Strengthening the European rare earths supply-chain

Policy recommendations: 1. Maintaining and strengthening the European Rare Earth Elements (REE) skills and knowledge base through research funding, science and technology education and international cooperation. Without cutting-edge research and technical expertise, a European high-tech REE industry cannot flourish. The EC and Member States should support funding for research grants, scholarships, and training networks, and enhance European and international cooperation through coordinated calls, researcher exchanges, and joint high-level conferences. 2. Creating the basis for informed decision-making on REEs through a European Critical Materials Observatory. Mapping and monitoring of REE supply chains is necessary for informed decision-making. Expertise in Europe could be pooled in a virtual Critical Materials Observatory that provides the public with consistent and authoritative knowledge on REEs (e.g., information on advanced exploration projects, prices, key demand and supply trends, and the urban mine potential). 3. Support promising technologies through funding industry-led pilot plants for innovative HREE processing. The EC, industry and Member States should accelerate the commercialization and scaling up of key technologies through co-financing industry-led pilot plants. This should include pilots for REE recovery from heavy rare earths-rich minerals, direct-alloy recycling routes, process and sensor equipment for REE recycling, and REE recovery from industrial residues. 4. Levelling the playing field for European HREE exploration through co-funding for prefeasibility and bankable feasibility studies. Support from federal and state governments in the U.S., Australia and Canada has played a critical role in advancing project exploration. The EC and Member States should evaluate possibilities for supporting the extensive R&D necessary for pre-feasibility and bankable feasibility studies, to avoid high quality deposits in Europe simply going unexplored. 5. Making waste management REE-friendly through eco-design, incentive schemes for collecting priority waste products, and streamlining policy and waste regulation. The EC and Member States should promote recycling-friendly design to help identify and recover REE components in waste more easily. Potential incentives for stimulating REE waste collection should be evaluated and the shipment of REE wastes should be facilitated. More consistency should also be created in implementing and applying existing waste regulations. 6. Boost supply security and de-risk strategic REE investment cases through enhanced cooperation among European end-users and other stakeholders. Leading end-users should engage in strategic cooperation across industry and with governments. This could include setting up a voluntary European ‘critical raw materials fund', establishing a ‘European Resource Alliance' similar to the German Rohstoffallianz, and convening a high-level taskforce to examine ways in which public funding could support resilient REE supply chains for Europe.