Advancing Circular Strategies for Rare Earth Elements: A Bibliometric Analysis

Paper i proceeding, 2027

The increasing demand for Rare Earth Elements (REEs), driven by their essential role in advanced manufacturing and low-carbon technologies, raises critical concerns related to supply risk, environmental impact, and geopolitical dependency. In response, circular economy strategies are gaining attention to improve resource efficiency and enhance supply chain resilience. This paper presents early results from a systematic review aimed at analysing the state of research on and implementation of circular strategies for REEs. A comprehensive search query in Scopus was designed to capture peer-reviewed contributions related to circular practices, such as reuse, disassembly, remanufacturing, and recycling, applied to REEs, magnets, and critical materials. The findings reveal a strong concentration of research on recycling technologies for permanent magnets, while other circular strategies such as reuse, design for disassembly, and remanufacturing remain comparatively underexplored. Additionally, the literature shows limited integration of circular approaches at the system and value chain levels, as well as a lack of interdisciplinary perspectives combining technical, economic, and managerial dimensions.