Batch processing

Adobe Camera Raw has built in batch-processing features to produce derivative files directly from the raw camera file data, without the need to push pixels into Photoshop, so no need for Batch Actions.

That being said, if you need to "do more" with the pixels, then batching in Photoshop with Batch Actions or scripts may be required.

To answer your question, Photoshop can't work directly with raw camera data, it needs to be rendered into a "standard" (for Photoshop) traditional pixel and colour format for editing.

The Image Processor script which ships with Photoshop has the ability to use the ACR interface for the first image opened with subsequent images when batching.