RE: FT Article25 Jan 2021 10:17
“The UK and EU understand you cannot build a green economy on unsustainable raw materials. European companies do not want to depend on one source for 90 per cent of their supply,” he said, adding that he believed Pensana could capture 5-7 per cent of the market in wind turbines before moving into vehicles.
Pensana is UK listed and worth around £200m but Mr Atherley said raising the money through bonds should be straightforward.
Innovate UK, a government agency, awarded funding in November to Less Common Metals, a rare earth alloys producer, to conduct a feasibility study into establishing a fully integrated supply chain for rare earth permanent magnet production in the UK.
LCM, based in Ellesmere Port near Liverpool and the only rare earth magnet alloy producer in Europe, is also moving into metal production, plugging a gap in the magnet supply chain.
Hull is bidding for free port status, which would reduce taxes and import and export costs. But Mr Atherley said he believed the oxides would be able to enter the EU tariff free under the post-Brexit trade deal because of the processing involved.
The EU is setting up a European Raw Materials Alliance to establish a sustainable supply and processing capacity of rare earths. It is using €3bn of the EU post-Covid recovery fund for the initiative’s development.