近日，据路透社消息，有欧盟消息人士称，欧盟选择普华永道联合体开发矿产和能源平台。
据一位欧盟委员会消息人士和路透社看到的一份文件，欧盟已选定普华永道和一家斯洛伐克软件公司共同开发一个价值900万欧元（约合940万美元）的关键矿产和能源联合采购平台。
该消息人士称，该平台将分为三个独立机制，分别用于战略原材料、氢气以及天然气和生物甲烷等能源产品。该消息人士拒绝透露姓名。该平台的最终细节仍在敲定中。
将平台分为三个领域是为了回应行业对将17种关键矿产、天然气和氢气的交易结合起来的难度的担忧，因为每种商品的市场结构不同。
欧盟希望通过集中采购订单，使参与者能够获得更大的议价能力，从而在绿色转型所需的关键矿产上达成更好的交易和价格。
近期，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普表示，欧盟应增加对美国石油和天然气的进口，否则将面临对欧盟出口的关税。
欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯德莱恩表示，欧盟希望与特朗普接触并进行谈判。
平台将于2025年推出
普华永道和Sféra暂未回应置评请求。
路透社10月报道称，欧盟在收到八份投标书后，计划于2024年底前签署合同。
该消息人士补充说，欧盟委员会仍坚持今年晚些时候推出该平台首批元素的计划。
这八家投标者包括咨询公司德勤以及德国的Metalshu和Enmacc联合提交的方案，他们计划利用现有的金属和能源交易平台来为欧盟项目服务。
据消息人士透露，欧盟官员一直在加紧制定这一倡议，这是欧盟《关键原材料法案》（CRMA）的一个关键要素，得到了欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯德莱恩的授权。
今年5月生效的《关键矿产资源法案》旨在促进锂和稀土等用于电动汽车和风力涡轮机的关键矿产在国内的生产和加工，同时减少对中国的依赖。
天然气采购平台取得成功？
新的集中采购系统是在2022年能源危机期间推出的天然气联合采购平台AggregateEU的基础上构建而成的。
欧盟称该平台取得了成功，但欧洲审计法院的一份报告对该平台的有效性提出了质疑。该平台将买家和卖家聚集在一起，但最终的合同交易仍由各参与方自行决定。
审计报告称：“我们无法确定其相对于天然气交易平台的附加价值，也未发现AggregateEU所解决的市场失灵问题。”
欧盟尚未公布通过该平台签订的天然气合同数量，而业内消息人士称，实际交易量远低于匹配量。
行业组织欧洲天然气协会（Eurogas）在回应置评请求时表示，几乎没有证据表明该天然气平台有助于确保天然气价格更实惠。
“AggregateEU的存在并不能改变欧盟企业在竞争激烈的全球天然气市场中相互竞争的事实。”
原报道如下：
LONDON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The EU has chosen PriceWaterhouseCoopers and a Slovak software company to develop a 9 million euro ($9.4 million) joint purchasing platform for critical minerals and energy, according to a European Commission source and a document seen by Reuters.
The platform will have three separate mechanisms for strategic raw materials, hydrogen, and energy products such as natural gas and biomethane, said the source, who declined to be named.
The final details of the platform are still being decided, other EU sources said.
Splitting the platform into three areas follows industry concern about the difficulty of combining the trading of 17 critical minerals, natural gas and hydrogen due to differences in market structure for each commodity.
The bloc wants to pool buying orders to hand participants more leverage to achieve better deals and prices for critical minerals essential for the green transition, which are traded in thin and opaque markets often dominated by China.
The latest developments come as U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday the European Union should step up U.S. oil and gas imports or face tariffs on the bloc's exports.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday the EU wants to engage and negotiate with Trump.
PLATFORM TO BE LAUNCHED IN 2025
The Commission has chosen a consortium consisting of PwC EU Services based in Belgium and Slovak software firm Sféra to develop the platform, an EU document seen by Reuters showed.
PwC and Sféra did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Reuters reported in October that the EU aimed to sign a contract by the end of 2024 after receiving eight proposals from bidders.
The Commission is sticking with plans to launch the first elements of the platform later this year, the source added.
The eight bidders included consulting group Deloitte and a joint proposal from Germany's Metalshu, opens new tab and Enmacc, opens new tab to use their existing trading platforms for metals and energy for the EU project.
EU officials have been rushing to develop the initiative, a key element in the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), with a mandate from Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, sources said.
The CRMA, which came into force in May, aims to boost domestic production and processing of critical minerals such as lithium and rare earths that are needed for electric vehicles and wind turbines, while weaning off dependence on China.
GAS SUCCESS?
The new central buying system has been shaped by an existing platform for joint buying of gas, AggregateEU, which was launched during the energy crisis in 2022.
The EU says that has been a success, but a report by the European Court of Auditors questioned the effectiveness of the platform, which brought together buyers and sellers, but left the final contracted deals to individual participants.
"We could not determine its added value in relation to gas trading platforms, nor did we identify a market failure that AggregateEU addresses," the Auditors report said.
The EU has released no numbers on how much gas has been contracted through the platform and industry sources have said traded volumes were much less than the amount that was matched.
There is scant evidence that the gas platform has contributed to ensuring more affordable gas prices, industry association Eurogas said in response to a request for comment.
"The existence of AggregateEU does not alter the fact that EU companies compete for gas in a tight global market."
($1 = 0.9585 euros)
END
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