Rare Earth Strategy Heats Up: Taiwan Strengthens Recycling and Refining Capabilities to Create a New Self-Supply Chain

China’s recent announcement of a new round of export controls on rare earth technologies and related items has triggered tensions in the global supply chain. As a major global rare earth producer, China’s policy changes are impacting the automotive, electronics, and defense industries. While Taiwan is indirectly affected, to mitigate external risks, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has launched an accelerated plan to promote the development of the domestic rare earth recycling and refining industry, aiming to meet one-third of domestic demand by 2030.

China’s rare earth export controls send alarm bells through global supply chains.

On October 9, China announced new export control measures on rare earth technologies and related items. Rare earths are crucial materials for manufacturing high-performance magnets, electric vehicle motors, chips, and military equipment, and China has long controlled most of the world’s mining and refining capacity.

This move not only caused turmoil in the international market, but also prompted major economies such as the United States, Japan, and Europe to seek supply chain diversification in order to reduce their dependence on China.

Taiwan is indirectly affected and is reassessing its rare earth self-sufficiency capabilities.

Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin pointed out that Taiwan does not use rare earth elements directly, but rather imports components or equipment containing rare earth elements from the United States, Japan, and Europe, making it part of the international supply chain. Therefore, although China’s restrictions have an indirect impact on Taiwan, they may still create pressure on costs or delivery times in the supply chain.

He emphasized that Taiwan will closely monitor the international situation and cooperate with the United States, Japan and other countries to jointly address the risks to the global rare earth supply.

Circular Economy Implementation: Extracting Rare Earth Elements from Waste Electrical Appliances

Faced with external uncertainties, the Taiwanese government, before China announced its restrictions, had already worked with the Ministry of Environment to plan and promote the circular economy industry and set about establishing a domestic rare earth recycling and refining system.

The plan centers on “recovering rare earth elements from waste electrical appliances,” using decomposition and refining technologies to enable the domestic reuse of rare earth elements that were previously dependent on imports. The Ministry of Economic Affairs originally planned to launch the plan in 2028 and achieve the goal of supplying one-third of domestic demand by 2031.

Accelerating the timeline: Reaching an annual production of 500 kg by 2030

With China’s export controls becoming increasingly urgent, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has decided to bring forward the timeline to achieve the target by 2030.

Gong Mingxin pointed out that ITRI has already acquired rare earth refining technology at the kilogram-scale experimental level. In the future, it will transfer the technology to enterprises and assist the industry in expanding its mass production scale.

Domestic companies have already expressed their willingness to invest, and it is expected that with government guidance and industry cooperation, they can build a large-scale refining capacity within the next five years, reaching an annual production of 500 kilograms of rare earth, which can meet about one-third of Taiwan’s market demand.

International cooperation and independent capabilities go hand in hand

Kung Ming-hsin emphasized that in the face of changes in the global supply chain, Taiwan will strike a balance between international cooperation and independent development. On the one hand, it will coordinate with friendly countries such as the United States and Japan to ensure a stable supply of key raw materials; on the other hand, it will strengthen domestic recycling and refining technologies to cultivate an independent industrial chain.

This is not only a response to short-term risks, but also a long-term strategic plan that enables Taiwan to have stronger self-reliance and sustainable development capabilities in the field of key materials.

Conclusion

China’s rare earth control measures serve as a stark reminder of the fragility of global high-tech industry supply chains. Taiwan’s proactive efforts in rare earth recycling and refining are not only a response to the crisis but also an opportunity to move forward.

在2030年前建立自主稀土供應能力，將使台灣在面對國際變局時，擁有更穩固的材料基礎與產業競爭力。

Table of Contents

China’s rare earth export controls send alarm bells through global supply chains.

Taiwan is indirectly affected and is reassessing its rare earth self-sufficiency capabilities.

Circular Economy Implementation: Extracting Rare Earth Elements from Waste Electrical Appliances

Accelerating the timeline: Reaching an annual production of 500 kg by 2030

International cooperation and independent capabilities go hand in hand

Conclusion

Read More Related Topics

Table of Contents

China’s rare earth export controls send alarm bells through global supply chains.

Taiwan is indirectly affected and is reassessing its rare earth self-sufficiency capabilities.

Circular Economy Implementation: Extracting Rare Earth Elements from Waste Electrical Appliances

Accelerating the timeline: Reaching an annual production of 500 kg by 2030

International cooperation and independent capabilities go hand in hand

Conclusion

Read More Related Topics

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