A Nd–Fe–B permanent magnet, indispensable when it comes to green technologies for low carbon society, typically contains 28–35 wt% rare-earth elements (REEs, e.g., Pr, Nd, Tb, and Dy). This means that end-of-life (EoL) magnets are an important secondary resource for REEs that EU considers as the most critical. Dr. Xuan Xu, Prof. Sašo Šturm and Prof. Kristina Žužek Rožman (Department for Nanostructured Materials) were awarded with a silver medal for the innovation on the International exhibition ARCA in Zagreb Croatia. The innovation »Enviromentally friendly and energy effecient method for recovery of rare earth elements« contributes to a more sustainable and greener EU future with regards to recycling of critical raw materials i.e the rare earths from permanent magnets. The developed method (in the frame of MSCA DEMETER project) is based on electrochemical aspects and is environmentally friendly and energy efficient. The innovation was presented in collaboration with the Technology transfer office from Jožef Stefan Institute.