Critical Raw Materials Recovery Market 2027-2047 | EU Critical Raw Materials Act and Urban Mining: Can Europe Supply 56% of its Material Needs by 2050?

Critical Raw Materials Recovery Market 2027-2047 | EU Critical Raw Materials Act and Urban Mining: Can Europe Supply 56% of its Material Needs by 2050? Dublin, July 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Critical Materials Recovery Market 2027-2047" has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The critical raw materials recovery market by 2026 will be defined by strategic policies and consolidation, overshadowing price factors. Recently, the focus has been on transforming "supply-chain security" from theoretical discussions into actionable industrial policies. This shift began after China exerted its control through export restrictions on key materials like gallium, germanium, graphite, and rare-earth magnets during 2024-2025, causing significant disruptions.

In response, Western governments took action, with the United States initiating Project Vault - a $10 billion strategic minerals reserve covering essential USGS-listed materials - and spearheading a 54-nation Critical Minerals Ministerial resulting in FORGE, a framework aimed at stabilizing prices to counter China's market tactics. Meanwhile, the European Union has put its Critical Raw Materials Act into effect, supporting recovery initiatives framed as strategic infrastructure essential for defense, AI, and robotics supply chains.

Despite this policy-driven support, the reality is harsh for the commercial sector. A drop in battery-metal prices in 2025, with lithium carbonate reaching lows of $12/kg, led to multiple insolvencies, altering the competitive landscape. Companies like Ascend Elements filed for bankruptcy, while others like Li-Cycle were acquired by Glencore. European ventures like Northvolt and Viridian Lithium ceased operations. The remaining survivors share traits of integrated offtake, secure feedstock, government support, or unique low-cost technologies.

The market's dynamics have bifurcated; China continues to dominate battery recycling, with CATL's Brunp setting ambitious targets. Meanwhile, the West is seeing momentum shift towards rare-earth and magnet recovery, led by companies like Cyclic Materials and Paladin, as well as innovations in magnet substitution by Niron Magnetics. An anticipated surge in EV end-of-life vehicles post-2030 is predicted to create the largest secondary feedstock flow in history. Market growth, which could reach $250 billion by 2047, will likely depend on whether policies like stockpile demand and price floors can stabilize material recovery economics.

The "Global Critical Materials Recovery Market 2027-2047" report is a thorough analysis over the next two decades, examining how world economies will secure supply-chain-critical and strategic raw materials from secondary sources amid evolving economic forces. This transformation marks a shift from environmental concerns to strategic imperatives backed by significant investments and frameworks such as Project Vault and the EU's act, solidifying recycling's role in new economic equations.

This comprehensive report provides 2027-2047 forecasts by material, region, and recovery source, assessing technologies and business models poised to capture opportunities in areas such as rare earths, lithium-ion batteries, semiconductors, and platinum group metals. The report is indispensable for those aiming to understand value creation through secondary supply in the next two decades.

Report content includes:

The report is designed for recyclers, miners, OEMs, battery and magnet manufacturers, investors, and policymakers interested in identifying emerging value in the secondary supply chain and the technologies, regions, and companies set to lead.

Key Topics Covered

1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1 Definition and Importance of Critical Raw Materials

