Rare earths: Is reclaiming underway?

We have known this for years and the news reminds us every day: we have to transform our model into a lower-carbon economy. But this must be achieved while guaranteeing our independence and without moving from one dependency to another. The equation is complex, but not impossible…

Building a complete value chain...

As the Economy Minister Roland Lescure points out, France was once a pioneer in mastering rare earths, but has lost its lead. The challenge today is to secure our supplies, develop production capacity and structure demand to ensure long-term market viability for the sector. In other words, it involves building a complete value chain in France and throughout Europe.

The national resilience plan dedicated to rare earths and permanent magnets presented on 6 May includes nine measures to support this objective, including easing strategic project guarantees for extraction ventures, extending the “critical materials” call for projects under the France 2030 framework and extending and simplifying the Green Industry Tax Credit.

Backed by strengthened international cooperation.

Immediately following the announcement of its national plan, France brought together the critical minerals ministers of the G7* and their counterparts from Australia and South Korea to discuss joint development of industrial capacity and measures to secure supplies (particularly rare earths and permanent magnets), all based on IEA's recommendations. The discussions also focused on the crucial issue of strengthening cooperation in terms of traceability and the management of strategic stocks.

Rare earth elements (REE) at a glance

Rare earth elements comprise 17 metallic elements with magnetic, chemical, catalytic, mechanical and optical properties. They are mainly used in energy, digital technology, healthcare, defence and the ecological transition. For example, each smartphone contains 3 g of rare earths; between 0.3 and 3.5 kg are required to make a car, and a wind turbine can contain up to a tonne*. Today, global mining is dominated by China (70%) with a monopoly on critical REEs. Similarly, processing (refining) is also mainly carried out by China.

* Source: BRGM

More economical use?

In May, the CNRS published the results of a comprehensive expert scientific assessment (ESCo) it conducted into the potential for the responsible use of REEs⁽¹⁾. The assessment is structured around three main areas: reducing consumption; recycling; and alternative extraction methods. Recycling (“secondary REEs”) involves both end-of-life products (urban mining) and waste from mining and industrial sectors.

The study outlines four pathways that represent clear levers for action:

– Reducing REE consumption enables more efficient use of materials and the technologies that depend on them (for example, permanent magnets),

- Developing materials with alternative technologies that require fewer or none of these resources (for example, LED lighting),

– Reviewing the applications of products containing REEs and the levers to reduce or adapt these usages,

– Adopting a regulatory framework and public policies likely to shape the development across certain sectors.

What about the alternatives?

Today, the situation is clear: opening mines takes a long time (with no viable resources available in the short term) and comes with environmental impacts. At the same time, recycling is technically possible but not yet really developed (with the effective rate below 1%).

Another solution, highlighted in the pathways of the CNRS expert assessment, is to limit demand. Although REEs are difficult to replace, progress is being made. This is the case, for example, with the Brest-based startup HIT Mag⁽²⁾, which offers rare-earth-free permanent magnets made from ferrites for low-to-medium power applications, or iron nitrides for high-power requirements. The manufacturing process eliminates reliance on rare earths and reduces the carbon footprint, all while ensuring optimum performance. Consequently, the magnets produced are tailored to the critical requirements of telecoms and advanced electronics.

This has also been the case – for several years – with battery solutions that do not require rare or critical materials. Examples include sodium-ion or Na-ion batteries (Tiamat), potassium-ion or K-ion batteries (Group1), metal-ion batteries with recycled materials including graphite and aluminium (Hive Electric), paper batteries (Flint Paper) and batteries combining cellulose paper and carbon layers with sugar-oxidising and oxygen-reducing enzymes (BeFC). More recently, a Franco-German team⁽³⁾ has worked on a solution using organic materials based on hydrogen, carbon, oxygen and nitrogen. This enables the development of purely molecular, metal-free batteries with significantly lower cost and environmental impact.

1) https://www.cnrs.fr/fr/nos-recherches/expertise-scientifique-collective/esco-terres-rares

2) HIT Mag for “Hexaferrites Innovative Technological Magnets”.