IREL offers seven indigenous critical mineral technologies for rare-earth and titanium commercialisation

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IREL (India) Ltd has invited entrepreneurs, startups and industries to commercialise seven technologies developed in India for the rare-earth and titanium sectors, as the country looks to solidify its critical-minerals value chain by improving its domestic capacity.

The technologies were developed and demonstrated at IREL's Rare Earth & Titanium Theme Park (RETTP) in Bhopal, which was inaugurated on May 10. This is the first time IREL has offered technologies for commercialisation on such a scale.

The package consists of technologies for producing lanthanum and cerium, which are used in batteries, catalysts and glass polishing. It also includes technology for producing neodymium, an important material for permanent magnets, as well as recovering neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) from end-of-life NdFeB permanent magnets.

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Other technologies cover the production of lamp and LED phosphors used in lighting and displays, along with titanium sponge, an intermediate material used to produce titanium metal for applications including aerospace.

IREL's move comes as India looks to move beyond mining and mineral processing towards producing more higher-value materials and components domestically. These materials are important for electric vehicles, renewable energy, electronics, defence and other strategic industries.

India has a significant rare-earth resource base, with the government estimating 7.23 million tonnes of in-situ rare-earth oxide equivalent resources in monazite-bearing beach-sand deposits. However, limited midstream and downstream capacity remains a constraint in developing the wider value chain.

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A government official stated, “Of the seven technologies being offered for transfer, one is for recovering NdPr from end-of-life NdFeB permanent magnets, which could support the development of a domestic permanent-magnet manufacturing ecosystem under the government’s INR 7,280-crore (USD 765 million) scheme.”

The scheme aims to establish 6,000 tonnes per year of integrated NdFeB permanent-magnet manufacturing capacity through five beneficiaries. The government expects the projects to create an integrated chain from NdPr oxide to finished magnets and reduce India's dependence on imports.

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The Heavy Industries Ministry received 20 bids for the scheme, with companies like Larsen & Toubro, Coal India and ReNew among the bidders. The bids were opened on August 13.

Under the technology-transfer package, companies will receive process know-how, operating methods, basic engineering packages, process-flow diagrams and equipment specifications. The package will also include quality-assurance procedures, product-characterisation methods, safety and environmental guidelines, and training for technical personnel and plant operators.