17/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - Raw materials are an essential part of both high tech products and everyday consumer products, such as mobile phones, thin layer photovoltaics, lithium-ion batteries, fibre optic cable, synthetic fuels, among others. Their availability, however, is increasingly under pressure according to a report published today by an expert group chaired by the European Commission. In their first ever overview on the state of access to raw materials in the EU, the experts label a selection of 14 raw materials as “critical” out of 41 minerals and metals analysed (antimony, beryllium, cobalt, fluorspar, gallium, germanium, graphite, indium, magnesium, niobium, Platinum Group Metals or PGMs, rear earths, tantalum and tungsten). The growing demand for raw materials is driven by the growth of developing economies and new emerging technologies. The results of the report will be used for the drafting of a forthcoming communication on strategies to ensure access to raw materials which the Commission will publish in autumn 2010. (O.L./transl.jl)