October 22, 2026
Available as PDF
Dutch onshore wind turbines contained an estimated 730 tonnes of NdFeB magnet material in their main generators at the end of 2025 (range: 530–1,010 tonnes). The material is highly concentrated: just three wind farms (Windpark Fryslân, N33 and Westermeerwind) hold 64% of it, and about half stands in the IJsselmeer.
Three quarters of the material is in turbines installed between 2020 and 2024. Under a 25-year lifetime, almost none of it reaches end of life before 2040. Most becomes available for recycling only in 2045 to 2049. For planning recycling capacity, the timing and concentration in a few wind farms matter more than the national total.
The report was prepared at the request of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and includes a full account of methods, uncertainties, and the AI-based research process behind the estimate.
Many of us are exploring what role large language models can play in research. As an experiment in what can be automated and at which points people should be involved, the research and the writing of this report (apart from this note) were done by AI agents running in a custom harness, albeit with a fair amount of direction from the researchers.