Portuguese firm N9VE hits 99.8% purity in rare earth recycling

Portuguese company N9VE has announced it is now producing rare earth oxides with purity exceeding 99.8% at its facility in Barcelos, a milestone the firm says supports Europe’s push for greater industrial independence from imported critical materials.

What N9VE is doing in Barcelos

The production takes place at the Rare Earths & Magnetics Innovation Center in Barcelos, where N9VE develops methods to recover and purify rare earth elements rather than extract them from new mines. Instead of digging up raw ore, the company focuses on reclaiming these materials from equipment that already exists in Europe, such as wind turbines nearing the end of their operational life.

According to the company, turbines built with permanent magnets can contain several tons of material per unit, roughly 30% of which is made up of rare earth elements. Recovering these from decommissioned turbines offers a domestic alternative to importing freshly mined rare earths, most of which currently come from outside Europe.

Why timing matters for Europe’s supply chain

N9VE’s chief executive, José Pinheiro-Torres, said that opening a new mine can take more than 16 years before it reaches production, a timeline far too slow to address Europe’s current dependency on imported rare earths for sectors like wind power, electric vehicles, robotics, electronics, and defense. He argued that recycling materials already present within European borders offers a faster, more immediate path to building a strategic domestic supply.

This approach aligns with the European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act, which aims to reduce the bloc’s reliance on external suppliers for materials considered essential to modern industry and green technology. The Barcelos project, known as N9VE.REEnew, is being developed with co-financing from COMPETE 2030, Portugal 2030, and the European Regional Development Fund.

Why this development is relevant beyond the factory floor

For foreign residents living in Portugal, particularly those working in engineering, renewable energy, or EU-funded innovation sectors, this project is a sign that the country is positioning itself within a broader European strategy on materials security. It also reflects a growing trend of using EU regional development funds to support advanced manufacturing and green-tech projects outside the traditional industrial hubs of Lisbon and Porto.

More broadly, initiatives like this could shape how Portugal’s economy diversifies in coming years, potentially creating specialized jobs and attracting further EU investment tied to the green transition and industrial self-sufficiency goals.