REEtec will build a plant in Porsgrunn to produce key metals that are used, among other things, in electric motors. Sweden’s LKAB and Norway’s Nisno are co-financing the billion.
Through the funding round, REEtec raised NOK 1.2 billion, according to A message.
The REEtec plant located in Herøya in Porsgrunn will produce neodymium and praseodymium, also known as ferromagnetic metals. The company says these are used, among other things, in pumps, electric motors, wind turbines and robotics.
After the tour, it will become the Swedish mining company LKAB biggest owner at REEtec, founded in 2008 by family-owned Scatec Innovation.
Norwegian state climate investment firm Nysnø and energy and commodity trading companies Mercuria and TechMet will also join the financing, along with existing shareholders.
– The presence of LKAB with its strong industrial position and technology vision as a major new contributor is strong evidence of the competitiveness of our technology. According to the report, REEtec is well positioned to create a leading European player in rare earths.
He notes that the European Commission considers rare earths essential to climate change, and also aims to produce as many important materials as possible in Europe.
Buyers say rest assured
REEtec will be supplied with rare earth carbonates from Canadian Vital Metals, and the rare earths separation at Herøya.
The company claims to have secured buyers for 80 percent of the neodymium and praseodymium, including a five-year contract with the Schaeffler Group, which supplies the auto industry with electric motors.
The facility has a capacity of 720 tons of these minerals and, according to REEtec, this represents five percent of the supposed demand in the European Union.
We will build another facility
The goal is to build a second plant in Borsgron in 2026, with raw materials from Vital Metals and LKAB metallurgical processes, which will be able to deliver from 2027.
LKAB plans to extract a concentrate containing all rare earth elements as a by-product of our iron ore extraction. Together with REEtec, we can create the foundation for a strong and sustainable Nordic rare earth value chain, says CEO Jan Mostrom of LKAB.
separately message LKAB notes that the need for rare earth minerals for electric vehicles and wind turbines is expected to more than fivefold by 2030, due to the green transition.
China is a dominant producer of such minerals, but LKAB and REEtec believe they are now taking a step to increase Europe’s ability to produce more on its own.
Make the continent more self-sufficient
State Nysnø Klimainvesteringer contributes $100 million to the investment.
REEtec has a clear and credible plan and strategy for profitable growth, and we have great faith that the company will achieve successful expansion of industrial facilities that provide low greenhouse gas emissions and a good risk-adjusted return, says Nisno-based Investment Director Bertel Austad in a letter.
It also indicates that the REEtec process produces fewer emissions than other similar production, and that the process has reduced risks to health, environment and safety.
– It is also positive that by creating this type of industry in Norway, we are contributing to the transfer of the processing of important materials to Europe, and making the continent more self-sufficient in raw materials of strategic importance, says Onstad.
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