Europe’s rare earth element (REE) and permanent magnet industries sit in a strategically important yet fragile position. Domestic production is limited, dependence on Chinese imports is near total, and prevailing prices make local manufacture difficult to sustain. The question is no longer whether supply interruptions will occur, but how Europe will respond when they do. REMHub, an EU-funded initiative, has been established to strengthen both the resilience and the competitiveness of Europe’s rare earth and magnet supply chains by linking technical solutions with practical routes to adoption.
On 1 October 2025, sixty-seven participants in the REMHub initiative met at the Politecnico di Milano to consider how a Rare Earths and Permanent Magnet Innovation Hub could serve this goal. Discussions centred on present operational constraints and on ensuring that the emerging digital hub addresses specific needs across the European value chain. The meeting also sought to establish priorities for early releases of the platform and to agree criteria for selecting pilot activities.
The meeting brought together organisations spanning the full value chain, from exploration and refining to magnet manufacture, recycling, research, and regulation. The purpose was to align these perspectives into a shared, actionable agenda that the hub can advance. Participants were asked to identify where coordination failures, information gaps, or technical barriers are most acute, and where the new Innovation Hub could reduce risk for first movers.
Participants highlighted recurring constraints: high production costs, weak competitiveness in primary supply, complex regulation, low REE concentrations in waste streams, and uneven adoption of circular design. These issues are deep-rooted. However, progress is evident in improved recovery technologies, clearer market signals in some segments, and more effective information exchange between actors.
A central insight concerned market immaturity. Few REE projects in Europe are viable on REE value alone, which makes circularity and resource efficiency essential. Without broad systems for recovery and reuse, domestic manufacturing remains exposed to low-cost imports and price volatility.
Policy action remains critical. Stable, long-term demand for EU-based production is needed to attract investment and support innovation. Predictable market signals, rather than short-term incentives, will underpin any viable European supply base. Participants also noted the importance of regulatory clarity on end-of-life flows, cross-border movement of secondary materials, and conformity assessment.
Initial proposals describe a neutral, service-oriented platform where organisations can find partners, test solutions, and exchange reliable data on materials, processes, and performance. Priority areas under review include traceability tools such as a “magnet passport”, collaboration and matchmaking services, capacity-building, and structured routes to pilot-scale testing.
A recurring suggestion was for the hub to provide a unified voice for the sector in policy and regulatory discussions, grounded in evidence generated through pilots and shared datasets. This role would focus on bringing practical, implementation-ready insights to consultations, not on advocacy for any single actor.
The project team is preparing a focused roadmap that links the challenge areas to concrete hub features, with milestones for testing and adoption. Immediate tasks include specifying the minimum viable feature set for the digital platform, defining participation pathways for new partners, and agreeing selection criteria for pilots (technical readiness, supply-chain relevance, potential for replication, and measurable outcomes). Work is also under way on a governance and business model to ensure continuity beyond the project period, including options for membership services and cost-sharing for common infrastructure.
The Milan meeting confirmed both the scale of Europe’s REE and magnet challenge and a clear willingness across the sector to address it together. By matching industry needs with practical digital tools and well-designed pilots, REMHub can translate technical progress and policy intent into tangible results: more secure supply, higher-quality recycling, and clearer information flows along the chain. Insights from the meeting will guide the design of the digital platform prototype and the first deployment priorities.