Circular Economy
Rare Earth Elements (REEs)
A group of 17 metallic elements essential to permanent magnets, electronics and clean technologies, with highly concentrated and environmentally costly supply chains.
Definition
Rare earth elements are a set of 17 chemically similar metallic elements — the 15 lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium. Despite the name they are relatively abundant in the crust but rarely occur in concentrated, economically mineable deposits. They are indispensable in high-strength permanent magnets (neodymium, dysprosium) for wind turbines and EV motors, in catalysts, phosphors, batteries and defence electronics.
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