of fossil fuels.
The task of the point of contact authority under the regulation is performed in Finland by the Regional State Administrative Agency for Northern Finland.
The regulation is linked at the bottom of this page.
The point of contact authority coordinates the project permit process and helps the party responsible for a project to understand relevant administrative matters.
The Regional State Administrative Agency for Northern Finland is the national point of contact authority for critical and strategic raw materials projects in Finland.
You can send us questions and documents to [email protected].
Please use secure email when sending documents containing confidential or otherwise sensitive information. The maximum size of email messages, including attachments, is 50 MB. Larger files should be compressed or sent in multiple emails. Please remember that any information sent to us by email is at the sender’s risk.
You can also send documents by post to:
Regional State Administrative Agency for Northern Finland
Environmental permits
P.O. Box 6, 13035 AVI
A strategic raw materials project can apply for the status of a Strategic Project from the European Commission. Strategic Projects include mining, processing and recycling projects. A Strategic Project can also be a substitution project that promotes the production of raw materials that replace strategic raw materials.
More detailed criteria for Strategic Projects are listed in the Critical Raw Materials Act.
We are responsible for calculating the time limits for the overall permit-granting process for Strategic Projects and for any extensions on time limits. We also prepare a detailed schedule for each project’s overall permit-granting process in close cooperation with the authority responsible for the project and other authorities involved in the overall permit-granting process, updating the schedule if necessary.
Strategic raw materials are critical raw materials that are of high importance for the EU internal market. They are used in the technologies of the green and digital transition and in defence and aerospace applications.
The estimated global demand for strategic raw materials is typically higher than their supply. In addition, increasing the production of strategic raw materials is difficult.
The following critical raw materials are also considered strategic raw materials
- in unprocessed form, at any stage of processing and when occurring as a by-product of other extraction, processing or recycling processes
List updated on 24 February 2025. The European Commission may amend the list. See EUR-Lex for up-to-date information.
EUR-Lex is linked at the bottom of this page.
Status as a Strategic Project has the following impacts:
Status as a Strategic Project does not affect the conditions for granting a permit or provisions relating to pollution control. In addition, this status does not impair the level of environmental protection or the quality of the environmental assessments required to carry out the projects.
More information on the status of a Strategic Project, application instructions and the application form are available the European Commission’s website:
Frequently asked questions:
Questions related to the application process can also be sent directly to the European Commission to [email protected].
The overall permit-granting process refers to processing all the permits required for building and operating a project, including building, chemical and grid connection permits and mining and environmental permits.
In the overall permit-granting process of strategic projects, we are responsible for
The calculation of the time limit for the overall permit-granting process starts when the authority processing the matter concludes that the first application contains the required information or when the environmental impact assessment report has been submitted to the authority. The calculation of the time limit ends when the authority issues its decision on the last application.
We will notify the party responsible for the project of the start and end of the time limit calculation and of any changes.
The time limits for the overall permit procedure for the strategic project are as follows:
If a project has already been subject to the permit-granting process before being recognised as a Strategic Project, the total permit-granting process may not exceed:
If a project requires an environmental impact assessment, the calculation of the time limit for the overall permit-granting process starts once the assessment report has been submitted. If the assessment needs to be supplemented after a consultation, the period between the time limit for delivering the supplement and the delivery of the submission is not included in the duration of the overall permit-granting process.
No sanctions are imposed on the authorities if the time limits for the overall permit-granting process are exceeded. However, the Finnish State must ensure that the authorities processing the matter have sufficient resources and personnel to process matters within the time limits laid down in the EU regulation. In addition, the authorities responsible for the project and participating in the overall permit-granting process must ensure that the overall permit-granting process is feasible within the determined time limits.
In exceptional situations, we can extend the time limit for the overall permit-granting process if the nature, complexity, location or size of the strategic project so requires.
It is possible to extend the time limit before the expiry of the time limits
Grounds for extending the time limit could include unforeseen circumstances giving rise to the need to add to or complete environmental assessments related to the project.
The authority processing the matter must provide us with its proposal for a time limit extension and the justifications for it.
If the time limit is extended, we will notify the party responsible for the project in writing. We will accompany the notification with the grounds for the decision and the new end date of the overall permit-granting process. The decision cannot be appealed.
We will prepare a detailed schedule for the overall permit-granting process together with the authorities responsible for the project and participating in the overall permit-granting process. We will prepare the schedule within one month of concluding that the first application is sufficient or of receiving the submitted environmental impact assessment report. The party responsible for the project must publish the schedule on their website.
We will update the schedule if the end date of the overall permit-granting process changes significantly.
The permits and procedures required for a Strategic Project depend on the type of project.
Examples of permits and procedures that may be needed to implement a project are listed below.
The permits and obligations required for projects can also be viewed on the Suomi.fi website, linked at the bottom of this page.
In matters related to permit requirements, you can contact the authority processing the matter.
Project applications and documents can be sent to authorities electronically via the Luvat ja valvonta (Permits and Supervision) service and via authorities’ respective e-service channels. The service is developed continuously to better meet the needs of operators and authorities alike. The aim is to offer customers a single e-service channel and streamline cooperation between authorities.
The Permits and Supervision service is linked at the bottom of this page.
List updated on 24 February 2025.
The tasks of the authority processing matter of the Strategic Project include
Financing for critical raw materials projects can be applied from various parties.
A subgroup is to be established within the European Critical Raw Materials Board to address the financing and coordination of Strategic Projects. The promoter of a Strategic Project will be able to ask the subgroup for advice on arranging funding. We will update the page once the subgroup has been established.
The point of contact authority does not provide advice on finances and investments.
Grants and aid (Ministry of the Environment)
European Investment Bank – EIB (European Union)
Funding, grants, subsidies (European Union)
Environment and climate projects (Maaseutu.fi) (in Finnish)
Funding and grants for the Environmental Responsibility Division (ELY Centre) (in Finnish)
Business taxation (Suomi.fi)
Limited liability companies and cooperative societies (vero.fi)
Labour legislation (Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment)
This website has been published as part of a project funded by the Ministry of the Environment with funding sourced from the European Union’s NextGenerationEU.