1.2 E-Waste as a Source of Critical Raw Materials

1.3 Electrification, Renewable and Clean Technologies

1.4 Regulatory Landscape

1.4.1 European Union

1.4.2 United States

1.4.3 China

1.4.4 Japan

1.4.5 Australia

1.4.6 Canada

1.4.7 India

1.4.8 South Korea

1.4.9 Brazil

1.4.10 Russia

1.4.11 Global Initiatives

1.5 Key Market Drivers and Restraints

1.6 The Global Critical Raw Materials Market in 2026

1.7 Critical Material Extraction Technology

1.7.1 Recovery of critical materials from secondary sources (e.g., end-of-life products, industrial waste)

1.7.2 Critical rare-earth element recovery from secondary sources

1.7.3 Li-ion battery technology metal recovery

1.7.4 Critical semiconductor materials recovery

1.7.5 Critical platinum group metal recovery

1.8 Critical Raw Materials Value Chain

1.9 The Economic Case for Critical Raw Materials Recovery

1.10 Price Trends for Key Recovered Materials (2020-2026)

1.11 Global market forecasts

1.11.1 By Material Type (2025-2047)

1.11.2 By Recovery Source (2025-2047)

1.11.3 By Region (2025-2047)

1.12 The 2025-2026 recycler shakeout

2 INTRODUCTION

2.1 Critical Raw Materials

2.2 Global situation in supply and trade

2.2.1 From diversification rhetoric to industrial-policy execution

2.2.2 Project Vault: a demand backstop that resets recovery economics

2.2.3 The 54-nation framework: friend-shoring and enforced price floors

2.2.4 Substitution as the second hedge: rare-earth-free magnets

2.2.5 Recovery reframed: strategic infrastructure, not ESG compliance

2.3 Circular economy

2.3.1 Circular use of critical raw materials

2.4 Critical and strategic raw materials used in the energy transition

2.4.1 Greening critical metals

2.5 Metals and minerals processed and extracted

2.5.1 Copper

2.5.2 Nickel

2.5.3 Cobalt

2.5.4 Rare Earth Elements (REE)

2.5.5 Lithium

2.5.6 Gold

2.5.7 Uranium

2.5.8 Zinc

2.5.9 Manganese

2.5.10 Tantalum

2.5.11 Niobium

2.5.12 Indium

2.5.13 Gallium

2.5.14 Germanium

2.5.15 Antimony

2.5.16 Scandium

2.5.17 Graphite

2.6 Recovery sources

2.6.1 Primary sources

2.6.2 Secondary sources

2.6.2.1 Extraction

2.6.2.1.1 Hydrometallurgical extraction

2.6.2.1.2 Pyrometallurgical extraction

2.6.2.1.3 Biometallurgy

2.6.2.1.4 Ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents

2.6.2.1.5 Electroleaching extraction

2.6.2.1.6 Supercritical fluid extraction

2.6.2.2 Recovery

2.6.2.2.1 Solvent extraction

2.6.2.2.2 Ion exchange recovery

2.6.2.2.3 Ionic liquid (IL) and deep eutectic solvent (DES) recovery

2.6.2.2.4 Precipitation

2.6.2.2.5 Biosorption

2.6.2.2.6 Electrowinning

2.6.2.2.7 Direct materials recovery

3 CRITICAL RAW MATERIALS RECOVERY IN SEMICONDUCTORS

3.1 Critical semiconductor materials

3.2 Electronic waste (e-waste)

3.2.1 Types of Critical Raw Materials found in E-Waste

3.2.2 AI-enabled recovery: the DOE-Amazon collaboration

3.3 Photovoltaic and solar technologies

3.3.1 Common types of PV panels and their critical semiconductor components

3.3.2 Silicon Recovery Technology for Crystalline-Si PVs

3.3.3 Tellurium Recovery from CdTe Thin-Film Photovoltaics

3.3.4 Solar Panel Manufacturers and Recovery Rates

3.4 Concentration and value of Critical Raw Materials in E-Waste

3.5 Applications and Importance of Key Critical Raw Materials

3.6 Waste Recycling and Recovery Processes

3.7 Collection and Sorting Infrastructure

3.8 Pre-Processing Technologies

3.9 Metal Recovery Technologies

3.9.1 Pyrometallurgy

3.9.2 Hydrometallurgy

3.9.3 Biometallurgy

