China dominates the global rare earth supply chain, controlling up to 90 percent of refining and 80 percent of processing, making industries worldwide heavily dependent on the country's exports. German researchers are now developing alternatives to reduce that reliance, including rare-earth-free electric motors and manganese-based lighting materials. Automakers like BMW, Tesla, and Toyota are meanwhile shifting toward rare-earth-free technologies. Yet scaling such projects to an industrial level is costly, and progress across Europe remains slow.
This video summary was created by AI from the original DW script. It was edited by a journalist before publication.