Where Does the EU Import Rare Earths From?

Almost half of the European Union’s imports of rare earths came from China last year, according to the latest data from the European Union's statistical office (Eurostat). Russia followed in second place with a share of around 29 percent, while Malaysia was in third at around 20 percent. In order to reduce dependence on China and other individual countries, the EU passed the Critical Raw Materials Act 2024. The aim is to extract 10 percent of rare earths in the EU itself and cover 15 percent of demand from recycling. In addition, no single third country is to cover more than 65 percent of demand.

The 17 metals of the so-called rare earths are used in many of today's key technologies. Terbium is essential for the production of permanent magnets, important for wind turbine generators and electric vehicle motors. The rare earths cerium and lanthanum are also needed in the context of electromobility, for example, as components of catalytic converters as well as in hybrid vehicles’ batteries. Meanwhile, europium and yttrium are essential components of LED lamps and smartphone displays.

The rarity of these elements is based on the fact that they occur in the form of oxides in a variety of rocks, but their concentrated occurrence in commercially exploitable deposits is rather rare.

This is a translation of Matthias Jansen’s article, originally written in German.