Recycling as Long-Term Solution to EU's Rare Earths Challenge

Recycling is being promoted as a sustainable and long-term strategy to tackle the European Union's rare earths supply challenge. This approach aims to reduce the EU's dependency on imports, mitigate supply chain risks, and support environmental sustainability. By enhancing recycling efforts, the EU hopes to secure a more stable and self-sufficient supply of these critical materials, essential for various high-tech and green technologies, thus contributing to both economic resilience and environmental conservation.

Boston Brand Media brings you the latest news - EU companies are preparing to capitalize on the significant potential of recycling to provide essential rare earths for the bloc's green transition, although it will be a while before there are sufficient old EVs and wind turbines to process. The EU will face challenges in meeting the ambitious targets for rare earths set in new legislation aimed at increasing domestic production of critical minerals and reducing reliance on China.

Boston Brand Media also found that, under the Critical Raw Materials Act, which took effect last month, the EU has set a goal for recycling to meet 25% of its demand for critical minerals, including rare earths, by 2030. Currently, less than 1% of the rare earths consumed in the EU are recycled. A Reuters analysis indicates that the 25% target is unlikely to be achieved by the deadline, but in the long term, the outlook is positive for the bloc to supply a significant portion of the rare earths needed for electric vehicles and wind turbines through salvaging and reprocessing.

"Today you have magnets that are leaving Europe every day because there is no possibility to recycle them here," said Frédéric Carencotte, the founder of French start-up Carester. The company is currently collecting old magnets in preparation for the launch of its plant, which is scheduled to start production in 2026. Initially, Carester plans to process 2,000 tons of old permanent magnets annually to produce rare earth oxides. At the beginning, it will also process concentrate from mines until enough old EVs and wind turbines are scrapped to increase the supply of old magnets.

Another key input will be "swarfs," which are leftovers when blocks of new permanent magnets are cut into specific shapes and can account for up to a fifth of magnet production. Germany's privately-held Heraeus Remloy launched a plant last month to recycle old electronic devices into a magnetic alloy powder that can be used to produce permanent magnets. According to a Reuters analysis, the output from Carester would meet about 6% of the EU's demand for rare earth oxides by 2030, Heraeus would satisfy about 1% of the demand for rare earth metals and alloys, and two other projects would fulfill 4% of the magnet demand.

It is not viable to recycle every magnet, as by 2030, the EU will have around 1.1 billion end-of-life devices containing magnets, each with only about 30 grams of magnets on average, said Ryan Castilloux of consultancy Adamas Intelligence. The EU should focus on mandating the recycling of magnets from EVs and wind turbines, which will make up the majority of magnets reaching end-of-life in the future, he added. "Extended producer responsibility is seen as a key solution, but challenges like high recycling costs and inadequate collection systems exist," said Bernd Schaefer, CEO of EIT RawMaterials, an EU-funded group leading a sector alliance.

HyProMag in Germany and MagREEsource in France also aim to recycle magnets, using a "short-loop" technology to re-manufacture them into new magnets. MagREEsource, a spin-off from France's CNRS scientific research institute, is set to open a plant this month, while HyProMag plans to start production in mid-2025. France's state-owned nuclear fuel specialist Orano leads the Magnolia Project, which aims to recycle and manufacture permanent magnets for EVs with 25% recycled content. It plans to launch a pilot plant this year.

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Source: Reuters‍