On January 23, 2026, Wind brought together InfraVia, Genomines and VoltR alongside several dozen investors, entrepreneurs and decision-makers to explore one of the defining questions of the decade: how can Europe secure its supply of critical metals at a time when the energy and digital transitions are accelerating and geopolitical tensions are intensifying?

The event was fully aligned with Wind’s mission: building bridges between capital and innovation to help shape a more resilient and sovereign European economy. Few issues embody this challenge as clearly as critical metals. Without nickel, lithium, cobalt or rare earths, there can be no batteries, no energy transition, and no strategic autonomy. Yet today Europe remains heavily dependent on a handful of producing countries for its supply, while refining is still quasi-monopolized by China.

The discussions were structured around three complementary perspectives: the investor view on infrastructure and critical metals (Romain Dechelette, InfraVia Capital Partners), plant-based nickel extraction (Fabien Koutchekian, Genomines), and the intelligent reuse of lithium batteries (Maxime Bleskine, VoltR). A shared conclusion emerged: Europe is not doomed to dependence. It has significant strengths—provided it knows how to mobilize them.

This is precisely the kind of ecosystem Wind aims to catalyze.

A troubling strategic dependence

The figures speak for themselves: 75% of global cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, 70% of nickel from Indonesia, and 90% of graphite from China. But the real bottleneck lies in refining, where China controls roughly 75% of global critical metals processing—rising to 95% in certain segments such as graphite and some rare earths.

Against this backdrop of geographic concentration, China is tightening export controls on dual-use materials (civilian and military), while the United States and Europe are rolling out sovereignty strategies focused on diversifying supply chains.

The time paradox: surging demand, stagnant supply

The energy transition is creating an unprecedented structural squeeze. An electric vehicle requires far more nickel, copper, graphite, manganese, cobalt and lithium than a conventional internal combustion car. A wind turbine or renewable energy park uses 10 to 15 times more metals per installed megawatt than a gas-fired power plant. Added to this is the AI and digital wave, which is driving massive demand for copper and other metals to build data centers.

The problem is timing. Developing a mining project takes, on average, 15 years from discovery to first production. Supply simply cannot keep pace with demand—even under streamlined permitting regimes.

InfraVia Capital Partners: long-term capital to finance the value chain

InfraVia has launched a thematic fund of around €1 billion dedicated to critical metals, covering the entire value chain—from mining and refining to recycling. The fund takes minority stakes in projects that are already technically de-risked, financing their scale-up under a strict ESG framework. Its 15-year lifespan is aligned with the long timelines of mining projects.

Geographically, the fund focuses on OECD countries and OECD candidates to limit country risk. Exit routes include sales to industrial players, transitions into core infrastructure assets, IPOs, or buyouts by investors seeking direct exposure to specific metals.

Romain Dechelette is clear: Europe will not secure its supply solely through imports and recycling. Where possible, mining projects will need to be redeveloped on European soil, alongside massive investment in cleaner and more efficient processing technologies.

Genomines: when plants become mines

Genomines is pursuing a radically different approach: extracting nickel using hyperaccumulator plants capable of concentrating up to 7.6% nickel in their biomass—an extraordinary level for a living organism. These plants use nickel as a defense mechanism against herbivores and insects. The startup enhances this natural system by optimizing the microbiome (symbiotic bacteria and fungi), cloning the most efficient plants, and genetically sterilizing them to prevent uncontrolled spread.

The key advantage lies in resource accessibility. Genomines can operate on soils that are too metal-rich for agriculture but too low-grade for conventional mining, which typically requires nickel concentrations of around 1–1.2% in laterite ores. The result is a complete reshuffling of the global resource map. Genomines estimates it could operate in more than 80 countries, with a production potential exceeding current global nickel output.

The value chain is straightforward: cultivating perennial plants (planted once), harvesting and drying the biomass (which can be stored for months or even years), and producing concentrates containing 20–40% nickel that are compatible with existing infrastructure.

Economically, the model is highly competitive: target cash costs in the global first quartile, capex far lower than traditional mines, farm deployment in 1–2 years versus 12–17 years for a conventional mine, and capex payback up to three times faster.

The model is decentralized by design: agricultural sites with small, distributed processing units, and local use of biomass to generate heat and energy for surrounding communities. Today, Genomines operates pilot sites of 10–20 hectares. By 2029, the target is several thousand hectares—equivalent to a small to mid-sized mine.

VoltR: Europe’s largest lithium deposit is already here

Maxime Bleskine flips the narrative: the world’s largest lithium deposit will be in Europe—but not underground. It will be embedded in our vehicles, bikes, storage containers and electronic devices.

The numbers are stark. Known extractable lithium resources worldwide amount to 20–30 million tonnes. Electrifying one billion vehicles (at roughly 10 kg of lithium per battery) would already consume one-third of that resource, without even factoring in stationary storage. Meanwhile, over 90% of batteries placed on the European market are produced outside Europe.

VoltR’s model is simple: extract value before recycling. A battery is considered “end of life” in automotive use even though it typically retains around 80% of its storage capacity. VoltR organizes a cascade of uses:

Collection of used batteries under contracts with industrial players and eco-organizations
Non-destructive dismantling to access individual cells
Advanced diagnostics of residual capacity and degradation modes
AI-based lifetime prediction using massive accelerated-aging datasets
Reassembly of reusable cells (around 80% of the flow) with new battery management systems
Routing of heavily degraded cells (around 20%) to recycling, pre-sorted to maximize value

Remanufactured batteries target three markets—worth a combined €77 billion in Europe by 2030: light mobility (bikes, scooters), portable equipment and smart home/industrial applications, and stationary energy storage.

The impact is substantial: up to 85% lower CO₂ emissions compared with new batteries, and dramatic reductions in raw material, water and energy consumption. VoltR’s Angers facility (1,600 m²) processed around 100 tonnes of batteries in 2024. Expected flows in France by 2028 are close to one million tonnes.

Key takeaways

Europe is not resource-poor. It is surrounded by deposits that can be exploited differently, and it is becoming the world’s largest “above-ground” stock of critical metals—provided it can reuse and recycle them intelligently. There will be no sovereignty without innovation: in extraction (bio-mining), processing (new refining technologies) and end-of-life solutions (remanufacturing and recycling).

Distributed, locally anchored models—metal-hyperaccumulator farms, small remanufacturing plants, local energy production—are emerging as a credible alternative to fully centralized systems, offering greater resilience and social acceptability.

Demand for critical metals will grow faster than traditional supply capacity. Metals are becoming a geopolitical lever on par with oil and gas. In response, InfraVia is structuring the long-term capital required, Genomines is reinventing mining through biotechnology, and VoltR is proving that a significant share of the resource is already here, embedded in our everyday objects.

Wind will continue to create these spaces where patient capital, breakthrough innovation and systemic thinking intersect—because it is at these crossroads that durable solutions are built.