Swedish researchers are pioneering a novel approach to breaking China's near-total dominance of the rare earth elements market — by cataloging everything in the country's mineral deposits and designing custom magnets to match the natural ingredient list.
Led by Martin Sahlberg, Professor of Materials Chemistry at Uppsala University, the interdisciplinary team is taking inventory of Sweden's rare earth deposits in Kiruna, Bergslagen, and Norra Kärr. Instead of extracting a single target metal and discarding the rest — the conventional approach that has made China the world's dominant processor — they want to use whatever nature has put together in each deposit.
"It's a bit like the TV show 'What's in Your Fridge,'" Sahlberg explains. "Historically, we have mined for a specific metal — iron, copper or maybe gold. We're taking a broader approach here to find out what elements there are in the deposits and in what proportions. We make an inventory of 'what's in the fridge' so that we can use all these elements in the most efficient way possible. We're creating new 'magnet recipes' based on the elements we have available."
The geopolitical stakes are high. China controls roughly 90% of global rare earth processing capacity, and has demonstrated a willingness to use that leverage. Last year, amid escalating trade tensions and US tariffs, China briefly halted rare earth exports — a move that sent shockwaves through global supply chains for electric vehicles, wind turbines, military hardware, and consumer electronics.
"It's a geopolitical problem," Sahlberg says. "In the last year with the trade war and the US tariffs, we've seen that China halted exports of rare earth elements."
Beyond geopolitics, conventional rare earth processing is environmentally costly. Separating and purifying the elements requires toxic chemicals, while radioactive substances are frequently present in the same geological formations. "It's rather a dirty business today," Sahlberg notes.
The Swedish approach aims to change that. By designing magnet formulas that closely match the naturally occurring mix of elements in each deposit, the team hopes to drastically reduce the amount of chemical processing required. Materials theoretical physicists, geologists, and materials engineers are working together to identify the most sustainable route from raw deposits to finished magnets.
Sweden is well-positioned for this effort. The country has known deposits across multiple regions, access to abundant hydropower and relatively cheap energy, and strong political will to lead the green transition.
The effort is expected to continue for many years, but Sahlberg emphasizes it is "basic research in an area that is technologically incredibly important" — work that could ultimately reshape the global rare earth supply chain and reduce dependence on a single nation.
