News: Suppliers
18 May 2026
METLEN’s strategic investment in gallium production receives ministerial approval
Multi-national industrial and energy company METLEN Energy & Metals S.A. of Athens, Greece — which operates the only vertically integrated bauxite, alumina and primary aluminium production unit in the European Union (EU) with privately owned port facilities — says that the Interministerial Committee for Strategic Investments of the Hellenic Republic has approved a new strategic investment by the firm relating to the development of gallium production capacity in Greece, along with the expansion of the nearby bauxite mines and the alumina refinery.
The total investment of about €300m has been designated as a project of strategic importance in the field of critical raw materials. Gallium is classified as a critical raw material by the European Union.
The development of local production capacity is intended to support the resilience of European industrial supply chains and reduce dependency on external sources, in line with EU policy objectives on critical raw materials and strategic autonomy.
The project is integrated within METLEN’s existing bauxite mining and alumina refining operations (Aluminium of Greece).
The investment has been approved under the Strategic Investments framework and is the first project to be included under the CISAF 6.1 aid scheme, which received European Commission approval in February 2025. The project is expected to benefit from a combination of grants and tax incentives totalling about €118m.
EIB backs Europe’s first gallium production investment with €90m for METLEN
METLEN investment in gallium production included in EU’s selected strategic projects for critical raw materials
