Projects

Summary

Europe is a leader in the manufacture of products such as traction motors for cars and wind turbines but critically depends on China for the import of permanent magnets based on rare earth elements (REEs). This dependence constitutes a risk for European autonomy and sustainability. 

REEPRODUCE, which was launched in 2022, seeks to establish a comprehensive European value chain for the cycling of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), thus reducing dependence on imports and promoting sustainability in the use of REEs. 

Objective

Establish an industrial, sustainable value chain in Europe for the recycling of rare earth elements on an industrial scale that is capable of generating new, environmentally friendly byproducts from end-of-life products at a competitive cost.

Ceit’s role

Ceit is spearheading the development of a pilot project that involves the automated dismantling of components that contain rare earth magnets, using advanced technologies such as robotics, artificial vision and artificial intelligence.  It focuses on neodymium (Nd) magnets and is creating a prototype that can automate the dismantling of products such as hoverboards and hard disks by recovering components that are then transformed into raw material for new magnets, together with the other partners in the consortium.