3.9.4 Supercritical Fluid Extraction

3.9.5 Electrokinetic Separation

3.9.6 Mechanochemical Processing

3.10 Global market 2025-2047

3.10.1 Ktonnes

3.10.2 Revenues

3.10.3 Regional

4 CRITICAL RAW MATERIALS RECOVERY IN LI-ION BATTERIES

4.1 Critical Li-ion Battery Metals

4.2 Critical Li-ion Battery Technology Metal Recovery

4.3 Lithium-Ion Battery recycling value chain

4.4 Black mass powder

4.5 Recycling different cathode chemistries

4.6 Preparation

4.7 Pre-Treatment

4.7.1 Discharging

4.7.2 Mechanical Pre-Treatment

4.7.3 Thermal Pre-Treatment

4.8 Comparison of recycling techniques

4.9 Hydrometallurgy

4.9.1 Method overview

4.9.1.1 Solvent extraction

4.9.2 SWOT analysis

4.10 Pyrometallurgy

4.10.1 Method overview

4.10.2 SWOT analysis

4.11 Direct recycling

4.11.1 Method overview

4.11.1.1 Electrolyte separation

4.11.1.2 Separating cathode and anode materials

4.11.1.3 Binder removal

4.11.1.4 Relithiation

4.11.1.5 Cathode recovery and rejuvenation

4.11.1.6 Hydrometallurgical-direct hybrid recycling

4.11.2 SWOT analysis

4.12 Other methods

4.12.1 Mechanochemical Pretreatment

4.12.2 Electrochemical Method

4.12.3 Ionic Liquids

4.13 Recycling of Specific Components

4.13.1 Anode (Graphite)

4.13.2 Cathode

4.13.3 Electrolyte

4.14 Recycling of Beyond Li-ion Batteries

4.14.1 Conventional vs Emerging Processes

4.14.2 Li-Metal batteries

4.14.3 Lithium sulfur batteries (Li-S)

4.14.4 All-solid-state batteries (ASSBs)

4.15 Economic case for Li-ion battery recycling

4.15.1 Onshoring the battery loop

4.15.2 Metal prices

4.15.3 Second-life energy storage

4.15.4 LFP batteries

4.15.5 Other components and materials

4.15.6 Reducing costs

4.16 Competitive landscape

4.17 Global capacities, current and planned

4.18 Future outlook

4.19 Global market 2025-2047

4.19.1 Chemistry

4.19.2 Ktonnes

4.19.3 Revenues

4.19.4 Regional

5 CRITICAL RARE-EARTH ELEMENT RECOVERY

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Permanent magnet applications

5.3 Recovery technologies

5.3.1 Long-loop and short-loop recovery methods

5.3.2 Hydrogen decrepitation

5.3.3 Powder metallurgy (PM)

5.3.4 Long-loop magnet recycling

5.3.5 Solvent Extraction

5.3.6 Ion Exchange Resin Chromatography

5.3.7 Electrolysis and Metallothermic Reduction

5.4 Markets

5.4.1 Rare-earth magnet market

5.4.1.1 Substitution: rare-earth-free magnets as a parallel hedge

5.4.2 Rare-earth magnet recovery technology

5.4.3 Distributed domestic recovery

5.5 Global market 2025-2047

5.5.1 Ktonnes

5.5.2 Revenues

6 CRITICAL PLATINUM GROUP METAL RECOVERY

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Supply chain

6.3 Prices

6.4 PGM Recovery

6.5 PGM recovery from spent automotive catalysts

6.6 PGM recovery from hydrogen electrolyzers and fuel cells

6.6.1 Green hydrogen market

6.6.2 PGM recovery from hydrogen-related technologies

6.6.3 Catalyst Coated Membranes (CCMs)

6.6.4 Fuel cell catalysts

6.6.5 Emerging technologies

6.6.5.1 Microwave-assisted Leaching

6.6.5.2 Supercritical Fluid Extraction

6.6.5.3 Bioleaching

6.6.5.4 Electrochemical Recovery

6.6.5.5 Membrane Separation

6.6.5.6 Ionic Liquids

6.6.5.7 Photocatalytic Recovery

6.6.6 Sustainability of the hydrogen economy

6.7 Markets

6.8 Global market 2025-2047

6.8.1 Ktonnes

6.8.2 Revenues

7 COMPANY PROFILES (159 company profiles)

A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to:

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/rm1toc

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