Critical raw materials of the green transition: geological base and metallogenic potentials of Croatia - GeoCritical

Funding source: European Union

Duration: 01.10.2025 - 30.09.2029

Principal investigator: Assist. prof. Tomislav Brenko, PhD

Budget: 90.731,73 Eur

Project summary

Critical raw materials (CRM) are essential for the European Union's transition to a green and digital economy. Their importance stems from high economic value, limited natural resources, and geopolitical vulnerability. The European Commission has adopted the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) to reduce import dependence and promote domestic production. Barite, graphite, lithium, and boron are particularly highlighted due to growing demand. Barite is used in the energy industry and medicine, but the EU relies entirely on imports. In Croatia, significant deposits exist on Petrova and Trgovska Gora. Graphite, needed for lithium-ion batteries, is found in the Slavonian mountains (Psunj, Papuk) within carbon-rich metamorphic rocks. Lithium, crucial for e-mobility, is being explored through multiple European projects, with potential also in Croatia in acidic magmatic and volcanosedimentary rocks. Boron is applied in advanced technologies, and a lithium-boron metallogenic zone exists in the western Balkans. Geological research, including geochemical and petrographic analyses and 3D modelling, is key to sustainable exploitation of raw materials. Croatia, with its geological potential, can play a significant role in securing raw materials for the EU's green and digital future.

Project goal

In view of the growing demand for critical minerals in the context of the European Union's green and digital transition, the project addresses key scientific questions related to understanding and identifying domestic sources of strategic raw materials.

The main objective of the project is to advance the scientific understanding of geological systems that represent potential sources of critical mineral raw materials (graphite, barite, lithium, and boron) at selected locations in Banovina and the Slavonian Mountains.

Team members

Read more

Members from Faculty
	Assist. prof. Tomislav Brenko, PhD University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, Croatia Homepage	Prof. Dunja Aljinović, PhD University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, Croatia Homepage
	Assist. prof. Šime Bilić, PhD University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, Croatia Homepage	Prof. Sibila Borojević Šoštarić, PhD University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, Croatia Homepage
	Assoc. prof. Vesnica Garašić, PhD University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, Croatia Homepage	Assist. prof. Pia Prašek, PhD University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, Croatia Homepage
	Assist. prof. Duje Smirčić, PhD University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, Croatia Homepage	Prof. Bruno Tomljenović, PhD University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, Croatia Homepage
	Ema Vokić, MSc University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, Croatia Homepage
External collaborators
	Prof. Dražen Balen, PhD University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Croatia Homepage	Assoc. res. sci. Ines Galović, PhD Croatian Geological Survey, Croatia Homepage
	Assist. prof. Zorica Petrinec, PhD University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Croatia Homepage	Curator Ivan Razum, PhD Croatian Natural History Museum, Croatia Homepage
	Assist. prof. Petra Schneider University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Croatia Homepage