The EU faces a critical strategic vulnerability due to its reliance on external sources for rare earth elements (REEs) and key products like high-performance Nd-Fe-B magnets. Over 95% of REEs are imported, with China supplying around 98% of the EU’s magnet market. This dependency creates significant supply risks, just as demand for rare earth magnets is projected to grow by over 8% annually, driven by the rapid expansion of electric vehicles and clean energy technologies essential to the EU’s green and digital transition.
Surprisingly, a significant secondary supply of rare earth magnets already exists within the EU. Over 2,500 tons of NdFeB magnets are embedded annually in waste streams (e.g., e-motors), but less than 1% is recovered, with most ending up in landfills or incinerators. This represents a missed €200M business opportunity and causes 60,750 tons of CO₂ emissions annually.
The RecovREE R&D programme addresses these challenges by developing an integrated, circular economy approach to transform REE-containing waste into high-performance Nd-Fe-B magnets. It focuses on advancing and validating waste-to-value technologies across the entire value chain—from REE recovery to transformations—to enable sustainable, high-efficiency magnet upcycling. The main objectives are to enable high-efficiency classification and extraction of REEs, produce high-purity metallic precursors, and design next-generation magnets tailored for electromobility. This will be accomplished by combining AI-driven magnet classification, selective chemical extraction, electrolytic reduction, and optimized magnet manufacturing techniques. The entire value chain will be demonstrated in a digitally integrated, inert-atmosphere pilot line using Virtual Twin and XR/VR technologies.
The programme directly aligns with Slovenia’s Smart Specialization Strategy, specifically addressing priority areas of Materials, Networks for Transition to Circular Economy, Factories of the Future, and Mobility.
