Our company

Expertise and innovative processes to drive the energy transition

Carester believes Europe can play an active, decisive role in this transition.

About us

In 2019, Frédéric Carencotte - alongside a team of passionate, internationally renowned researchers and professional - founded Carester, a true hub of European expertise in the rare-earths field.

The name “Carester” starts with “care,” embodying the notions of concern, attention, and responsibility. It reflects the founder’s aim to explore and promote processes that are increasingly sustainable from both a human and environmental standpoint. The suffix “ter” naturally refers to rare earths, while the “s,” borrowed from “sustainable,” serves as a link between these ideas, highlighting Carester’s mission to constantly refine its expertise over the long term.

35

Employees

100%

of sales revenue internationally (external customers)

36%

of revenue invested in R&D

120sq.m

of laboratories

700sq.m

magnet disassembly/ demagnetization facility

Aim

To become the Western world’s benchmark facility for heavy rare-earth separation and production of rare-earth oxides from recycled magnets.

A key player in designing and optimizing processes for producing pure rare-earth oxides, Carester aims to help foster the development of more efficient, more environmentally friendly industrial processes. Since it was founded, Carester’s DNA has driven its mission to speed up the energy transition by offering a European solution for recycling rare-earth elements contained in permanent magnets through its Caremag facility. In addition to its recycling unit, Carester is building the largest heavy rare-earth separation facility in the Western world, meeting the highest environmental standards. Through these efforts, Carester will play a critical role in helping Europe meet its geostrategic challenge of securing access to critical materials.

The team

A team of experts

Carester embodies over two and a half centuries of combined scientific and industrial experience, drawing on a pool of experts with unparalleled know-how, shaped through careers in the rare-earth industry. Frédéric Carencotte’s experience, supported by this community of dedicated, internationally renowned specialists, is the cornerstone of Carester’s DNA.

Frederic CARENCOTTE

President

15 years of experience in rare earths

Chemical engineer, graduated from the Institute of Industrial Chemistry and Physics of Lyon
20 years of experience at de Rhône Poulenc/ Rhodia / Solvay
15 years in the rare earth industry in France and China

Its mission: to improve rare earth extraction processes throughout the world, while promoting a responsible French industry.

PhD, R&D expert

Graduated from the University of Paris in 1968
MBA at the University of Paris
35 years of experience within the Rhône Poulenc / Rhodia group
Thesis on the Separation of Rare Earths in 1973 – Doctorate at the École Supérieure de Physique et Chimie Industrielles de Paris
Expert in inorganic chemistry, electrochemistry, chemical separation processes and liquid-liquid extraction.
Author of scientific journals on rare earths (Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 1982, Les Techniques de l’Ingénieur 1981 & 1993, Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology 2001)
Inventor or co-inventor of 25 patents
2 distinctions:
- • French Society of Industrial Chemistry – Analytical Chemistry Group in 1972
- • French Society for the Promotion of National Industry in 1987

His mission: to transmit his unique know-how in order to contribute to the building of Carester, which he aims to be an essential player for the future of rare earths.

Process Expert

Graduated from the University Institute of Saint Nazaire in 1989 – Technician in Chemical Engineering – Process Engineering
10 years within Rhône Poulenc de La Rochelle
3 years in China for Rhodia as Technology Transfer Manager from La Rochelle to Liyang
15 years spent in extraction and 15 years on precipitation, filtration, calcination processes

Its mission: actively participate in various rare earth extraction start-up projects.

Consultant

Chemical engineer, graduated in 1975 from the École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Strasbourg
Doctorate in Chemistry, University of Strasbourg in 1979
Speaker, Author of numerous patents, and participated in the writing of several international publications and analytical works on the subject of rare earths
Numerous missions within Rhône-Poulens (now Solvay) at the research center and in the factory
From 2014, Supervision of Rare Earths processes in five factories spread between France, China, Japan and the United States
Consultant to mining companies

Its mission: to participate in the reconstruction of European expertise in rare earths by contributing to industrial separation and sizing of equipment.

Process Expert

Chemical engineer
Graduated from the National School of Engineers in Chemical and Technological Arts of Toulouse (ENSCT1968) and the National Institute of Nuclear Sciences and Techniques (Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble 1969)
International speaker, author of patents in the field of phosphate and rare earth mining processes
Industrial career within Rhône-Poulenc/ Rhodia/ Solvay
Specialist in enrichment and chemical attack processes for rare earth ores and in the optimization between these two stages

Separation Process Manager

1974, Solvay as technician in the central analysis laboratory of the Rhône-Poulenc factory in La Rochelle
Upstream and separation workshop manager
Experience in China on a liquid-liquid extraction battery project
Expert in the operation of liquid-liquid extraction batteries and in the diversion of industrial units

Project Director

Engineer graduated from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Strasbourg
Author or co-author of 9 patents
35 years of experience within the Rhône Poulenc / Rhodia / Solvay group, including 23 in rare earths
R&D missions in the field of mineral chemistry, Penn State University, in the synthesis of nano-composites
Missions in the field of the synthesis of ceramic powders based on rare earths
Contribution to the development of rare earth oxides for automotive catalysis in the Freeport plant in the United States
Factory management supervising rare earth production sites in China, Japan and France

His mission: to put his industrial experience at the service of an ambitious project, Caremag, in an agile structure whose values he fully shares.

PhD, Process Expert

Chemical engineer, graduated from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Strasbourg (1982)
Doctor-Engineer in mineral chemistry (Strasbourg) on the separation of radioactive impurities by liquid-liquid extraction
Holder of more than 10 patents in the field of rare earth purification, radium and thorium management
1985, Rhône-Poulenc in 1985 as a researcher, in charge of studies on hydrometallurgical processes for separating rare earths
1990, Head of the analytical and product quality department at the Rhodia La Rochelle factory
2003, Responsible for rehabilitation projects (chemical pollution, radioactive waste management) within the Environmental Department of Rhodia (then Solvay)
Designated representative of Solvay to ANDRA (Low Radioactive Waste Storage) and ASN (Nuclear Safety Authority)

His mission: he puts his expertise within Carester on the aspects of regulatory studies and hydrometallurgical studies of Rare Earth ores.