EU to curb exports of recyclable battery, rare earth waste to cut China reliance

By Julia Payne

BRUSSELS, Dec 3 (Reuters) - The European Commission plans to restrict exports of rare earth waste and battery scrap that can be recycled from early 2026 as part of its push to secure critical raw materials used in electric cars, wind turbines and semiconductors.

The proposal is among the first measures in response to China's move to limit its exports of rare earth magnets, which many industries rely on.

The Commission's REsourceEU plan aims to accelerate the bloc's Critical Raw Materials Act, passed in 2023. The EU wants to speed up the development of its own supply chains so as not to rely on "a single country for more than 65% of its demand".

Recycling rare earth waste could meet 20% of the EU's permanent magnet needs, which total 20,000 metric tons per year. From September 2026, waste lithium-ion batteries and black mass will be classified as hazardous, preventing exports to non-OECD countries.

"The Joint Research Centre estimates that the EU could treat around 50% to 65% of the black mass it produces, leading to up to 1 million new electric vehicles’ battery packs per year," according to the document, referring to black powdered battery waste.

The EU will invest 3 billion euros ($3.50 billion) over the next year to fast-track projects that could cut reliance on a single country by up to 50% by 2029, according to the plan.

EU industry chief, Stephane Sejourne, said 2 billion euros would come from the European Investment Bank, 300 million euros from the Battery Booster and 600 million euros from the Horizon Europe programme.

A new European Critical Raw Materials Centre will launch in 2026.

"It will have three main tasks: monitoring and assessing needs, joint purchasing on behalf of Member States, and stockpiling and delivery as required," Commission Executive Vice President Sejourne told a press conference.

The first round of joint buying will start in March 2026 via a matchmaking platform.

The Commission will work with stakeholders to design a minimum price mechanism after industry sources said the platform would be little more than a "Tinder for Metals" without guarantees it could compete with cheaper Chinese supplies.

($1 = 0.8573 euros)

(Reporting by Julia Payne; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Elaine Hardcastle)