Industrial Resilience for the Net-Zero Transition: Evidence on CRM Dependencies in Italian Manufacturing

The transition toward climate neutrality has significantly increased the strategic importance of critical raw materials (CRMs), which are essential for manufacturing key net-zero technologies. Although recent European initiatives, including the Critical Raw Materials Act and the Net-Zero Industry Act, aim to strengthen supply-chain resilience and domestic manufacturing capacity, limited evidence exists on how manufacturing firms perceive CRM-related challenges. This paper provides firm-level evidence from a survey of 141 Italian companies operating across the main Net-Zero Industry Act technological value chains. The analysis examines the relevance of different critical raw materials, firms' dependence on imports, sourcing areas, perceived supply barriers, and the strategies adopted to reduce procurement risks. Main findings reveal significant differences across technological segments. While firms widely recognize the strategic importance of critical raw materials, they differ in their level of import dependence, exposure to geopolitical risks, and preferred mitigation strategies. Supply diversification, strategic partnerships, and investments in innovation emerge as key approaches to strengthening resilience, whereas increasing raw material costs and concentration of global production remain the most relevant concerns. By providing direct evidence from manufacturing firms rather than relying solely on trade statistics, this study contributes to a better understanding of critical raw material dependency across strategic net-zero industries. The findings offer useful insights for the design of targeted industrial policies aimed at improving the resilience and competitiveness of European clean technology value chains.