The Iberian Sustainable Mining Cluster (ISMC), in collaboration with ECOCastulum, successfully hosted the first Stakeholder Workshop of the European project NEO-CYCLE in Seville on October 29th, 2025.

The event brought together representatives from research organisations, industry, and public institutions to discuss technological advances in critical raw materials (CRM) recovery, as well as opportunities for collaboration in the European circular economy ecosystem.

NEO-CYCLE: Accelerating circular innovation in Europe

NEO-CYCLE is an EU-funded Horizon Europe project (Grant Agreement No. 101138058) focused on developing cutting-edge technologies for the recovery, recycling, and upcycling of rare earth elements (REEs), including neodymium (Nd), iron (Fe), and boron (B).

The project aims to strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy in raw materials, enhance industrial sustainability, and support the transition toward circular production models.

Key moments from the workshop

Strategic alignment and technological development

The opening session provided insights into the project’s goals and technical progress:

• Dr. Macarena García (IDENER) introduced the NEO-CYCLE vision and consortium.

• Dr. Peter Fröhlich (TU Bergakademie Freiberg) presented advances in solid-state chlorination (SSC) and selective electrochemical neodymium extraction (SENE) technologies.

• Dr. Hubert Ronduda (Warsaw University of Technology) highlighted innovations in upcycling Nd, Fe, and B for industrial catalysts.

• Dr. Felix Freitag (UPC) showcased progress on the Digital Product Passport, aimed at improving traceability and transparency in supply chains.

The session also covered the techno-economic assessment of future NEO-CYCLE products, with contributions from Casale, FLAMMA, and CONFA.

Collaboration with European industrial clusters

The second session focused on aligning NEO-CYCLE with regional innovation strategies and cluster-driven initiatives. Speakers addressed:

• Smart Specialisation in mining (Regional Government of Andalusia)

• Circular battery recycling (AFIL, Lombardy)

• Big Data and traceability in the agrifood sector (TRAGSA)

• WEEE collection and CRM recovery (Municipal Waste Europe)

• Circular product design and sustainability strategies (Ford Otosan)

Stakeholder projects and future cooperation

The final session highlighted European projects supporting circular value chain development:

• RAW4RES (INTERREG Europe)

• ExpSKILLS (EIT RawMaterials)

• CRUSADE (Horizon Europe)

• PERMANET (Horizon Europe)

The day concluded with a collaborative session led by ISMC to identify opportunities for cooperation and shared challenges across stakeholders.

Conclusion

The first NEO-CYCLE Stakeholder Workshop marked a significant step forward in strengthening collaboration to advance circularity in strategic raw materials.

ISMC continues to reinforce its commitment to building a more sustainable, resilient, and innovative mining and industrial ecosystem in Europe.