New IEA report highlights growing mismatch between accelerating use of rare earths across a wide range of technologies and slow pace of supply diversification globally
Rare earth elements are moving rapidly to the forefront of global policy making for energy, transport, advanced manufacturing and digital technologies as demand continues to expand while supply chains remain highly concentrated, according to a new IEA report developed to inform G7 discussions this year.
The importance of the 17 rare earth elements that underpin a wide range of technologies – from electric vehicles and AI data centres to robotics and defence systems – has grown sharply in recent years, driven largely by growing use of high-performance permanent magnets. Demand for magnet rare earths – notably neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium – has doubled since 2015 and is projected to increase by more than 30% by 2030, according to the new report, Rare Earth Elements: pathways to secure and diversified supply chains, which aims to provide analytical support for discussions under France’s 2026 G7 Presidency. As automation and digitalisation accelerate, the report shows that demand for magnet rare earths will grow further beyond the end of this decade, based on today’s policy settings. (....)