Agenda, 29 October

Europe’s €300 billion battery gigafactory investment creates unlimited demand for lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite. Yet the continent controls less than 8% of the refining capacity needed to supply it. This session explores how European mining and processing developers can capture the mid-stream opportunity: accelerating projects through permitting, building cost-competitive refining capacity, and securing long-term offtake agreements with gigafactory planners. The focus: what successful European energy metals developers are doing now to win market position by 2030.

Are Europe’s raw materials ambitions match economic reality? Where does diversification genuinely reduce risk, and where does it merely relocate dependence onto European soil? Is inbound Chinese investment the answer to Europe’s battery gap, or a subtler form of the same dependence? Is China rival, partner, or both — and what would a mature European strategy look like: one that manages interdependence honestly rather than promising an independence it cannot yet build?

Project finance remains one of the decisive tests of whether Europe’s raw materials strategy can move beyond ambition. This session explores how mining and processing projects are being funded, what types of capital are available, and why many European assets still struggle to attract investment despite strong policy support. Key topics include equity financing, private capital, strategic investors, debt, public support instruments, offtake-backed funding and blended finance models. The session examines what investors are actually evaluating when they assess European projects: permitting uncertainty, cost inflation, timeline risk, commodity price exposure, power costs, technical complexity and political durability. Open questions include whether Europe’s policy frameworks are bankable enough to reduce risk, whether strategic project designation can materially improve financing conditions, and what combination of capital is most likely to support project development in the current market. The broader issue is whether Europe can create not only political momentum, but also credible investment conditions for a new generation of mining assets.

Europe does not only face a permitting challenge. It faces a legitimacy challenge. This session tackles the political and social dimension of mining head-on, asking why domestic projects continue to encounter resistance even when policymakers agree that critical raw materials are essential for climate, industry and defence. The discussion explores trust, local participation, consultation quality, land use conflicts, environmental credibility, benefits sharing and the limits of top-down policy. It also examines why some projects become symbolic political flashpoints and what developers can do differently from the earliest stages of engagement. This session stands out from a standard ESG panel by framing social licence as a core industrial variable rather than an optional communications issue. The objective is to show that no permitting deadline or strategic target will materially shift outcomes unless mining regains public legitimacy on the ground.

In Europe, project design is increasingly tied to political acceptability, environmental credibility and permitting success. This session focuses on the kinds of mine design, engineering choices and operational strategies that may improve the chances of project approval and long-term viability. Topics include underground mining methods, digital technologies, water stewardship, tailings design, progressive rehabilitation, biodiversity considerations, closure planning and “low-impact” approaches to mine development. The central issue is whether better-designed projects can reduce visible conflict, improve the quality of permitting applications and strengthen the overall case for mining in high-standard jurisdictions. At the same time, the session questions the limits of technical solutions: how far can innovation address opposition, and where do deeper issues of trust and legitimacy remain decisive? The discussion links engineering, ESG, feasibility and project readiness, highlighting the idea that in Europe the projects most likely to succeed may be those designed from the outset for a higher threshold of environmental and social performance.

A conversation around design, impact reduction, environmental performance and permitting readiness.

The final session examines how AI, Big Data, and Remote Sensing are revolutionizing both exploration and operations across the continent. By digitizing the entire value chain—from initial geological surveys to the final concentrate—companies can de-risk projects for investors and improve operational efficiency. The session will showcase how Irish and European tech firms are leading the way in “Sub-Surface Intelligence,” providing the data needed to secure the next generation of mining finance.

Forum moderators will provide a high-level overview of their respective sessions, distilling the key discussion points, participant suggestions, and core feedback.