2025-04-09
French chemical group Solvay launched an expansion plan on April 8 to revive its previous advantage in rare earth processing, hoping to attract customers after China implemented new rare earth export control measures.
Forty years ago, Solvay’s rare earth processing plant in La Rochelle on the Atlantic coast of France was one of the largest rare earth processing plants in the world, but as China increased its production of cheap rare earths (currently accounting for about 90% of global rare earth processing production), the plant’s output has been in a downward spiral for many years.
The company’s ultimate goal is to meet 30% of Europe’s rare earth processing needs for magnetic materials by 2030, and the final rare earth oxide production may be between 2,000 and 5,000 tons, but Solvay does not intend to further extend the processing chain to produce rare earth metals, alloys or magnetic materials.
