Spaudos centras
Spaudos centras
Challenge of critical raw materials and circularity
Batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, drones and other green and digital technologies are heavily dependent on critical raw materials. However, most of these critical raw materials needed for the European Union’s economy are imported. For example, 85% of neodymium (Nd) used in the EU is imported from China, and 99% of boron (B) comes from Turkey (EC, Study on the Critical Raw Materials for the EU, 2023). Neodymium, a rare earth element, and boron are of particular strategic importance, i.e., exponential growth in demand of these elements is expected, which in turn poses supply risks. European Critical Raw Materials Act (2024) lists 34 critical materials in total and emphasises the need of strong, resilient supply chains as well as circularity and sustainability of raw critical materials.
In 2019, worldwide production of NdFeB magnets reached 130,000 tonnes, while Europe’s production capacity is only 1,000 tonnes and 16,000 tonnes of NdFeB magnets are imported from China (ERMA report, 2021). “Despite the vital role of critical raw materials, their recycling and upcycling is very low due to insufficient capabilities and lack of technologies”, says María González-Moya Jiménez, the Lead Project Coordinator, Resources & Environment Division at IDENER RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT (Spain).
To address these challenges, the EU-funded NEO-CYCLE project (2024-2028) contributes to the EU circularity and supply risk minimization by providing breakthrough technologies for upcycling of neodymium–iron–boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets from hard disk drives (HDDs) coming from laptops, servers, and desktops. Solutions provided by the project will not only boost NdFeB magnet recycling and upcycling, contributing to the green and digital transitions in the EU, but also reduce supply vulnerability and the overall environmental burden associated with primary mining and processing of the metals.
Integrated approach to upcycling technology development
Project activities not only provide breakthrough technologies but also consider them in the broader context addressing multiple sustainability challenges and EU policies. Economic, social and environmental aspects of the processes and products developed are being assessed applying life cycle approach. Life cycle assessment, social life cycle assessment, life cycle costs, energy-efficiency and techno-economic assessments will showcase various aspects of processes and product sustainability and circularity. This enables risk minimization and performance improvement of technologies under development. For better monitoring and optimization, digitalisation of processes and products is also being employed, including digital twins and digital product passport development. Final end-use products will be validated in four cases by pharmaceutical, ammonia, fertilizer and polymer industries reaching the 6th technology readiness level (TRL6). Finally, business model will be advanced to boost market uptake of the developed upcycling technologies. To reach those ambitious goals, the project involves relevant actors across the value chain: from waste recycling companies and research institutions to pharmaceutical and fertilizer companies as well as non-governmental institutions.
Collection and recycling first
The volume of electrical and electronic products placed on the EU market is growing each year, amounting to some 14.4 million tonnes in 2022. Less than a half of this amount (5 million tonnes) is collected and less than a third (4 million) is reused and recycled (Eurostat, 2024). Globally, it is estimated that 8.3% of the e-waste is spent IT and communication equipment, which contains valuable materials. HDDs in particular have been considered the most promising and economic source of NdFeB magnets and Nd. Estimations show that through developed technologies, recycling of 10% of spent HDDs in the EU (about 500 tonnes) could result in the recovery of roughly 2.8 tonnes of Nd, which is around 4.7% of the EU’s Nd consumption in 2020.
But first comes the collection and disassembling of electronic and electric waste (e-waste). The importance of e-waste collection, separation and dismantling steps for further e-waste recycling is also highlighted by Spyros Karamoutsos, general manager of recycling company Ecoreset (Greece). Magnets coming from HHDs have to be separated, processed before proceeding with chemical processes for Nd, B and Fe separation and purification. E-waste is dismantled manually; in total, together with recycling company STENA (Italy), some 400–600 kg of NdBFe magnets are planned to be provided for the development of new technologies by NEO-CYCLE team. The collected permanent magnets are further processed. According to Peter Fröhlich from Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg (Germany), first results show that the content of critical materials in the magnets slightly differs, depending on whether they come from laptops, servers, or desktops. Solid-state chlorination and electrochemical processes are employed for the separation of Nd, Fe, and B. Selected purification techniques ensure that the purities required by the industries are reached.
Training and gender issues in engineering
Gender equality is a powerful driver of economic growth. Although some advancements have been made in the EU towards achieving gender equality, it is not sustainable yet. Therefore, gender aspects are considered throughout the project and its activities in order to ensure inclusivity. According to Eurostat data in 2024, women employed in technology and knowledge intensive sectors across NUTS 2 regions of the EU accounted for some 33.4%. Though the project team showcases good gender balance, Khrystyna Fogel from the Agency of European Innovations emphasizes that women are underrepresented in leadership roles in the engineering field in general. Therefore, starting from the autumn of 2025, the project will offer not only professional (electrochemistry, hydrometallurgy) and soft skill trainings, but also those on women’s leadership as well. Thus, all members of the NEO-CYCLE team will take part in and join many workshops for gender equality, according to Ivan Kulchytskyy from the NGO Agency of European Innovations. The NEO-CYCLE project stands out from all other research projects with its equal treatment of the genders and assumes an outstanding position.The project is expected to significantly increase the number of women in the research and entrepreneurial landscape.
Renata Dagiliūtė from Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania) sums up that such a comprehensive framework of NEO-CYCLE paves the ground for breakthrough upcycling NdFeB technologies considering all aspects of sustainability and feasibility.
