About the project
Welcome to Critical Matters!
Critical Matters is MiXi Center's EU co-funded Nordic initiative dedicated to increasing the visibility of organizations, innovations, and solutions contributing to a more sustainable and resilient critical raw materials value chain.
The project aims to make this sector more accessible and easier to navigate while fostering collaboration that drives innovation, systemic change, and action.
We take a broad view of the ecosystem, covering organizations working on circular economy solutions, resource efficiency, responsible production, and other innovations, technologies, services, research, and initiatives that reduce environmental and social impacts across the critical raw materials value chain.
The Critical Matters database is public, free to access, and designed as a shared resource for companies, startups, researchers, investors, public sector organizations, and other stakeholders. By making these organizations easier to discover, the database supports collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovation.
Organizations are included in the database based on whether their activities align with the project's scope and contribute to a more sustainable and resilient critical raw materials ecosystem. Currently it is focused on Finland, and the aim is gradually expanding across Europe and beyond.
Content sourcing and updates
As a publicly accessible, EU co-funded initiative, maintaining accurate and up-to-date information is a key priority. We rely on organizations to help us verify and improve the data so the database remains a reliable resource for the community.
If your organization is already included and you would like to update your information, report an error, or provide feedback, please use this form, or send us an email to criticalmatters@mixicenter.com.
If your organization is not yet included, you can apply using this form.
All submissions are reviewed against the project's criteria before being added to the database.
Critical Matters also publishes a bi-weekly newsletter featuring innovative organizations, technologies, research, policy developments, funding opportunities, and collaboration initiatives. Subscribe here to stay up to date with the latest developments.
If you have any questions and are interested in collaborating with the project or being featured in the newsletter, contact us at criticalmatters@mixicenter.com.
About MiXi
MiXi acts as a dynamic ecosystem catalyst, accelerating the transition to a circular economy by empowering entrepreneurship through tailored programs, curated events, and multi-sector collaboration. We recognize that circular innovation requires coordinated effort across actors and value chains—rethinking supply chains, integrating digital solutions, optimizing logistics, and improving operational systems. In this context, MiXi serves as a bridge between the linear and circular economy, while also connecting investors, startups, and companies seeking to engage with Europe's evolving circular innovation landscape.
How to use the database
- Database — the main page. Browse every organization as a card grid. Use the filters on the left to narrow by organization type, material, value-chain step and location, or search by name.
- Details — click an organization to open its panel. Materials, value-chain steps, partners and portfolios are clickable, so you can hop between related entries.
- Industry Updates — recent funding, policy, research, industry and consortia/partnership news from the ecosystem, filterable by category.
Classification criteria
To make the database easier to navigate and compare organizations across the ecosystem, entries are categorized according to their position in the value chain, organization type, and the raw materials they work with.
Value chain categories
The high-level value chain categories are based on the framework presented in a study by the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) and the Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA). The categories reflect the different stages involved in securing, processing, using, and recovering critical raw materials within a circular economy.
- Exploration — activities focused on identifying, assessing, and characterizing mineral and ore deposits.
- Mining — extraction and preparation of raw materials for further processing. This category also includes activities related to mine tailings, secondary resources, and urban mining.
- Processing — the treatment and refining of ores and concentrates through pyrometallurgical, hydrometallurgical, and other processing technologies.
- Manufacturing — the transformation of refined minerals and metals into components, products, and technologies. This category also includes material substitution solutions that reduce dependency on critical raw materials.
- Use Phase — solutions that improve the utilization of products and materials during their use, including sharing models, repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing, and product-life extension strategies that reduce demand for virgin materials.
- Recycling and Recovery — the collection, recycling, and recovery of manufacturing scrap and end-of-life products to return valuable materials back into the economy.
- Entire Value Chain — organizations, projects, and initiatives working across multiple stages of the value chain. This often includes research organizations, ecosystem initiatives, and collaborative projects spanning several categories.
Organization types
Organizations are categorized according to their primary role within the ecosystem:
- Ecosystem Organization — networks, clusters, industry associations, and ecosystem-building initiatives.
- Company — private companies, including startups, scale-ups, SMEs, and established corporations.
- State-Owned Company — companies owned or majority-owned by public authorities.
- Government / Public Authority — municipal, regional, national, or European public sector organizations.
- Academia / Research — universities, research institutes, and scientific organizations.
- Accelerator / Incubator — organizations supporting the growth and development of startups and innovation.
- Investor — venture capital funds, corporate investors, angel investors, and other financing organizations.
- Project — research projects, innovation projects, and collaborative initiatives led by universities, companies, public authorities, or ecosystem actors.
- Consultancy / Services — organizations providing expertise, advisory services, software, technology, or other enabling services that support circular solutions.
Raw materials
The database primarily focuses on solutions related to Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) identified by the European Union due to their high economic importance and supply risk. However, recognizing that circularity often extends beyond official CRM lists, the database also includes organizations working with other strategically important raw materials and minerals that contribute to resource resilience and circular value chains.
Examples of Critical Raw Materials include:
- Antimony
- Arsenic
- Bauxite / Aluminium
- Beryllium
- Bismuth
- Boron
- Cobalt
- Copper
- Feldspar
- Fluorspar
- Gallium
- Germanium
- Hafnium
- Helium
- Heavy Rare Earth Elements
- Light Rare Earth Elements
- Lithium
- Magnesium
- Manganese
- Natural Graphite
- Nickel
- Niobium
- Phosphate Rock
- Phosphorus
- Platinum Group Metals (PGMs)
- Scandium
- Silicon Metal
- Strontium
- Tantalum
- Titanium Metal
- Tungsten
- Vanadium
In addition to these materials, the database may include organizations working with other minerals, metals, industrial by-products, and secondary resources where their activities contribute to the development of more circular, resilient, and sustainable raw material value chains.