Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are critical and non-substitutable raw materials with high economic importance for European industry, as they are crucial components for a broad range of advanced products. The main goal of the SecREEts project is to establish a stable and secure supply of critical REEs based on sustainable extraction from European apatite sources used in fertiliser production. Pilot processes will be developed for the innovative extraction, separation and transformation of REEs. Rare Earth (RE) metals will be supplied to application areas like electric vehicles, industrial motors and wind turbines. Replication potential will be demonstrated in medical diagnostics, Fluid Catalytic Cracking and consumer products. The main objective of the project is to demonstrate a new integrated value chain for the optimal extraction, refining and production of REEs in Europe. This will be achieved through the development and demonstration of a number of innovative technologies: • Utilise efficiently a novel industrial sidestream process in fertiliser production to extract the REEs • Separate REEs by a novel chromatographic process into distinct nitrate salts • Realise electrochemical production of metals and alloys from the above targeted RE oxides • Demonstrate the market value and relevance of the produced RE metals in permanent magnets and its downstream products • Validate market acceptance of the RE oxides not processed to metals • Create an industrial symbiosis between two value chains • Demonstrate the economic, environmental and societal sustainability as well as safety of the pilot units SecREEts pilots will focus on Pr, Nd and Dy metals used in permanent magnets as these are extremely critical for the European economy. Industrial implementation of the pilots developed in SecREEts will lead to a supply of at least 3000 tonnes annually of REEs to European industries in 2023, with 75 M€ in estimated value.

The REE4EU project will develop, validate and demonstrate in 2 industrially relevant Pilots an innovative Rare Earth Alloys (REA) production route from Permanent Magnets (PM) and Secondary Batteries (SB) waste. Currently only 1% of RE waste is being recovered as no adequate process is available, so proof-of-concept in REE4EU will open-up a fully new route bringing recovery of 90% of in-process wastes from PM manufacturing within reach. The targeted integrated solution is based on recently developed lab-proven technologies for direct high-temperature electrolyses of REA production. It will be combined in the pilots with an innovative and proven Ionic Liquid Extraction or tailored hydrometallurgical pre-treatment to demonstrate dramatic improvements in cost and environmental performance compared to state of the art technologies. This includes avoidance of process steps (pure RE extraction and reprocessing), 50% energy savings, and 100% recycling of ionic liquids as opposed to disposal of strong acid leeching agents in state of the art pre-treatment steps. The project involves in its consortium the full value chain including (SME and large) RE metal producers, PM manufacturer, SME process engineering companies and LCA experts, (SME and large) electronics and battery recycling companies, SME technology transfer, innovation specialists as well as chemical and end-user associations. Together with 4 top research institutes on electrolyses, ionic liquids and RE recycling, they will prove technical and economic viability on in-process PM waste (swarf), as well as End-of-Life (EoL) PM and SB waste, develop urgently required market data on EoL RE availability and a triple value-chain business case for a new European secondary Rare Earth Alloys (REA) production sector, creating new jobs, increasing Europe’s independence from imports and providing valuable raw materials for fast growing European green-technology industries such as Electrical/Hybrid vehicles and Wind Turbines.

Scandium (Sc) is one of the highest valued elements in the periodic table and an element which is usually grouped in REEs as it shares many characteristics with Yttrium. Scandium technological applications are unique, as it is a key component in producing Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (Scandia-Stabilized-Zirconia solid electrolyte layer) or high strength Aluminum alloys used in aerospace and 3D printing applications (SCALMALLOY®). Yet Scandium supply is limited due to its scarcity and the high cost of its production, which currently takes place in Asia and Russia. Europe has no production of Scandium, but is home to many Sc industrial end-users (Airbus, II-VI, KBM Affilips and others). In fact end-users like Airbus, are not deploying their Sc applications due to the lack of a secure Sc supply. The SCALE project sets about to develop and secure a European Sc supply chain through the development of technological innovations which will allow the extraction of Sc from European industrial residues. Bauxite Residues from alumina production (5 Million tons on dry basis per year in Europe) and acid wastes from TiO2 pigment production (1.4 Million tons on dry basis per year in Europe) have Sc concentrations which are considered exploitable, given a viable extraction technology. SCALE develops and demonstrates the value chain starting from residue and finishing to high tech end-product. In more detail: • SCALE develops innovative technologies that can extract economically and sustainably Sc from dilute mediums (<100 mg/L) and upgrade them to pure oxides, metals and alloys at lower energy or material cost. • SCALE extracts along with Sc all other REEs found in the by-products (AoG’s BR on an annual base contain 10% of the European REE raw material imports) The industrially driven SCALE consortium covers the entire Sc value chain with 7 major European industries and further features 8 academic and research institutes and 4 engineering companies with track records in RTD.

The aim of this project is to develop a recycling supply chain for rare earth magnets in the EU and to demonstrate these new materials on a pilot scale within a range of application sectors. Rare earth magnets based upon neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB, also containing dysprosium) are used in a wide range of products, including for example clean energy technologies (wind turbines and electric vehicles) and high tech sectors such as electronics. However in recent years the supply of these materials has come under considerable pressure and neodymium and dysprosium are now deemed to be of greatest supply risk for all elements. The EU imports far more NdFeB magnets than it manufactures (>1,000 tonnes manufactured per annum). It has been estimated that ~ 2,000-3,000 tonnes/annum of NdFeB will be available by 2020 for recycling, which presents a significant opportunity. The aim of this project is to identify, separate, recycle and demonstrate recycled magnets at a pilot scale with a multidisciplinary team located across the EU. The project will target three of the main application sectors including automotive, electronics and wind turbines. The project will develop new sensing and robotic sorting lines for the identified EoL products, building upon technologies developed in the FP7 project Remanence. New hydrogen based technologies will be demonstrated at scale for separating and purifying NdFeB powders from the robotically sorted parts and this technology will be duplicated at another partner in the project. The separated powders will be re-manufactured into sintered magnets, injection moulded magnets, metal injection moulded magnets and cast alloys, at 4 different companies across 3 countries, building upon work in the Repromag Horizon 2020 project. A techno economic assessment will be performed for each potential recycling route alongside a life cycle assessment to assess the environmental benefits over primary production.