RarEarth, an Italian innovative start-up specializing in rare-earth elements (REE) recycling and production of high-performance magnets from electronic waste, has closed a €2.6 million capital increase, in which Primo Capital SGR S.p.A. participated as Lead Investor, through its Primo Climate fund, and MITO Tech Ventures as co-Lead Investor. Also participating in the round were Corbites Fund, Vento Ventures, COREangels Climate.
The investment will enable RarEarth to accelerate the construction of Italy's first site for the production of NdFeB (neodymium-iron-boron) magnets from recycled materials, strengthen the technical and commercial team, and optimize the industrial processes.
The market for rare earths
Global demand for rare-earth metals is growing strongly, driven by strategic sectors such as electric vehicles, renewable energy, and advanced electronics. The global market for rare-earth elements is projected to grow from $6.2 billion in 2024 to more than $16 billion by 2034, at a CAGR of 10.1 percent (source: Future Market Insight). In parallel, European demand for NdFeB magnets is projected to triple by 2030, from 12,000 to 36,000 tons per year (CAGR 11.3%) (source: CEPS).
Among the 17 elements in the rare-earth element group, neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium are among the most strategic, but also among the most critical and impactful. Approximately 30 percent of these materials are being used precisely to produce increasingly large quantities of new magnets.
Europe is currently heavily dependent on third countries for the extraction of these rare earths and is therefore in a position of extreme strategic vulnerability. RarEarth's technology responds to this challenge, helping to increase European strategic independence and reduce the environmental impact of the supply chain, in line with new European Union policies, including the Critical Raw Materials Act.
RarEarth's technological solution
Incubated since 2024 in I3P, the Innovative Companies Incubator of Politecnico di Torino, RarEarth is one of the very few European companies able to internally manage the entire recycling and production cycle of magnets starting from end-of-life motors and without the need to trace them back to the original chemical element. The proprietary process, developed by a very young but promising team of engineers and industrial chemists, consists of two phases:
- Recycling: through a patented three-step system (storage, disassembly, and thermomechano-chemical treatment), RarEarth efficiently recovers magnets from electronic waste.
- Production: the material is refined and treated through metallurgical processes to obtain a high-performance magnetic powder, which is processed into new magnets that have demonstrated magnetic properties perfectly comparable to first-generation magnets.
The recovery rate of magnetic materials is close to 100%, and the process is done by operating at low temperatures and with low costs. Magnetic and mechanical tests conducted at the Magnetic Laboratory of Politecnico di Torino in Alessandria (Piedmont, Italy) confirm the excellent quality of the magnets, which fully meet industrial requirements for sensors and electric motors.
The magnets produced by RarEarth have applications in numerous sectors: wind turbines, electric motors, medical devices, sensors, magnetic mapping, and more. Against a backdrop of exponential growth in e-waste, their solution offers a concrete response to the need to transform waste into high value-added resources.
The investors' support to the project
Enrico Pizzi, Co-Founder & CEO of RarEarth, stated: "This capital increase marks a crucial milestone for RarEarth: it allows us to accelerate the industrialization of our technology, expand the team and build the first Italian plant dedicated to the production of NdFeB magnets from recycled rare earths. The support of our investors gives us the energy to bring to market a distinctive technology at the European level, combining sustainability, innovation and safety in the critical materials supply chain. This is a strategic opportunity to build a rare-earth element recycling industry in Europe, and RarEarth wants to lead this change."
Ezio Ravaccia, General Partner of Primo Climate and Director of Primo Capital SGR, commented: "The capital increase in RarEarth represents a significant milestone for our innovation ecosystem. Indeed, the technology developed by RarEarth is set to make a significant contribution to the recovery of critical materials that are critical to both the Italian system-country and the European Union-and their independence in the supply chain. As Primo Climate, we are proud to be able to support the company and its founders, while contributing with our fund to the dimensional growth of the most innovative Italian companies."
Alberto Calvo, Managing Partner of MITO Tech Ventures, said: "We decided to invest in RarEarth because we strongly believe in an investment thesis that, in addition to the systemic benefits of the circular use of critical raw materials in multiple industries, recognizes in the company's project a complete and integrated process: from the selection of industrial waste to the production and commercialization of new magnets. This is a process that we believe is economically competitive and particularly efficient in the use of primary resources. We are convinced that RarEarth will be able to contribute in its target sectors to the development of more stable, flexible, sustainable and cost-effective supply chains."
