Solvay and Viridis sign LOI for rare earth materials sourcing

Strategic partnership aimed at securing critical feedstock to meet global rare earth demand

Solvay and Viridis Mining and Minerals have signed a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) to establish a long-term supply of rare earth materials starting in 2028. This partnership aims to build a more resilient, diversified, and secure critical materials supply chain. Both companies are now working to finalize a formal, definitive sourcing agreement.

Under the terms of their agreement, Viridis will ship critical rare earth feedstocks from Brazil to Solvay’s facility in La Rochelle, France. In return, Solvay will apply its proprietary separation and processing technologies to refine these raw materials into the high-purity rare earth oxides necessary for electric vehicles, renewable energy, defense, and advanced electronics.

The feedstock includes key rare earths for permanent magnets, notably neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb), supporting increasing global demand. It contains an important distribution of additional heavy rare earths, such as samarium (Sm), gadolinium (Gd) and yttrium (Y), used in critical advanced technology sectors such as automotive, electronics, medical and aerospace applications.

"This proposed transaction would mark a significant milestone in strengthening and diversifying our upstream supply chain," said An Nuyttens, President of Solvay’s Special Chem business. "By partnering with Viridis, we would ensure another reliable source of raw materials that would allow us to maximize our processing capacity and meet the growing global demand for high-purity, sustainably processed rare earth elements. This includes industrial scale separation of dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb) by September 2026 at our La Rochelle site in France. Solvay maintains its target of supplying 30% of the European market for magnet-grade light and heavy rare earths by 2030.”

“Partnering with Solvay would allow us to connect our resource base with one of the most advanced rare earth processing platforms globally,” said Rafael Moreno, Managing Director and CEO at Viridis Mining and Minerals. “Together, we would be advancing a more diversified and responsible supply of critical materials to support rapidly growing global demand.”

Solvay’s La Rochelle facility is one of the largest rare earth separation plants outside China and one of the few sites worldwide capable of processing all rare earth elements at industrial scale. The partnership supports Solvay’s broader ambition to scale up production capacity and contribute to the development of a more resilient rare earth value chain.