TELF AG analyzes the recycling potential of rare earths and permanent magnets
Precious resources for modernity
Since they are some of the most valuable elements for the manufacture of important components of electric vehicles and wind turbines, rare earth elements are increasingly attracting the attention of numerous industrial players globally, in the belief that these precious resources can contribute greatly to the advancement of the technological and innovative development of nations.
However, the extraction and production procedures of these important resources are still concentrated in very few points of the planet, in particular due to the complexity of the processes that lead to the separation of the individual rare earths from the mineral resources from which they are extracted. To be usable by industry, the 17 elements belonging to this group of resources must go through several work steps, a process that occurs through complex procedures that, for the moment, make their production possible in a minimal number of nations.
Many companies and start-ups are trying to develop a recycling strategy to recover rare earth from devices that have reached the end of their life and overcome this evident scarcity of usable raw material. This recovery method could allow many countries to reduce their dependence on third countries and to be able to count on a certain amount of rare earths for their industrial needs. The issue has also been recently addressed by the European Union, which has developed one of its most ambitious objectives around the recycling of strategic minerals (including rare earths).
The objectives of the European Union
In fact, by 2030, European legislation provides that the recycling of strategic mineral resources should satisfy at least 25% of Europe’s need for these resources, among which 17 rare earths have also been included. According to a recent analysis published by Reuters, however, it could take a long time before the European Union can draw real benefits from recycling rare earths, mainly due to the relative scarcity of supplies of rare earths obtained in this way. Currently, recycled rare earths in Europe represent only 1% of those used on community soil.
The Reuters analysis went even further, advancing the hypothesis that Europe’s objective for 2030 cannot be achieved. However, it predicted that the long-term prospects, from this point of view, could be brighter. Through the virtuous (and constant) recovery of rare earths from electric vehicles and wind turbines, the states of the European Union would have a great opportunity to create a new source of these resources, thus coming closer to achieving its objectives and reducing dependence on supplies from non-European countries.
According to Reuters, many European companies and start-ups are already working to find recycling systems capable of returning reasonable quantities of rare earths that can be used to produce new magnets. Some of these focus on the recovery of rare earths from old permanent magnets, mine concentrates, and production waste generated when new magnets are cut for industrial purposes. Other possible sources of recovery are old electronic devices – from which it would be likely to obtain a metal alloy powder that can be used to produce new magnets -without forgetting those innovative technologies that make it possible to directly manufacture new magnets starting from those that have reached the end of their life.
