Today’s technology runs on rare earth elements dug out of the ground. They are vital for the computers, electric motors and batteries we use every day, and demand is only likely to grow as Europe moves towards greener technologies. The LIFE INSPIREE project sets out to “mine” these valuable metals from inside the very computers and electrical appliances we throw away.
Most rare earth metals are imported from outside the EU, but the European Critical Raw Materials Act aims to diversify and secure their supply — including obtaining 25% of the materials needed through recycling.
LIFE INSPIREE is developing a way to extract, for the first time in Europe at large scale, rare earth metals from the magnets inside computer hard disk drives, electric motors, household appliances and other electronic waste. The project aims to scale up an industrial process to recover up to 700 tonnes of valuable rare earth elements from discarded equipment each year, including neodymium, palladium and dysprosium. The project is one of 47 to be included in the first list of strategic projects under the Critical Raw Materials Act, meaning it will play a key role in helping the EU meeting demand for rare earth metals through recycling.
Being selected onto this list means the project will benefit from additional access to finance and a streamlined permit process.
Magnetic rare earth metals are also a crucial component in wind turbines. ‘Rare earth elements like neodymium are essential to our digital and green future, yet Europe still depends heavily on imports to meet its demand,’ says project coordinator Francesco Gallo. ‘We want to turn rare earths from an imported risk into a recovered resource. By extracting these critical materials from electronic waste, we not only reduce dependency, but also give new value to what we once discarded.’
The EU imports around 12 900 tonnes of rare earth elements each year, with the majority coming from China and Russia. Demand is expected to increase 6-fold by 2030 and 7-fold by 2050, but currently less than 1% of rare earth elements are recycled in the EU.
The project brings Italian waste management companies and the University of L’Aquila in Italy together to scale up 2 processing plants dealing with magnets from electronic waste. Each year the first facility disassembles magnets from around 1 000 tonnes of electric rotors, which are then sent to the second plant where rare earth elements are extracted. The end result is a sand containing 30% pure neodymium and other rare earth metals for reuse in new magnets.
By 2040, the project partners hope to further upscale and recycle more than 20 000 tonnes of magnets a year from a variety of sources including spent consumer electronics, LCD panels and lithium ion batteries.
LIFE INSPIREE contributes to the EU’s Waste Framework Directive, the Circular Economy Action Plan and the Critical Raw Materials Act.
