Project Life Inspiree Industrial Plant for Rare Earths from Electronic Waste

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A European industrial plant for recycling rare earth metals—for example, from electric motors—is to be established between Rome and Naples. According to the EU, demand for these raw materials is expected to increase significantly.

The Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security has given the green light for the project "LIFE 22ENV-IT-INSPIREE"—Europe's first industrial plant for recovering rare earths from electronic waste. The facility is to be established in Ceccano, between Rome and Naples. This is reported by the news site Euronews.

The project is considered strategic at the European level and is one of 47 initiatives selected by the European Commission under the Critical Raw Materials Act. It aims to strengthen the EU's autonomy in supplying key materials for the digital industry, the automotive industry, and the energy sector.

The European Commission expects that lithium and rare earths will soon surpass oil and gas in importance; the demand for rare earths is anticipated to quintuple by 2030.

Pilot Project Completed—Industrialization Follows

According to Euronews, the facility is being built on the site of the Itelyum Regeneration plant. A pilot project has already been successfully completed, and the industrial scale will follow. In the first phase of the project, around 20 tons of permanent magnets were processed annually, according to the news site. The industrial facility will be capable of processing up to 2,000 tons of magnets annually.

The targeted production capacity for rare earth elements is estimated by the European Commission at 170 tons per year. After the project is completed, the capacity is expected to grow further: five years after the project's conclusion, the production capacity is projected to reach 680 tons of rare earth elements annually.

According to Euronews, the site is one of the first in Europe to recover neodymium, praseodymium, and dysprosium on an industrial scale from neodymium-iron-boron magnets; for example, from electric motors, hard drives, and obsolete electronic devices.

New Process with Reduced Environmental Impact

The foundation of the recycling process is a two-step method. The magnets are dismantled and treated hydrometallurgically. The technology allows for the recovery of oxalates, oxides, and carbonates—using chemical processes with significantly lower environmental impact compared to traditional mining, writes Euronews. One reason for this is the reuse of chemicals and water.

The EU is contributing around 3.2 million euros (approx. $3.4 million) to the project, according to Euronews, with a total budget of approximately 5.4 million euros (approx. $5.8 million). The project runs until the end of September 2028, having started in October 2023. Ceccano could become one of Europe's centers for high-tech recycling of rare earths through the project. Several industrial companies and consortia are involved in the recycling process, including Erion and EIT Raw Materials. Project coordination is handled by Itelyum.

Significant Expansion by 2040

By 2040, the project partners aim to further expand production to more than 20,000 tons of magnets annually, according to the European Commission. These will originate, among other sources, from discarded consumer electronics, LCD panels, and lithium-ion batteries.

The project not only aims to reduce dependency on raw material imports. Recycling 500 tons of permanent magnets annually saves 254,000 cubic meters of water, 0.62 gigawatt-hours of electricity, and 7,200 tons of CO₂ equivalents each year—compared to raw material extraction, according to calculations by the European Commission.