Europe’s economy depends heavily on imported critical raw materials—but the LIFE INSPIREE project is proving that the continent is already sitting on a massive untapped resource: the rare earth metals hidden inside everyday electronic waste.
Rare earth elements power nearly everything modern life relies on—from computer hard drives and electric motors to the batteries in electric vehicles. As Europe accelerates its shift toward greener technologies, demand for these metals is set to surge. Yet the majority still comes from outside the EU, creating supply risks and geopolitical vulnerabilities.
LIFE INSPIREE aims to change that by pioneering large-scale “urban mining,” extracting valuable materials directly from discarded electronics. For the first time in Europe, the project is developing an industrial process capable of recovering rare earth metals—such as neodymium, palladium, and dysprosium—from the magnets found inside hard drives, motors, household appliances, and other e-waste.
Backed by the EU Critical Raw Materials Act, which requires Europe to source 25% of its critical materials through recycling, LIFE INSPIREE is one of just 47 strategic projects selected to receive fast-tracked permitting and enhanced funding support. Its goal: recover up to 700 tonnes of rare earth elements annually.
These metals are not just essential for digital devices—they are also key components in wind turbines and other clean-energy technologies. As project coordinator Francesco Gallo explains:
“Rare earths like neodymium are central to Europe’s digital and green future. By recovering these materials from electronic waste, we reduce dependency on imports and give new value to the resources we once threw away.”
Europe currently imports around 12,900 tonnes of rare earth elements every year, mostly from China and Russia. With demand projected to increase sixfold by 2030 and sevenfold by 2050—and less than 1% currently recycled in the EU—the need for domestic recovery solutions has never been greater.
To meet this challenge, the INSPIREE project brings together Italian waste-management companies and the University of L’Aquila to scale up two specialized processing plants. One facility dismantles magnets from roughly 1,000 tonnes of electric rotors annually, while the second extracts the valuable metals, producing a concentrate containing around 30% pure neodymium ready for use in new magnets.
By 2040, the project aims to expand dramatically, recycling over 20,000 tonnes of magnets each year from sources such as discarded electronics, LCD panels, and lithium-ion batteries.
LIFE INSPIREE supports several major EU sustainability goals, including the Waste Framework Directive, the Circular Economy Action Plan, and the Critical Raw Materials Act. By transforming e-waste into a domestic raw materials stream, the project strengthens Europe’s resource independence while advancing environmental protection and clean-tech innovation.
