Rare earths : Europe faces the challenge of sovereignty and sustainability



The Kiruna mine in Sweden is a strategic rare earth deposit. © Wikimedia Commons



Essential to both the energy and digital transitions, rare earth elements are used in a wide range of everyday technologies, from electric vehicles and wind turbines to electronic displays. However, Europe remains heavily dependent on imports, particularly from China, which dominates both the production and refining of these strategic materials.



Facing this growing dependence and an expected sharp rise in demand in the coming years, the European Union is gradually strengthening its strategy for securing supplies of critical raw materials. The goal is to enhance European resilience while reducing vulnerabilities linked to global supply chains.

In this context, scientific research plays a key role in informing public decision-making. Work carried out by the CNRS highlights the need to reconcile ambitions for industrial sovereignty with the environmental and societal challenges linked to the extraction of these resources. Recycling and reduced consumption, mining waste recovery, and the development of more sustainable extraction processes are among the avenues being explored.
Roundtable on the challenges of rare earths brought together European and scientific stakeholders on June 10, 2026. © Jean-Stéphane Dhersin / CNRS Bruxelles


➔ To learn more, see the full article published by the CNRS.