Wed, 06 Aug 2025

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 How Europe is vying for rare earth independence from China

The EU is aiming to increase its own production of rare earth metals, led by a facility in France.
A chemicals firm, Solvay, is expanding its rare earth processing plant on France's west coast to meet growing demand across Europe. The plant has been operating for almost 80 years and has recently shifted focus from producing catalytic converters to magnets essential for electric car batteries, advanced electronics, and defense systems. The expansion comes as the EU seeks to reduce its dependence on importing rare earths from China, where around 70% of mining and 90% of refining occurs. Europe has only two rare earth processing facilities, with Solvay's La Rochelle plant being the only one outside of China that can process all 17 different rare earths. The facility is also shifting towards recycling existing materials to reduce the need for new virgin material from countries like Brazil and Canada. However, no operational rare earth mines exist in Europe, and projects in Norway and Sweden are still years away from production. Solvay's CEO Philippe Kehren emphasizes the importance of having a local supply chain and reducing dependence on imports from China. He notes that the company can offer diversification of sourcing and points to the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act, which aims to reduce imports by 2030. The plant's expansion is supported by the French government with €20m in tax credits. However, Western firms in the rare earths sector are calling for more government support, including regulatory and financial backing, to compete with Chinese rivals. Securing access to raw materials has become a key issue in recent EU trade deals, including the one signed with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay last year. Solvay's plant is considered critical to Europe's ambitions of reducing its dependence on imported rare earths, particularly as China continues to control the majority of global supplies.
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