EUROPE will probably be able to produce only a small portion of rare earths it needs for electric vehicles and wind turbines by 2030, Reuters reports.
This is because of cheap imports from dominant producer China, according to Laurent Migom of the consultancy Bain. europe and the US have been scrambling to boost production to cut dependence on China, which accounts for 90 per cent of rare earths globally.
'Today there's a cost gap of 20 to 40 per cent between a value chain in China and a potential value chain in Europe,' said Mr Migom.
'And that is why we do not expect sufficient permanent magnet making in Europe in the current environment,' he told an event where chemical group Solvay launched an expansion of its rare earth processing in La Rochelle.
SeaNews Turkey
This is because of cheap imports from dominant producer China, according to Laurent Migom of the consultancy Bain. europe and the US have been scrambling to boost production to cut dependence on China, which accounts for 90 per cent of rare earths globally.
'Today there's a cost gap of 20 to 40 per cent between a value chain in China and a potential value chain in Europe,' said Mr Migom.
'And that is why we do not expect sufficient permanent magnet making in Europe in the current environment,' he told an event where chemical group Solvay launched an expansion of its rare earth processing in La Rochelle.
SeaNews Turkey
