LONDON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The EU has chosen PriceWaterhouseCoopers and a Slovak software company to develop a 9 million euro ($9.4 million) joint purchasing platform for critical minerals and energy, according to a European Commission source and a document seen by Reuters.
The platform will have three separate mechanisms for strategic raw materials, hydrogen, and energy products such as natural gas and biomethane, said the source, who declined to be named.
The final details of the platform are still being decided, other EU sources said.
Splitting the platform into three areas follows industry concern about the difficulty of combining the trading of 17 critical minerals, natural gas and hydrogen due to differences in market structure for each commodity.
The bloc wants to pool buying orders to hand participants more leverage to achieve better deals and prices for critical minerals essential for the green transition, which are traded in thin and opaque markets often dominated by China.
The latest developments come as U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday the
European Union should step up U.S. oil and gas imports or face tariffs on the bloc's exports.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday the EU wants to
...