RAW MATTERS is a podcast about the critical metals and minerals shaping our shared future, created at SOLVOMET R&T Centre in Leuven, Belgium. The podcast is hosted by SIM2 Director Peter Tom Jones (SIM² KU Leuven), together with co-hosts Julia Poliscanova (Transport & Environment) and Prof. Bart Blanpain (SIM² KU Leuven). Through open discussions, the podcast Raw Matters explores how we can build resilient, responsible, and diversified raw materials systems to support Europe’s green and digital transitions.
From February to April 2026, the podcast brought together experts from industry, academia, policy, and civil society to unpack some of the biggest questions around critical raw materials. And one message comes through again and again: critical minerals are no longer a niche topic for specialists. They sit right at the centre of geopolitics, industrial strategy, climate action, defence, and Europe’s future competitiveness.
Now that Season 1 has reached its midpoint, it feels like the perfect moment to look back at the first six episodes and the conversations we have had so far.
These first episodes showed just how interconnected everything really is. Steel, batteries, energy policy, labour rights, security, industrial resilience… it all comes back to raw materials. And the discussions were not only technical, but also very human, sometimes controversial, and always relevant to the world we are living in today.
Episodes 1–6
1. "Critical mineral supply chains have become battlefields"
[Peter Tom Jones & Julia Poliscanova]
Watch episode 1 on Youtube
2. "The future of green steel in Europe"
[Peter Tom Jones, Bart Blanpain & Adolfo Aiello]
Watch episode 2 on Youtube
3. “To 'Made in Europe with China' in EU’s battery sector?”
[Peter Tom Jones, Julia Poliscanova, Henry Sanderson]
Watch episode 3 on Youtube
4. “Is ETS an old Nokia phone in a smart phone world?”
[Peter Tom Jones, Bart Blanpain, Jos Delbeke]
Watch episode 4 on Youtube
5. “Bringing in the worker’s perspective in the CRM/cleantech ESG debate”
[Judith Kirton-Darling, Julia Poliscanova, Peter Tom Jones]
Watch episode 5 on Youtube
6. “Minerals, Missiles & Megawatts”
[Albéric Mongrenier, Julia Poliscanova, Peter Tom Jones]
Watch episode 6 on Youtube
How to watch or listen to Raw Matters:
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel
- Subscribe to our Spotify
- Follow us on LinkedIn
If you have been following the podcast already, thank you for being part of the conversation. And if you are just discovering RAW MATTERS now, this is the perfect moment to jump in! We would also really appreciate it if you shared the podcast with colleagues, friends, students, or anyone interested in Europe’s industrial future. Critical minerals affect all of us, much more than many people realise, and the discussion is only becoming more important.
