Recently, according to non-ferrous metals news, rare earths, as a critical component of non-ferrous metals, serve as a core material for transforming traditional industries, developing strategic emerging industries, and supporting the defense technology sector. However, how can the rare earth industry deeply integrate technological innovation with industrial innovation? Under the "dual carbon" goals, with increasingly stringent environmental policies, how should the rare earth industry strike a balance between resource development and ecological protection?
Ao Hong, Vice President of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association and President of its Rare Earth Branch, stated that emerging fields such as humanoid robots, new energy, and the low-altitude economy are currently experiencing vigorous growth. Public data shows that by the end of 2024, China had over 450,000 enterprises in the smart robot industry, with production and sales of new energy vehicles reaching 12.888 million and 12.866 million units, respectively. As power systems like servo motors demand greater lightweight design, high energy density, and stability, the demand for rare earth new materials—represented by high-performance rare earth permanent magnets—has reached unprecedented levels in terms of volume, scope, and depth in these emerging industries. The robotics industry, particularly humanoid robots, may become a new growth point for rare earth permanent magnets: high-performance rare earth magnets can be used in servo motors for robot joints, enhancing motion precision and efficiency, while special rare earth alloys can contribute to lightweight designs and high-strength structural components in robots. As humanoid robot technology matures and market demand grows, the development of high-performance rare earth application materials is entering a critical strategic window, deserving focused attention. The rare earth industry is at a pivotal moment where policy-driven supply-demand restructuring coincides with an explosive surge in emerging demand, which will undoubtedly support the high-quality development of the rare earth industrial chain.
In the future, the upstream and downstream segments of the rare earth industrial chain should seize development opportunities, adhere to innovation-driven strategies, and promote the deep integration of technological and industrial innovation. This includes developing application scenarios, uncovering demand, and accelerating the output of rare earth "hard technologies." By focusing on high-end, green, and intelligent development, and addressing both supply and demand, the industry can achieve balanced and orderly growth of the rare earth supply chain, better supporting the rapid development of emerging industries. Large rare earth conglomerates should leverage their role in integrating the industrial chain, relying on the construction of rare earth industrial bases to accelerate the formation of emerging industry clusters. This will facilitate closer alignment between rare earth resources and emerging sectors, guiding the rare earth value chain toward the high-end market.
When discussing how the Rare Earth Branch of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association can promote a new pattern of high-quality development, foster collaboration across the upstream, midstream, and downstream of the industrial chain as well as between industries, and jointly tackle "bottleneck" core technologies, Ao Hong emphasized that accelerating the establishment of a new development pattern is a strategic cornerstone for promoting high-quality development.
Rare earths are a vital part of non-ferrous metals and an indispensable key material for upgrading traditional industries, developing strategic emerging industries, and supporting defense technology. To accelerate the high-quality development of the rare earth industry, the Rare Earth Branch of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association has undertaken substantial and effective efforts in recent years to enhance collaboration and cultivate new productive forces. First, it has adhered to policy guidance, actively cooperating with relevant national authorities in formulating and implementing the Rare Earth Management Regulations and supporting policies, advancing the legalization of the rare earth industry to a new level and safeguarding national resource and industrial security. Second, it has prioritized innovation, focusing on overcoming "bottleneck" core technologies in the rare earth industry by organizing the selection and recommendation of national key research projects, promoting collaboration among government, industry, academia, research, and application sectors, and accelerating technological breakthroughs and result transformation to foster new competitive advantages in China’s rare earth industry. Third, it has emphasized coordinated collaboration by establishing platforms like the China Rare Earth Forum for upstream and downstream exchange and cooperation, issuing the Industry Consensus on Promoting High-Quality Development of the Rare Earth Industry, guiding industry self-regulation, and continuously consolidating and expanding collaborative advantages across all segments of the industrial chain to jointly create a new landscape for the high-quality development of the rare earth industry.
This year’s government work report highlighted the need to strengthen pollution prevention and ecological construction, accelerate the development of a green and low-carbon economy, and steadily advance carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals. Currently, energy and resource conservation and ecological environmental protection have become hard constraints for the rare earth industry and its enterprises. Comprehensively addressing environmental and low-carbon challenges has become a crucial means for companies to gain a competitive edge in an intensely competitive market. Ao Hong believes that "high-quality development and high-level protection are complementary and mutually beneficial, not an either/or choice." He suggested balancing resource development and ecological protection through the following approaches:
Leveraging technological innovation as the key to green transformation: Using technological innovation as the foundation for green development, intensifying basic research in rare earth mining and smelting to address technical challenges in efficient resource extraction and minimizing environmental impact. Efforts should focus on optimizing green, ammonia-free extraction processes, promoting clean, low-carbon, and efficient energy use, achieving high-value recycling, and improving the green extraction and efficient utilization of ionic rare earth resources. Additionally, developing new, efficient, and clean smelting technologies should be accelerated to reduce environmental pollution from waste slag and wastewater, achieving efficient and clean production.
Accelerating industrial transformation by strengthening rare earth deep processing and applications: Strictly enforcing environmental access standards for new, renovated, or expanded projects, promoting the optimization and upgrading of traditional industries, phasing out outdated capacity, and focusing on fostering green and low-carbon growth drivers. This involves expanding high-end applications of rare earths in fields such as new energy, new materials, new energy vehicles, industrial motors, and smart equipment, accelerating the development of rare earth permanent magnet, hydrogen storage, and luminescent material industries, addressing weaknesses in China’s midstream and downstream rare earth sectors, and building a rare earth industrial structure dominated by high added value. This will maximize the role of rare earth resources as a critical raw material in China’s green and low-carbon transformation.
Implementing corporate environmental responsibility through "source reduction, process control, and end-of-pipe treatment": Strengthening the implementation of corporate environmental protection responsibilities with a goal- and problem-oriented approach, fundamentally addressing industry-wide challenges such as regional ammonia-nitrogen pollution from rare earth mines, cost-effective treatment of high-salinity wastewater in smelting, and harmless, economical disposal of waste slag from mining and smelting. A three-tier pollution prevention system—"source reduction, process supervision, and end-of-pipe control"—should be established and strictly enforced.
Additionally, during the National People's Congress(NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference(CPPCC), Li Baoquan, head of the Hydrogen Storage Materials Division at the Rare Earth Functional Materials Institute of the Baotou Rare Earth Research Institute, stated that he submitted two proposals: Proposal on the Comprehensive Utilization and Protection of Baiyun’ebo Rare Earth Minerals and Proposal on Promoting the High-Quality Development of Green Electricity and Green Hydrogen in Inner Mongolia. He explained that the Baiyun’ebo rare earth mine is a vital rare earth resource treasure trove in China, yet challenges remain in its comprehensive utilization and protection. The Proposal on the Comprehensive Utilization and Protection of Baiyun’ebo Rare Earth Minerals aims to achieve breakthroughs in rare earth mining, beneficiation, smelting, and tailings utilization through optimized resource development methods and enhanced technological innovation, promoting the sustainable development and efficient use of rare earth minerals.
