Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 27, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
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Ionic Rare Earths secures a £12M UK grant for a Belfast recycling plant, supporting the UK's automotive industry and critical minerals strategy.
Jan 27 (Reuters) - Australian miner Ionic Rare Earths said on Tuesday that its unit has been offered a 12-million-pound ($16.42 million) capital grant from the British government to support its magnet recycling facility in Belfast.
The grant will contribute to the capital investment for the facility, run by the company's unit Ionic Technologies.
The UK, like many countries worldwide, is pushing for domestic development of critical minerals to reduce reliance on foreign supplies by 2035.
Subject to due diligence and conditions, the sum will be provided through the UK government's DRIVE35 funding, which supports the industrialization of zero-emission vehicle technologies.
"The development of a commercial rare earth permanent magnet recycling plant in Belfast will support the UK's automotive and advanced manufacturing industries," said Ian Constance, CEO of Advanced Propulsion Centre UK, one of the funding providers of DRIVE35.
The recycling plant in Belfast is expected to produce 400 metric tons of high-purity separated magnet rare earths oxides per year, using the unit's long-loop recycling technology.
Ionic Rare Earths is currently working to secure the remaining funding for its 85-million-pound project, with multiple parties expressing interest.
($1 = 0.7310 pounds)
(Reporting by Shruti Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
Critical minerals are essential raw materials that are vital for the production of various technologies and industries, particularly in sectors like automotive and renewable energy.
Zero-emission vehicle technology refers to vehicles that produce no tailpipe emissions, typically powered by electricity or hydrogen, contributing to environmental sustainability.
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