European industrial groups are turning to a developing rare earths ecosystem in France as they attempt to cut dependence on China for critical minerals used in electric vehicles and wind turbines.
Beijing upended supply chains for minerals crucial to the energy transition and fuelled concerns about an impending shortage of permanent magnets when it imposed export controls in April, in retaliation for US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The restrictions led to a 51 per cent drop in China’s rare earth magnet exports that month, compared with March, posing a “critical challenge” to the global car industry, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie.