Popular Project Description
Europe’s e-mobility and renewable energy sectors rely heavily on rare-earth permanent magnets. In 2024, Europe imported approximately 23 kt of rare-earth permanent magnets, covering 98% of its total demand. This reliance was further intensified by export restrictions introduced in 2025 on key heavy rare earths, including dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb), which are essential for high-performance permanent magnets. To reduce vulnerability, Europe urgently needs a strategically independent rare-earth permanent magnet production and recycling value chain.
REE-FLEX plays a crucial role in establishing this supply chain by advancing individual rare earth separation through solvent extraction, a decades-old technology now poised for modernisation. In REE-FLEX, Carester and KU Leuven are developing next-generation solvent extraction technology for both light and heavy rare earth separation via the nitrate route, integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and real-time analysis.
This innovation significantly reduces operational and capital expenditures (OPEX/CAPEX) and the ecological footprint of the solvent extraction process while enhancing feed flexibility. Based on the developed solvent extraction process, a modular solvent extraction pilot unit (skid) will be built, which will be used by Carester to support European and non-European customers in designing future rare earth separation plants.
REE-FLEX will upgrade Carester’s Caremag plant, set to launch in 2027, refining light and heavy rare earth oxides from mixed feed streams. With over 350 mixer-settlers, this facility will recycle 2 kt of magnets and process 5 kt of distinct mining concentrates, positioning Carester as Europe’s leading rare earth recycler and the largest Western producer of pure magnet rare earths.
Background of the Project
The European Union’s demand for rare earth metals, essential for wind turbines and electric vehicles, is projected to increase five to six times by 2030 and as much as seven times by 2050. To address this growing need, the European Critical Raw Materials Act entered into force in May 2024. Its goal is to strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy by increasing and diversifying its sources of supply.
The Act sets clear benchmarks for domestic capacities to be achieved by 2030: at least 10 percent of the EU’s annual demand for extraction, 40 percent for processing, and 25 percent for recycling. In addition, no more than 65 percent of the EU’s annual demand for any strategic raw material at any stage of processing should come from a single external country.
Building on this framework, Europe now needs to mobilize its strong expertise in rare earth research and technology. EIT RawMaterials has recognised this need through the funding of REE-FLEX, a project aimed at strengthening Europe’s rare earth value chain. Carester will play a key role by developing a European solution for recycling rare earths recovered from permanent magnets through its Caremag facility. At the same time, the company is constructing the largest heavy rare earth separation plant in the Western world, designed to meet the highest environmental standards.
Together, these initiatives will help Europe move closer to sustainable and secure access to magnet-critical rare earth elements, particularly terbium (Tb) and dysprosium (Dy), reinforcing its sovereignty and resilience in an increasingly competitive global landscape.
Project objective and scope
The primary objective is to develop and upscale next-generation solvent extraction technology for rare earth separation from various primary & secondary raw materials using the proprietary separation processes developed by Carester. This technology will upgrade Carester’s Caremag industrial plant, which will address Europe’s growing need for rare-earth permanent magnets, particularly in the wind energy and automotive sectors.
Budget and Timeline
REE-FLEX is a three-year project with a total budget of €4.7 million, combining funding from EIT RawMaterials with co-funding from Carester and KU Leuven. The project officially started on 1 September 2025 and will run until 31 August 2028, for a total duration of 36 months.
