LONDON - In the rare earths sector, the EU will struggle to meet most of its ambitious goals in new legislation designed to boost domestic output of critical minerals and reduce dependence on China.
Norwegian companies are included because even though the country is not an EU member, it is part of the European Economic Area.Neodymium and praseodymium are key rare earths needed to make permanent magnets.It owns the Norra Karr project in Sweden, which analysts say could supply most of the EU's needs for heavy rare earths with average annual output of 5,340 tons of mixed rare earth oxides.
Solvay expects to launch output of NdPr in 2025 and aims to produce enough processed rare earths for magnets to meet 20%-30% of European demand, but this may not be achieved until after 2030.This private French company founded five years ago includes several employees who formerly worked on rare earths at Solvay.
The company is also developing the HyProMag magnet recycling plant in Germany, aiming to produce 500 tons of magnets by 2030.French state-owned nuclear fuel specialist Orano is leading the Magnolia Project, which launched in 2022 and aims to develop a process for recycling and manufacturing permanent magnets for EV motors with 25% recycled content.