The EU-funded HARMONY project has entered its final year with strong momentum.
Today, 21 partners from across Europe meet in Freiberg, Germany, for the HARMONY General Assembly. The meeting focuses on project progress and upcoming actions in rare earth magnet recycling.
Hosted by Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg and the Institute of Nonferrous Metallurgy and Purest Materials (INEMET), the General Assembly brings together research institutes, industry partners, and technology providers. All partners work toward one shared goal: developing an innovative, green, and safe closed-loop recycling process for rare earth elements, specifically NdFeB magnetsNdFeB magnets, also … More.
Over the past months, HARMONY has moved well beyond laboratory research. The project now demonstrates recycling solutions at pilot and pre-industrial scale. These advances support Europe’s efforts to secure critical raw materials and reduce reliance on external supply chains.
Rare earth magnet recycling results across eight pilot lines
As HARMONY enters its final year, milestones are being achieved across all eight pilot lines. Feedback from the first project review meeting in San Sebastián in September 2025 was fully integrated. As a result, technical performance and coordination have further improved.
Recent project highlights include:
- 50 recycled NdFeB magnetsNdFeB magnets, also … More produced by Kolector and sent to Copreci for application testing
- 10 kg of rare earth oxalates recovered via a continuous hydrometallurgical process at TU Clausthal
- 11.5 kg of jet-cast recycled material produced by the University of Birmingham and delivered to Kolektor Mobility
- First overmolded rotors for hydraulic pump prototypes produced by Copreci and Mondragon partners
These results confirm that rare earth recycling can move from research to real industrial use.
From technical success to industrial impact
Beyond technology development, partners now focus on dissemination, exploitation, and business models. With validated results in hand, HARMONY aims to support competitive, market-ready recycling solutions.
By enabling a resilient and circular value chain for rare earth elements, HARMONY strengthens Europe’s industrial independence and long-term competitiveness in key sectors such as mobility, energy, and advanced manufacturing.
