Allocating the environmental burdens in co-production of rare earth elements for EV magnets

Paper in proceeding, 2025

Life cycle assessment (LCA) provides information for the environmental reporting of products containing rare earth elements (REEs). However, REEs occur jointly in mineral deposits, meaning that investigating rare earth oxides (REOs) that constitutes input to permanent magnet making for electric vehicle (EV) traction motors encompasses inherent methodological problem for LCA modelling – allocation of burdens between co-products. This study explores how the choice of modelled REO supply route and economic allocation between co-products impact on results for contributions to global warming in LCA of individual REOs relevant for EV magnet production, as well as for a full set of magnets for a typical electric motor of a passenger car. The study shows that the choice of REO supply route is the most important factor both for REO and motor results, while price variations influence results on the REO level. The effect of the economic allocation is minor on total motor results.