The MAGELLAN project has published Deliverable 5.4 – Guidelines on responsible sourcing and sustainability in primary and secondary rare earth element use, authored by the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) and EIT RawMaterials.
The Guidelines:
✅ Review the evolving EU regulatory landscape affecting rare earth permanent magnets.
✅ Map responsible sourcing, due diligence and traceability frameworks relevant to the sector.
✅ Present practical recommendations for industry representatives and public authorities.
A central message is that scaling up short-loop permanent magnet recycling requires more than technical progress. Europe also needs stronger traceability, clearer identification of magnet-containing waste streams, predictable regulation, robust due diligence and better coordination across the value chain.
The report identifies seven key policy domains for action, covering permitting and compliance, infrastructure and capacity building, strategic recognition, circular procurement, ESG integration, traceability systems and market stabilisation.
These Guidelines support MAGELLAN’s wider objective of establishing a circular European value chain capable of producing high-performance permanent magnets containing 25% recycled material for electric vehicle traction motors.
