
Earlier in the week, Reuters reported that the European Union has kicked off the process of choosing between eight bidders to create a 9-million-euro joint purchasing platform for critical minerals and energy. The bloc mooted the idea of pooling together buying orders in a bid to achieve more favorable deals and prices for critical minerals shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The EU aims to finalize a contract by the end of the year, following which it will develop sections of the platform for individual products early next year. Reuters…