The second review meeting of the REE4EU project took place last June in Kristiansand (Norway) and it was hosted by ELKEM, one of the project partners. During the meeting, the project officer and the whole consortium had also the opportunity to visit the Elkem’s premises at Fiskå, where the REE4EU pilot is installed.
The project officer could examine the different units the pilot consists of, namely ILE and HTE units, which are now in operation at ELKEM. Moreover an extensive presentation of the results obtained during the trials done so far was given. Up to date, the ILE unit has treated 1.7 tonnes of permanent magnets swarf, giving a total amount of ca. 250 kg of RE oxides. The HTE unit for direct conversion of the RE-oxides into RE alloys is expected to be up-running in August.
The project is currently in its third year of activity and it aims at demonstrating closed-loop recycling of permanent magnets by building up pilots that can recycle different RE-containing wastes. The project officer is very enthusiastic about the project achievements, which represents a first-time demonstration of closed-loop recycling for permanent magnets at almost industrial scale and it is funded in the framework of the Horizon 2020 Programme.
