As Europe seeks ways to end its need for Russian oil and gas, officials in Brussels hope some of the answers lie on home soil — or, rather, under it.

The European Commission wants to boost output of homegrown raw materials needed for green energy. Its plans, which are still in their infancy, would lower regulatory barriers to mining and production of critical materials such as lithium, cobalt and graphite, needed for wind farms, solar panels and electric vehicles.

Even before Russia’s war on Ukraine created the risk of a total shutdown of Russian gas exports to the EU, the commission — which wants to sharply increase renewables use — was sounding the alarm about the risks of being too reliant on imported raw materials.