Events

SecREEts and SUSMAGPRO, two flagship R&I projects funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 R&I programme, co-organize and moderate the Quantifying Environmental Impact in Rare Earth Value Chains: LCA Knowledge Sharing Roundtable EU Green Week Partner Event  on Thursday, 10 June 2021 from 16:30 to 18:00.

This event is focused and linked to the Rare earth elements (REEs) – critical raw materials essential for the European Green Deal as well as Europe’s digital transformation, with widespread applications in clean, high and consumer-tech as well as in manufacturing industry sectors. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) refers to the process of investigating and evaluating environmental impacts of a product over its entire life cycle.

This roundtable discussion brings together experts from Europe and beyond to share knowledge and best practices in life-cycle assessment approaches, in particular in rare earths. The discussion will be focused on the following main topics:

• How to quantify environmental and climate impacts in rare earth value chains through life-cycle assessment (LCAs)? What are the best practices in these methodologies?
• What are the current benchmarks in those LCAs? What data is available and what is missing?
• What should a global standard or sustainability framework for rare earth value chains look like?

We are glad to inform you that Prof. Dr. Spomenka Kobe (Jožef Stefan Institute​​​​​​​) and Erik Emilsson (IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute) , both representatives of  MaXycle project, funded in the ERA-MIN 2 Co-funded Call 2017 will be panelists of the roundtable. MaXycle: A novel circular economy for sustainable REbased magnets is funded by ERA MIN 2 under H2020. The objective of this project is to create a much more environmentally friendly ‘short cycle’ re-processing route achieved by: a) the development of an eco-labelling system for newly produced RE permanent magnets, b) using the highly effective HPMS process by re-processing the extracted materials directly from the NdFeB alloy, c) better treatments to eliminate pre-processing residue, d) upgrading the magnetic properties of EOL NdFeB magnets by tailoring the microstructure and phase composition and e) elaborating the industrial up-scalability, including a thorough life cycle assessment. 

This event is supported by the Rare Earth Industry Association (REIA): REIA is an international non-profit organisation representing the global rare earth element (REE) industry with active members worldwide. ​​​​​​​For further information and registration please visit the event webpage.