Recycling magnets instead of importing from China. New investment

One of the first plants in Europe for recycling rare earth metals from magnetic scrap was opened in Pforzheim in southwestern Germany, the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” daily wrote on Tuesday. As emphasized, the development of such places could reduce dependence on supplies from China.

In the recycling process, magnetic scrap is exposed to hydrogen, which penetrates the structure of the material and causes the neodymium-iron-boron magnets to disintegrate into a loose, demagnetized powder. Once cleaned, the powder is then used to produce new magnets.

This technology was developed and patented by a research team from the University of Birmingham and then commercialized by HyProMag. In 2023, the company was taken over by the Canadian Mkango Resources. After opening a similar plant in Birmingham in January, another one was built in Pforzheim in Baden-Württemberg.

The plant in Germany is headed by a material science specialist, Prof. Carlo Burkhardt from the University of Applied Sciences in Pforzheim, who owns 20 percent. shares in the venture. The remaining 80 percent belongs to Mkango. Burkhardt emphasized that the company already has hundreds of tons of magnets in stock that it wants to process first.

The plant in Pforzheim is to be gradually expanded. This year, its capacity is expected to be up to 50 tons of NdFeB products (neodymium-iron-boron magnets), and in 2028 – up to 750 tons. According to the German Raw Materials Agency, the recycling rate for rare earth permanent magnets in the EU is currently less than 1%.

Such recycling could help Europe reduce its dependence on supplies of rare earth metals from China. They are needed, among others: in electric motors, wind turbines, hard drives, screens and LED lighting. They are almost not mined in the EU, so the industry relies largely on imports.

According to the Federal Statistical Office, German industry imported 5.5 thousand in 2025. tons of rare earth metals, i.e. by 4.9%. more than a year earlier. Although China's share in these imports dropped to 55.4%, it was still higher than the EU average of 46.8%. In Germany, the automotive industry, machine and equipment construction, energy and military technology are particularly dependent on the supply of these raw materials.

From Munich Iwona Weidmann (PAP)

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