New CTC perspective highlights how data and traceability can enable circular rare-earth value chains

A new perspective article by researchers from the Center for the Transformation of Chemistry (CTC), published in Chem Circularity by Cell Press, explores one of the key challenges facing rare-earth recycling. While the chemistry required to separate rare-earth elements is already well established, the authors argue that missing information, limited traceability, and fragmented data flows often prevent circular solutions from being implemented at scale.

Rare-earth recycling is not only a chemistry challenge

Rare-earth elements are indispensable for many technologies that support electrification and digitalization, including electric vehicles, wind turbines, catalysts, specialty glass, and advanced manufacturing. Although industrial solvent-extraction systems can already separate rare-earth elements at scale, recycling rates for end-of-life products remain low.

One reason is that valuable rare-earth-containing components often lose their identity during collection, shredding, and waste processing. Once materials become part of heterogeneous waste streams, recovery becomes significantly more complex, resource-intensive, and costly, even though the underlying separation chemistry remains unchanged.

The missing link: information across the value chain

In the perspective, the authors argue that circularity increasingly depends on preserving information throughout the product lifecycle. They propose a data-enabled framework built on two interconnected information layers.

The first layer focuses on product-side inventories that retain information about material composition, component identity, and end-of-life pathways. The second layer consists of standardized process-side datasets that capture how recycling and separation processes perform under realistic conditions, including impurity-rich secondary feedstocks.

Together, these information layers can support more informed collection, sorting, and routing decisions and help connect product design with recycling performance.

Towards predictable and scalable circular systems

The authors suggest that integrating information management with established separation technologies could help move rare-earth recycling beyond isolated demonstrations and pilot projects. Improved traceability, standardized data, and decision-support tools could reduce uncertainty, improve process robustness, and strengthen the economic viability of recycling pathways.

By linking chemistry, digital infrastructure, and circular systems thinking, the proposed framework aims to support the development of more resilient and scalable supply chains for critical raw materials.

The perspective was authored by Thomas Kunze, Robin Schoemaker, Peter H. Seeberger, and Theodore Tyrikos-Ergas published in Chem Circularity by Cell Press.

Read the open-access publication

👉 Information as the limiting reagent in rare-earth circularity: Chem Circularity
Authors: Thomas Kunze, Robin Schoemaker, Peter H. Seeberger, Theodore Tyrikos-Ergas