The EU has set ambitious goals to decarbonize, especially in transportation, accelerated by the geopolitical necessity to reduce reliance on hydrocarbons. However, the minerals and even technological know-how for the electron economy especially, sits largely outside the region. They also face stiff competition for both, especially from the US - supercharged by the IRA. How is Europe planning to compete? What are its proposed policies and goals? What is the Critical Raw Materials Act? What is the role of the commodity traders - all largely domiciled in the region. Our guest is Julia Poliscanova, Director at the Transport and Environment think tank in Brussels and a transport, battery and policy expert.